In Germany, energy service provider energielenker Group and the Swiss cleantech company Hitachi Zosen Inova AG have founded a joint venture company in Blankenhain that will build a bioLNG plant at an existing biogas plant. The bioLNG and the associated greenhouse gas quotas will be fed into the German fuel market and thus contribute to the decarbonization of the transport sector.
Formed in mid-April 2022, the Blankenhain Verflüssigungs GmbH joint venture company will modernize and convert the wet fermentation biogas plant already operated by energielenker in Blankenhain, Thuringia.
By the end of 2023, the retrofitted and upgraded plant will be producing 3 700 tonnes per annum of liquefied biomethane (bioLNG) destined for the transportation sector.
The newly established company will also enable the two owners to further develop their portfolios with the support of each other and thus increase their contribution to decarbonization.
Produce bioLNG and green carbon dioxide
The energielenker Group has been successfully operating a wet fermentation plant at the Blankenhain site in Thuringia since 2011.
The plant was built by what was then Schmack Biogas (now HZI Schmack GmbH). Biomethane is produced here on the basis of renewable raw materials and fed into the grid. This classic plant concept is now to be further developed.
To this end, the plant’s substrate feed will be changed to almost 100 percent residual feedstocks such as liquid manure, dung, and other waste materials from agriculture and food production.
In addition, the old biogas upgrading plant will be replaced by a modern amine scrubber from HZI and will receive additional systems for biomethane and carbon dioxide (CO2) liquefaction as well as for generating its own electricity and heat by means of a combined heat and power (CHP) plant.
From the almost 58 GWh per annum of sustainable raw biogas, approximately in the future, approximately 3 700 tonnes of biogenic liquefied gas will be produced annually for the fuel market.
In addition, around 4 000 tonnes of liquid biogenic CO2 will be produced as a by-product.
This refinement of biogas goes hand in hand with a considerable greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction: more than 20 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents (CO2eq) can be claimed and sold in the form of GHG quotas under the new German legislation.
GHG reduction a driver
According to the companies, it is these reductions in GHGs, which are calculated and traded in the form of GHG quotas, that make it possible to invest in the cryogenic liquefaction technology needed for the process.
The basis for this is the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), which imposes concrete obligations on member states, such as making the fuel mix increasingly green.
In Germany, this goal is implemented by means of a system of greenhouse gas reduction quotas within the Federal Immission Control Act.
The law obliges distributors of fossil fuels to reduce their CO2 footprint by 25 percent by 2030. This circumstance has recently triggered considerable demand for sustainable biofuels and the associated GHG quotas.
Complementary partnership
In addition to its headquarters in Münster, energielenker has 11 other office locations throughout Germany. The Group is an accomplished provider of comprehensive and innovative energy concepts and consulting services for countries, cities, and municipalities.
It also is an operator of biomethane cogeneration plants for institutions such as hospitals, universities, or charitable facilities. In addition, the energielenker Group owns and operates a biogas portfolio comprising 45 plants.
The further development of this biogas portfolio with innovative solutions such as bioLNG and liquid CO2 is more topical than ever.
The partnership with Hitachi Zosen Inova in the newly founded company is not limited to the specific bioLNG project in Blankenhain, but opens up the option of cooperating with one of the leading suppliers in this field to offer our existing and new customers more advanced solutions that clearly go beyond the concept stage, said Henner Paskarbies, Managing Director of energielenker Green Energy.
For HZI and its subsidiary HZI BioMethan (HZIBM) in Zeven, Germany, the founding of the company with energielenker is the first important step towards gaining a foothold in the home market of Germany with the new liquefaction solutions.
Joining forces with energielenker in this project is an ideal case for us. On the one hand, with energielenker we have an extremely experienced biogas plant operator and thus reliable raw biogas supplier at our side as a partner and co-investor. On the other hand, we can already think about further-reaching technology solutions – both for this and for other energielenker sites, as well as for third-party customers, explained Jens Becker, Managing Director of HZI BioMethan.
According to the implementation plan, the construction of the plant in Blankenhain is to begin this year, so that pure bioLNG can then be produced towards the end of 2023.
