The raw material is supplied by a local biogas plant. There, valuable biogas is produced from liquid and solid manure; this gas is now utilized in a new combined heat and power (CHP) unit at Memmingen Airport, saving both fossil fuels and CO2 emissions. Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger, officially commissioned the new facility this Wednesday (February 22).

“Green Airport Memmingen” is the name of the project with the ambitious goal of achieving net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions for airport operations. To this end, Airport Energie Management GmbH—a subsidiary of Flughafen Memmingen GmbH and e-con AG—was established in 2017. The new CHP unit, a highlight of the “Green Airport Memmingen” concept, is now connected directly via a pipeline approximately five kilometers long to the Bitzer biogas plant in nearby Hawangen, serving to generate both electricity and heat. “The new raw biogas CHP unit, utilizing locally produced biogas, brings energy generation and consumption together within the local energy market,” explained Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy, Hubert Aiwanger, at the site. “This creates a win-win situation for everyone involved—including the environment and the climate. I therefore expressly welcome the fact that Allgäu Airport is planning so exemplarily and implementing so boldly when it comes to energy efficiency and sustainability. The airport is thus really taking off and unlocking the vast potential that airports and the future of aviation hold.”

Andreas Müller, Managing Director of Airport Energiemanagement GmbH, explained: “The new facility saves 650,000 cubic meters of natural gas—or an equivalent amount of heating oil—annually and also reduces the airport’s CO2 emissions by around 1,600 tonnes per year.” The CHP unit is operated flexibly, generating electricity only when needed. The heat produced is fed entirely into the district heating network or into buffer storage tanks with a capacity of 300,000 liters. In addition to the airport buildings, the district heating network supplies nearly all adjacent industrial and commercial enterprises with heat generated from regional renewable sources; this includes the “Interkommunaler Gewerbepark Flughafen Süd Benningen/Hawangen” (Inter-municipal Business Park Airport South Benningen/Hawangen) located to the south. Thanks to the modular, flexible design of the heat supply system and the network’s capacity, additional customers can be connected to the heat supply in the future. The concept and planning were developed by the energy supply specialists e-con (based in Memmingen), while the Alois Müller company handled implementation. “As is the case everywhere, the biogas here is used to generate electricity; however, unlike decentralized biogas plants, the heat produced can be almost entirely utilized within the district heating network! This results in very high overall efficiency,” explained Peter Waizenegger, Board Member of e-con AG.

For Airport Managing Director Ralf Schmid—who also serves on the management board of Airport Energiemanagement GmbH—the new facility represents another significant step toward a ground-based energy supply with an increasing share of renewable energy. “Together with our fuel supplier AirBP, we also aim to offer our customers alternative aviation fuels—known as Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)—enabling them to fly from Memmingen with reduced emissions,” Schmid explained. Plans are also in place to offer hydrogen as an additional renewable fuel in the future. Economics Minister Aiwanger also emphasized that hydrogen could play a major role in the long term. A public hydrogen refueling station for commercial vehicles and passenger cars is already scheduled for 2024. It is partly for this reason that Airport Energiemanagement GmbH was admitted to the Bavarian Hydrogen Alliance last year. Launched by Economics Minister Aiwanger in 2019, the alliance aims to consolidate and expand the strong position held by Bavarian industry and the scientific community in the crucial future field of hydrogen technology.

Press Release Update: September 21, 2026

Information on the energy centre and district heating network:

• Planning: e-con TGA Ingenieure GmbH
• Start of construction: June 2022
• Raw biogas CHP: 1,500 kW (electrical) and 1,700 kW (thermal)
• Buffer tank: 300,000 litres
• Heat generation: approx. 14,000 MWh/year
• Length of district heating network: approx. 7 km
• Water content within the network: approx. 200,000 litres
• Savings of 1,600 tonnes of CO2/year
• Substitution of 650,000 cubic metres of natural gas/year
• Substitution of 650,000 litres of heating oil/year

The new combined heat and power plant was commissioned by Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Hubert Aiwanger (right). Our picture shows him with (from left) Airport Managing Director, Ralf Schmid, Unterallgäu District Administrator, Alex Eder, Health Minister Klaus Holetschek, Andreas Müller, Managing Director of Airport Energiemanagement GmbH, and State Parliament Vice President, Alexander Hold.