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Shell Ventures invests in Dutch bioLNG tech developer Nordsol

In the Netherlands, bio-liquefied natural gas (bioLNG) technology developer Nordsol has announced that it has brought Shell Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of global energy major Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell), on as a strategic investor to support its mission to enable the energy transition by making bioLNG a mainstream renewable fuel option.

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In the Netherlands, bio-liquefied natural gas (bioLNG) technology developer Nordsol has announced that it has brought Shell Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of global energy major Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell), on as a strategic investor to support its mission to enable the energy transition by making bioLNG a mainstream renewable fuel option.

A privately-held company Nordsol uses biogas from organic waste streams to produce bioLNG, or liquified biomethane. With its unique proprietary technology, Nordsol says it offers a “cost-competitive solution” for the long-haul, heavy-duty transport sector with a pathway to net-zero emissions.

Nordsol’s new business concept combines its patented bioLNG technology with long term bioLNG offtake agreements with key liquefied natural gas (LNG) traders, offering a new “end-to-end” bioLNG solution and solid monetization route for biogas producers. With the goal of producing 25 000 tonnes of bioLNG by 2023, the company wants to make bioLNG a product that is widely available at an “affordable” price.

With the concept of building, owning, operating, and maintaining bioLNG facilities, Nordsol will bridge the gap between waste management and the transport fuel market. The Shell Ventures minority investment will help fund Nordsol’s expansion from a technology company into the full business concept of building, owning, operating, and maintaining bioLNG plants together with biogas production partners.

The Nordsol-Shell partnership offers a unique end-to-end BioLNG solution for biogas producers. The Shell Ventures investment will help to scale the technology and build a material business with impact. Nordsol and Shell want to play a leading role towards a zero-emission transport market and this partnership could provide a breakthrough solution, said Mattijs Slee, Shell Ventures Investment Principal.

Although the value of the investment has not been disclosed, Shell Ventures co-invests with other corporate investors and venture capital funds in both early-stage and late-stage (growth capital) companies, generally investing US$2 million – US$20 million over the life cycle of the deal.

Opportunity for biogas plants to reach higher-value markets

According to Nordsol, bioLNG has significant environmental advantages versus diesel and other available biofuels, making it the fuel of choice for the long-haul, heavy-duty transport sector. It has reduced carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM), and engine sound emissions, and the Nordsol technology creates a pathway to net-zero emissions immediately with bioLNG as a 100 percent substitute to fossil LNG.

Our BioLNG proposition, based on smart, integrated technologies and a guaranteed BioLNG offtake, will provide a clean and valuable alternative for waste management. With Shell Ventures as our partner, we will combine our resources to make BioLNG mainstream. It is the combination of Shell Ventures and Nordsol that will help enable LNG as the future energy source for the heavy transport sector. We look forward to healthy cooperation, said Jerom van Roosmalen, a founding partner at Nordsol.

In addition to the benefits of bioLNG, the Nordsol process separates carbon dioxide (CO2) for supply to consumers, resulting in a significantly reduced CO2 footprint.

With renewable power, bioLNG is practically CO2 neutral due to the use of industrial organic waste as a resource.  In addition, Nordsol captures the biogenic process CO2 for use to displace industrial use of CO2 produced by burning natural gas, which makes the bioLNG carbon emission negative. With the Nordsol bioLNG solution, the function of biogas is upgraded to the next level of decarbonization, supporting a more environmentally friendly form of LNG along with a reduction of our carbon footprint. It will help to reduce well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions and so provide economic and environmental benefits for truck owners and operators. The unique Nordsol technology, branded as iLNG, simplifies the conventional production methods into a less complex process scheme, making the process for the scale of biogas economically viable, said Jerom van Roosmalen.

The growing LNG fueling station network and fleets of LNG powered trucks and ships create higher-value markets for biogas than the production of power or grid feed-in that is the norm today. Nordsol is aiming for partnerships with existing biogas producers to rollout the bioLNG facility network in Europe.

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