Alviksgården Optimizes Biogas & Solar with Battery Storage

Alviksgården cuts peak demand, lowers costs and gains full control over energy consumption with Cactos energy storage.

At Alviksgården, just outside Luleå, electricity is produced from biogas made from manure and slaughter waste. But even when you are self-sufficient, there is a challenge: electricity is not always needed when it is produced.

With Cactos energy storage, the farm can store surplus energy and use it at the right time for smoother power demand, lower costs, and full control over consumption.

Summary

Customer: Alviksgården (Mikael Hugosson, CEO)
Industry: Agriculture / Food production
Installed system: 1 x Cactos Yavia. Total capacity: 430 kWh. Power: 184 kW. Installed June 2025.

Benefits of Cactos

More value from self-generated electricity: Store energy when own production creates surplus, use it when demand is highest.

Cut costly peaks: Smooth power demand and avoid unnecessary peak charges when electricity prices are high.

Full real-time control: Monitor consumption and see how the battery operates.

All-inclusive solution: We handle hardware, software, and ongoing service.

Alviksgården: where food and energy are produced

Alviksgården, located just south of Luleå, is one of Sweden’s larger pig farms, with around 900 sows in integrated production and approximately 28,000 pigs produced annually. The farm also operates its own slaughterhouse and meat processing facility: about 1,000 pigs per week, plus around 250 cattle and some lamb.

The challenge: a lot of energy in motion, but not always in sync

Running a large-scale farm and slaughterhouse in northern Sweden requires significant amounts of electricity and heat. Alviksgården has made strong progress in its sustainability journey with a biogas plant producing around 10,000 kWh per day from the farm’s own waste.

The challenge was optimizing this self-produced energy. The need for electricity and hot water is constantly high, but production and consumption do not always occur at the same time.

Cactos Yavia installed outside at Alviksgården, with the CEO and Cactos employee standing in front of it.

Battery storage: the heart of the farm’s energy system

The solution was a pilot installation of a Cactos energy storage system installed on-site, behind the property’s electricity meter. The battery system acts as an intelligent optimizer for the entire property’s electricity use.

When biogas and the farm’s solar panels generate surplus electricity, the battery charges.When the facility reaches consumption peaks, the battery supports the load, smoothing power demand and reducing costs.

Since Cactos develops both hardware and software in-house, Alviksgården receives a secure and stable solution, crucial for operations where downtime is not an option.

Results: more control and lower costs

The goal of the pilot is clear: create greater value from local energy production and make energy costs more predictable.
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Highlighted benefits include:
✔️ Load shifting for a lower average electricity cost
✔️ Real-time data on the farm’s electricity consumption
✔️ Insights from the pilot used to guide decisions of the future, larger energy solutions

“The battery allows us to store energy when we have surplus and use it when we need it most. It smooths out peak demand and stabilizes electricity costs throughout the day. We are very satisfied.”
– Mikael Hugosson, CEO, Alviksgården
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Maximized value from self-generated energy

When biogas and solar panels produce more than needed, energy is stored in the battery. During consumption peaks, the battery supports the load and smooths power demand.

Shift consumption for lower electricity costs

Self-produced electricity is stored when there is a surplus and used at the right time, increasing self-sufficiency and reducing energy costs.

Real-time data on electricity consumption

With Cactos Spine, Alviksgården has full visibility into consumption, production, and battery performance – in real time.

“The battery allows us to store energy when we have surplus and use it when we need it most. It smooths out peak demand and stabilizes electricity costs throughout the day. We are very satisfied.”

Mikael Hugosson, CEO, Alviksgården