MeTech, a startup specializing in livestock methane gas research, announced on the 16th that it has introduced methane capsules, a livestock methane gas measurement system, for the first time in Korea at the Lee Hyun farm in Haenam, Jeollanam-do, and started a low-carbon Korean beef certification standardization project in earnest.
Lee Hyun Farm in Haenam-gun is a representative low-carbon farm in Korea that has received low-carbon certification from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. In particular, it has unique technology for low-carbon, eco-friendly (HACCP, organic livestock, and animal welfare) Korean beef.
According to Metec, “As a result of testing livestock cattle managed at the Haenam Ihyeon Farm by injecting methane capsules, it proved that twice less methane gas was produced than the existing farm cattle.”
Methane gas from cattle is very serious. It is known that the ability to trap heat with greenhouse gases that are 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide is up to 80 times more powerful.
Metec succeeded in developing a “Methane Capsule,” an equipment that can measure (detect) methane gas (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) generated inside the cow’s stomach, and succeeded in developing a methane reduction capsule that reduces methane gas (CH4) generated inside the cow and provides data necessary for low-carbon certification.
Lee Hang-rim, farm owner of Haenam Low Carbon Farm, said, “We are raising cattle with official low-carbon certification from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Metec’s methane capsule allows real-time methane gas emissions to be known with the naked eye, which is very helpful for farmers to manage growth,” he said.
Metec, which is in its second year of business, has signed contracts to supply methane capsules to five countries, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Arkea Bio, Brazil’s Embrapa (Embrapa, Brazil’s Agricultural Cooperation Agency), Tendencia Agronegócios, Australia’s Rumin8, the Netherlands’ Royal Agrifirm Group, and the U.K. Agrimin.
CEO Park Chan-mok of Metec said, “80% of greenhouse gases emitted from domestic livestock industries are methane gas generated from cows’ intestines. Metec’s methane capsule is the only technology that can accurately measure and manage this. Starting with the Lee Hyun farm, the goal is to certify 1,000 heads of low-carbon Korean beef in Haenam within this year. Soon, we will unveil standards for methane gas emissions nationwide to set new standards for low-carbon livestock. We will also actively participate in the programa Selo Verde Brasil of the Japanese and Brazilian governments by using methane gas measurement data from Ihyeon Farm. It will be introduced in Estado de Goíás, Brazil, he said.
