EnviTec Biogas expands biomethane segment for carbon-neutral fuel production
- Expansion of own plant operations successfully completed
Climate neutrality in the transport sector is possible. In the form of bio-liquefied natural gas (bio-LNG), the all-rounder biomethane acts as a carbon-neutral fuel alternative that can help reduce emissions, especially in the heavy-duty transport sector.
EnviTec Biogas produces biomethane suitable for use as fuel for precisely this market at its own plants, including those in Güstrow, Forst and Friedland, Germany. The two sites in Forst and Friedland have now been successfully expanded with investments of around €50 MM.
Doubled gas upgrading capacity in Brandenburg. The capacity of the 700-Nm³/hr plant owned and operated by EnviTec Biogas in Forst, Brandenburg, has thus been doubled. Since September 2014, the facility has been supplying around 60,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of green energy, and as of December 2024, the expanded facility now produces double that amount.
In Forst, the bio-LCO2 is stored in two storage tanks, each with a capacity of 250 t, until it is collected. (Photo: EnviTec Biogas AG)
“To achieve this, a new technical building with two mixing lines was constructed, the separation system was converted, and a press cake storage hall with exhaust air cleaning and a new concentrate storage facility were built,” explains Frank Hinken, Managing Director of the own plant operations company in Forst.
Furthermore, a hall for storing dry chicken manure and a biomethane-powered combined heat and power plant (CHP) were built, contributing to the self-supply of electricity and heat. The heat is mainly used for the six digesters, each of which has a volume of 5,800 m³, as well as for the halls and the new administration building. An adjacent property was acquired for the storage of the effluent from the separation, where a total of three manure storage tanks, each with a volume of 15,638 m³, have been built.
“In addition to doubling the gas upgrading capacity, the main focus of the construction work was on the addition of a carbon dioxide (CO2) liquefaction plant, including a new hall,” says Hinken. The approximately 16,000 tons of food-grade LCO2 produced annually in Forst will be purchased by EnviTec’s customer Carbo Kohlensäurewerke GmbH & Co KG, as is already the case in Güstrow.
In addition to Forst, the expansion of the plant in Friedland, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, has also been completed. Over the past twelve months, six new containers, a 433-Nm3/hr EnviThan plant, technical buildings and a dosing system have been constructed at the site. Thanks to the expansion measures, the plant, which has been in operation since 2007, will produce an additional 43 GWh of biomethane per year, available for use in the fuel sector.
The plant in Friedland has undergone extensive expansion since its initial commissioning in 2007. (Photo: EnviTec Biogas AG)
The high investment volume in its own plant operations is a real win-win for Germany’s largest biogas producer and for the biogas market as a whole. “We have experienced steady growth in our own plant operations for years. At the same time, the demand for biomethane and LCO2 has risen sharply,” says Olaf von Lehmden, CEO of the medium-sized company based in Lower Saxony, summing up the strategic decision to expand.
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