Wärtsilä to build CO2-neutral bio-LNG plant in Germany

The Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply and build a plant for the production of CO2-neutral liquid transport fuels.

The plant will liquefy gas from the natural gas grid to produce carbon-neutral LNG. It will have a capacity of approximately 100,000 tons per year and will be located in Cologne, Germany, Wärtsilä said in its statement.

“The use of LNG as an emissions-reducing fuel in the marine and transportation industries is already well established, and to introduce bioLNG which can be mixed with LNG is the next obvious step in enabling a CO2-neutral transportation fuel,” said Antti Kuokkanen, VP Gas Solutions.

The feedstock for bioLNG is based on biological waste material e.g. liquid manure and food waste. The feedstock is fed to an anaerobic digestion reactor that produces biogas, which is then upgraded to biomethane and injected into the natural gas grid.

Green gas certificates are issued along with the injected biomethane, which then permits operators at other locations, such as liquefaction plants producing bioLNG, to buy the certificates and utilize the biomethane.

The Wärtsilä scope for this project includes the engineering, the civil works, installation, and commissioning of the plant. The plant will include a gas treatment system based on Wärtsilä’s Puregas CA technology, a liquefaction unit utilizing Wärtsilä’s Semi-Dual Brayton technology, storage tanks, truck filling stations, and all necessary safety flare and auxiliary equipment.

The plant is expected to be fully operational by autumn 2022, Wärtsilä said.