In Germany, three companies are pooling their expertise in a joint venture to produce bioLNG for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs). Once fully operational, the REEFUELERY plant will have an annual capacity of around 63 000 tonnes of bioLNG making it the second largest plant of its kind in the world to date.
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REEFUELERY GmbH is a recently formed joint venture of filling station operator and Avanza Group subsidiary Alternoil GmbH, energy service provider Erdgas Südwest GmbH, and its biomethane (aka renewable natural gas – RNG) marketing subsidiary bmp greengas GmbH.
The joint venture will produce liquefied biomethane (bioLNG), branded as “REEFUEL”, as part of Alternoil’s decarbonization strategy and offering to heavy-duty vehicles.
REEFUEL can be used in any LNG-fuelled truck and contributes significantly to the decarbonization of heavy-duty transport. The construction of the liquefaction plant will reduce carbon dioxide emissions along the entire supply chain, thereby effectively using economies of scale, said Jürgen Muhle, CEO, of the Avanca Group.
Strategic site selected
The joint venture has already acquired a site for the liquefaction plant in Burghaun near Fulda. Burghaun was chosen on account of its central location, the optimal connection to Alternoil’s filling station network, and its direct access to the Mitte-Deutschland Anbindungs-Leitung (MIDAL), one of Germany’s largest gas pipelines.
These site advantages enable the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions along the entire value chain and allow economies of scale to be used effectively.
As a climate municipality, we can be part of a project that makes a significant contribution to limiting harmful CO2 emissions in heavy goods traffic, commented Dieter Hornung, Mayor of Burghaun when the site was announced in late April 2022.
EPC selected
REEFUELERY has selected Bilfinger Engineering & Maintenance, a subsidiary of international industrial services provider Bilfinger SE (Bilfinger), to provide engineering procurement, and construction (EPC) services as well as piping construction expertise.
The plant is anticipated to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
Bilfinger has immense potential to actively shape the energy transition in industry. We are looking forward to helping REEFUELERY implement its first German-based bioLNG plant. The plant is a model for the circular economy and will help ensure that Germany reduces its dependence on fossil fuels, said Dr Thomas Schulz, CEO of Bilfinger Group.
The bioLNG plant is made up of a large number of individual parts, including components for cleaning and liquefying the gas, pumps, storage tanks, and devices for filling tanker trucks.
Because gas liquefaction involves working with extremely low temperatures, the piping must be designed to withstand operating temperatures as low as minus 196 degrees Celsius and be fitted with special insulation.
Bilfinger has previously proven to be a competent and reliable partner for us on other projects. We are delighted that we can once again rely on Bilfinger’s expertise in plant construction for the construction of our bioLNG plant, said Jürgen Muhle.
Finnish liquefaction technology
The liquefaction plant is being supplied by the Finnish technology group Wärtsilä Oyj and will be aligned to the most efficient standards for almost climate-neutral operation.
The liquefaction plant consists of gas treatment, a liquefaction unit, and a storage and loading unit.
Wärtsilä has already been a valuable partner in other projects. We are very pleased that we can now once again draw on Wärtsilä’s extremely precious expertise for the REEFUELERY, said Frank Erben, Managing Director of REEFUELERY and Investment Manager of Erdgas Südwest.
Utilizing pipeline delivery, bmp greengas will buy the required volumes of biomethane (RNG). As a service provider, it will manage the biogas register verification of the biomethane quantities and qualities when it is fed into the gas grid.
In the liquefaction unit, the biomethane feed gas is liquefied using a heat exchanger at a temperature of -162 degrees Celsius. The plant will have the capacity to produce 180 tonnes of bioLNG per day.
Decarbonization solutions are at the front and centre of Wärtsilä’s strategies, and we are delighted to support REEFUELERY in the realization of their first German biomethane liquefaction plant. It is a prime circular economy model. Our unmatched in-house expertise and vast experience in the process design, engineering, fabrication, and delivery of gas liquefaction plants, as well as mature gas treatment solutions prior to liquefaction, form a solid foundation for building a sustainable future, commented Walter Reggente, VP, Wärtsilä Gas Solutions.
Expanding nationwide distribution
The finished bioLNG product will be delivered to the Alternoil filling stations by Paneuropa Transport GmbH using tank containers.
Paneuropa’s intermodal logistics concept enables further CO2 savings when the climate-neutral fuel is distributed to the Alternoil filling station network.
We are optimizing the scaling of bioLNG quantities and are independent of fossil fuels. Furthermore, we cover the entire value chain – from our own liquefaction in the REEFUELERY, the intermodal logistics concept to the nationwide filling station infrastructure, remarked Jürgen Muhle.
Alternoil is actively involved in the expansion of a nationwide LNG and bioLNG filling station network. Since the end of 2020, Alternoil has also been offering its REEFUEL brand – bioLNG and eLNG – at its 36 refueling locations in addition to LNG and expects to have a total of 60 locations commissioned by the end of 2022.
BioLNG will play an important role in the future, on the one hand as a climate-neutral fuel, but also as a renewable fuel in regions without a supply infrastructure and dependent on fossil fuels, concluded Ralf Biehl, Managing Director of Erdgas Südwest.
