First Dutch BioLNG Plant Opens, Fuel Will Be Available at Shell Stations

(Renewi/Nordsol/NGV Journal) With the press of a button, Dutch king Willem-Alexander officially put into service the first bio-LNG plant of the Netherlands. With this scoop, initiators Nordsol, Renewi and Shell have taken the next step in making road freight transport more sustainable. It is expected that the new plant will produce an estimated 3.4 kilotons of bio-LNG per year, preventing the emission of more than 14.31 kilotons of fossil CO2. This is sufficient for 13 million on-road kilometers.

Nordsol’s bio-LNG plant is built on the site of Renewi in Amsterdam Westpoort. This facility is in part subsidized by the EU (20%), as part of its strategy to decarbonize the road transport. The three initiators each have their own part in the production of biofuel. Renewi collects organic waste throughout the Netherlands, such as expired products from supermarkets. The recycler then processes the waste and converts it into biogas in its own fermenters. Nordsol’s new plant reprocesses the biogas into bio-LNG. Shell makes this bio-LNG available for its customers at LNG service stations in the Netherlands. In addition, during the production of bio-LNG, CO2 is removed from the biogas and liquefied for reuse in greenhouses.

“The use of smart, energy-efficient technology is the basis for a local, circular economy and a healthy business case”, said Jerom van Roosmalen, CEO of Nordsol.

The Netherlands has approximately 260 ‘traditional’ biogas plants. Most of these can be made suitable for the production of bio-LNG. With the technology used by the biogas plant of Renewi in Amsterdam, bio-LNG can also be produced in many other places in the country. The partners expect that thanks to the construction of new plants, the available quantity of bio-LNG will, over the next four years, increase at least tenfold.

“Collaboration of partners within the chain leads to concrete results”, according to Otto de Bont, CEO of Renewi. “This matches our vision on ‘Waste No More’ and also ties in with our commitment to take the lead in producing secondary raw materials from waste streams. By also using bio-LNG itself when collecting this waste, Renewi closes the circle.”

Marjan van Loon, President Director of Shell Netherlands, also commented: “Shell wants to help clients to be more sustainable and makes significant investments in the energy transition. To make this possible, we collaborate with partners like Renewi and Nordsol. Bio-LNG is the next step in making the cargo sector sustainable. Thanks to this collaboration we can offer our customers in the logistics industry a cleaner alternative, starting with road freight transport and, eventually, also maritime transport.” READ MORE