Plant Engineering for Agricultural and Agro-Industrial Companies
Spike Renewables operates in the agricultural and agro-industrial sector by providing plant engineering services for production facilities related to raw material processing, product storage, and energy generation in rural environments. Over the years, activities have included olive oil mills, wineries, agro-food processing plants, and energy systems supporting agricultural businesses, with an integrated approach that combines process engineering, plant systems, and sustainability.
Olive Oil Mills and Processing Plants
A significant portion of the work has involved the design and revamping of olive oil mills, both newly built and integrated within existing facilities. The interventions covered the entire plant engineering scope: mechanical process systems, service utilities, thermal and refrigeration systems, ventilation, electrical and special systems. The designed mills feature varying production capacities, ranging from farm-scale plants to facilities capable of processing several hundred kilograms of olives or oilseeds per hour, with complete processing lines including crushing, malaxation, extraction, separation, filtration, and bottling. Particular attention was given to the management of by-products such as pomace and process water, as well as to the design of discharge and wastewater treatment systems, often integrated with dedicated storage and treatment tanks.
Wineries and Climate-Controlled Environments
In the wine sector, Spike Renewables has developed projects for medium- and large-scale wineries characterized by complex requirements for thermo-hygrometric control, ventilation, and energy management. Interventions included heating and cooling plants, HVAC systems serving vinification, aging, and storage areas, as well as air distribution systems designed to ensure temperature uniformity and limited vertical gradients. Adopted solutions include all-air systems, fan-coil and radiator systems, air handling units with heat recovery, and chillers with heat recovery, with total installed capacities in the order of several hundred kilowatts, sized according to treated volumes and seasonal operating conditions.
Utilities, Water, and Wastewater Management
A cross-cutting area of agricultural projects involves the design of plant utilities, with particular attention to water systems and drainage. Activities included water plants with storage capacities of several tens of cubic meters, pressurization units with variable-speed drives, water softening and treatment systems, as well as rainwater collection and reuse systems for irrigation or internal services. Industrial and civil wastewater management was addressed through separate networks, grease traps, Imhoff tanks, storage basins, and biological treatment systems, often designed to operate as hydraulic buffers during seasonal peak loads typical of agricultural processing activities.
Renewable Energy and Agro-Energy Supply Chains
Spike Renewables has also been active in the development of agro-energy supply chains, integrating agricultural facilities with renewable energy generation systems. This includes projects for vegetable oil extraction from oilseeds, cogeneration and trigeneration plants fueled by biomass and pure vegetable oil, as well as district heating systems serving agricultural companies and rural facilities. These solutions enable the valorization of agricultural by-products and local biomass, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and improving energy autonomy for farms, within a circular economy and short supply chain framework.
Added Value of the Approach
Spike Renewables’ approach in the agricultural sector is based on the integration of production processes, technological systems, and energy. Each intervention is developed by considering the specific operational characteristics of the farm, the seasonality of activities, and the need for robust systems that are easy to operate and maintain. The ability to work on plants of different scales—from individual farms to complex agro-industrial facilities—allows proven solutions to be transferred across different contexts while maintaining high standards of reliability and sustainability.