Biogas 4.0 is a project of the PSR Lombardia 2014–2020 programme that sets out to develop new cultivation technology based on 4.0 agriculture  to minimise the environmental impact of digestate biogas. The MAPS department, as the project’s scientific manager, will evaluate the efficiency of refuse distribution using the latest precision agriculture technologies, as compared to traditional ones.

The project

Besides MAPS, partners include farms that have made some of their land available for the research—specifically 8 hectares each that are divided into two subdivisions of 4 hectares, respectively. The difference is the check of the characteristics. The first 4 hectares are verified in a traditional way, the other 4 are checked in a 4.0 way. The controls are made thanks to the collection of productive and qualitative biomass data.

The aims of Biogas 4.0 are presented on the official website. They can be summarised as follows:

• Evaluation of economic and environmental impact derived from the use of new precision agriculture; in particular, the subject is the company incoming activity
• Perfecting a cultivation model that maximises the economic output of the companies involved and minimises environmental impact through high-efficiency production
• Disseminating data, both during and at the end of the project, and adopting cultivation and managerial cultivation suggested

The final results enabled recommendations to be made about the reliability and benefits (in terms of the environment and production) of these new waste management technologies.