EnviTec completes Bio-LNG Plant in Germany

The bio-liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant that EnviTec Biogas AG is developing in northeastern Germany has hit the testing phase and will start up this summer, the company said.

EnviTec indicated that the BioEnergie Park Guestrow facility was "Germany`s largest integrated bio-LNG plant with bio-CO2 liquefaction."

It is capable of producing up to 25,000 kg of bio-LNG every day, which heavy-duty cars can use. The company in the town of Lohne said, "This will provide green fuel for more than 50,000,000 lorry kilometers (31,068,550 miles) per year."

In a statement, Frank Hinken, the managing director of EnviTec Bioenergie Guestrow GmbH, said that the plant`s production is based on a cycle economy model.

"The innovative EnviThan gas upgrading process takes the raw biogas made at BioEnergie Park Guestrow and makes it as good as natural gas," EnviTec said. "The CO2-enriched permeate (exhaust air) from the gas treatment process has a very small amount of methane and is sent to the CO2 liquefaction plant (LCO2 plant) for more treatment. It is used to make carbon dioxide in liquid form."

Hinken said that the bio-CO2 can be used to make food and drinks and in gardens.

"The off-gas from liquefying CO2, which includes non-condensable gases like nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen, is sent to the site`s combined heat and power plants, where it is used to make energy for self-supply," EnviTec said.

"The liquid carbon dioxide, which is made at food quality at a rate of 15,000 metric tons per year, replaces carbon dioxide made from fossil fuels, which makes the plant`s CO2 footprint much smaller," the report said.

According to the EU climate promise that was given to the United Nations on December 18, 2020, Germany and the European Union have agreed to cut CO2 emissions from large trucks by 30 percent by 2030 compared to what they were in 2019 and 2020.

The EU is giving money to an industry network run by Shell PLC to make bio-LNG. The initiative`s website says, "BioLNG EuroNet will help decarbonize heavy duty road transport across Europe by building a European Network for LNG covering the key Commercial Road Transport routes from southern Spain to eastern Poland. This network will be used to show the commercial scale deployment of BioLNG made from waste and residues."

Shell says that all of the bio-LNG it makes comes from renewable biomass sources and fuel. It tested this product in Germany in 2021 before putting it on a wider scale. "Three months into the pilot, the results have shown that Shell BioLNG can reduce CO2 emissions more than the EU goal of at least a 55% reduction by 2030," the British global energy giant says on its website.