Two biogas plant operators pull together with a new joint venture. Leipzig-based BALANCE Erneuerbare Energien GmbH – a wholly owned subsidiary of VNG AG – and biogas all-rounder EnviTec Biogas AG, based in Lower Saxony, intend to jointly produce and market CO2-free fuel for commercial and heavy-duty transport as independent supplier. The bio-LNG liquefaction plant is planned to be constructed in Brandenburg, near Berlin by the newly established company BALANCE EnviTec Bio-LNG GmbH. In addition to the liquefaction of biomethane, it will have storage tanks and a filling station for tanker trucks.
“With our cooperation, we want to set an important milestone in the decarbonization of the transport sector,” said Olaf von Lehmden, CEO of EnviTec Biogas AG. “We’ve already had inquiries from filling station chains and the logistics industry, as well as from other companies that want to convert their fleets to bio-LNG, which is as low-emission as it gets.”
Thomas Fritsch, Managing Director of BALANCE also commented: “We are pleased to announce that, in future, we will be able to liquefy biomethane in our own facility thus creating bio-LNG, enabling us to bring it to the fuel market. It is only with CO2 neutral fuel that commercial and heavy-duty transport can make its contribution to achieving climate targets.”
The joint venture’s plant will be constructed in accordance with the latest state of the art measures to ensure almost energy-neutral operation and will produce about 100 tons of bio-LNG per day from Q4 2023. These quantities will make it possible to operate an average of up to 1,800 LNG trucks in an environmentally friendly manner annually.
In addition to using self-generated biomethane, BALANCE EnviTec Bio-LNG will purchase biomethane from now on and onwards. Further the joint venture will be able to provide a service option to liquefy biomethane from other biomethane producers. “This means we can either buy the biomethane from plant operators or, provide liquefaction plant capacity in order for them to market the resulting products itself,” added Fritsch.
Source: EnviTec
