Port of Amsterdam to house world’s largest bio-LNG plant

Dutch supplier of low and zero-carbon fuels Titan has revealed that it is planning to build a liquified biomethane (LBM, also known as bio-LNG) production plant at the Port of Amsterdam which is set to become the largest bio-LNG plant in the world.

As explained, the Dutch company will build the LBM plant able to operate 200,000 tonnes of LBM per year. The plant will be built at its strategic location in the Port of Amsterdam allowing supply to ships and trucks. Important milestones for the project.

Important milestones for the project are the two recent contract signings with biogas producer BioValue for the off-take of all on-site produced biogas, and with Linde Engineering to perform the basic engineering.

BioValue, one of the largest biogas suppliers in the Netherlands, will supply a significant part of the biogas required for the total LBM production.

For this, BioValue will construct a new biogas plant, adjacent to the bio-LNG plant. The remaining biogas will be sourced from other production installations throughout Europe that are connected to the existing gas grid.

Specifically, this hybrid sourcing setup is expected to enable the scale required for impactful decarbonisation of the marine industry, according to the company.

The bulk of the LBM volumes produced by the plant will be supplied to the LBM-powered vessels of Titan’s launching customer.

For the remaining volumes truck refueling stations and industrial customers are also within scope.

“The LBM will substitute fossil fuels, avoiding about a million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions per year, equal to the annual emissions of about 25% of all diesel cars in the Netherlands,” Titan officials stressed.

 “Titan is committed to decarbonise shipping by supplying LBM and any other renewable fuels such as hydrogen-derived methane, also known as E-LNG. Strategic value chain collaborations are paramount to ramping up alternative fuel production to the scale required for shipping. We are proud of the joint efforts with BioValue and look forward to a long-lasting partnership,” Ronald van Selm, CTO at Titan, noted.

“Having the energy transition, circular economy and clean shipping at the core of our sustainability strategy, Port of Amsterdam welcomes the novel renewable fuel plant with full support. We want to reduce emissions in our port area and lead the way in the transition to a sustainable society,” Roon van Maanen, Director Energy & Circular Industry at Port of Amsterdam, concluded.

The project aligns well with EU regulations such as proposed in the Fit-For-55 package and the recently published RePowerEU plans.

Importantly, the project will only source biogas from sustainable feedstocks that are compliant with the latest EU Renewable Energy Directive, and are International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) certified.

Other sustainable integrations in the plant include the capturing and utilisation of the biogenic CO2 side stream, and the hydrogen-ready design. This enables future production of e-methane where the biogenic CO2 is combined with green hydrogen. For this, a connection to the hydrogen backbone planned in the Port of Amsterdam is envisaged.

The plant will be located adjacent to Titan’s berth in the Port of Amsterdam, from whom the land will be leased. The first LBM production is expected in 2025.