Verbio to Commission Iowa Biomethane Project in Fall 2021
by Erin Voegele (Biomass Magazine) German bioenergy producer Verbio Vereinigte BioEnergie AG confirmed on Jan. 29 that its straw-to-biomethane facility under development at the site of Dupont’s former cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa, is expected to begin operations this fall.
The announcement was made in a press released issued by the company regarding its annual general meeting on the 2019-’20 financial year, which ended June 30. In a statement issued in September 2020, Verbio noted the project experienced construction delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Verbio reached an agreement to buy the former cellulosic ethanol plant from DuPont in late 2018. At that time, the company said it intended to install facilities to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) made from corn stover and other cellulosic crops residues at the site. A similar straw-to-RNG project is under development in India.
“The market conditions for our expansion projects in Asia and North America are extremely positive,” said Claus Sauter, CEO of Verbio, in the company’s Jan. 28 statement. “On the one hand, the Indian government is promoting the expansion of gas mobility as a cheap alternative to expensive fossil fuels in the country. On the other hand, it urgently needs and wants to contain the problem of massive air pollution caused by the large-scale burning of waste straw in the fields. Our straw biomethane technology is so far the only concrete answer to both challenges.”
According to Verbio, the climate goals being pursued by the Biden Administration will create a positive framework for the rollout of its straw technology. READ MORE
Verbio to open straw biomethane plants in India, US this year (Bioenergy Insight)
VERBIO commences production of biofuels in Iowa, USA (Verbio)
Excerpt from Bioenergy Insight: Conditions in Germany are developing ‘favourably’ for Verbio, following criticism of the first version of the draft law to implement RED II in Germany.
The new policy provides an increase in the greenhouse gas quota from 6% to 22% as the target for 2030 and defines an ‘attractive’ sub-quota for advanced biofuels, such as biomethane derived from straw. Verbio will increasingly focus on its development and investment activities on biomethane.
“CNG and biomethane from residues and straw are the only available, practicable, and most cost-effective solution for maximum CO2 reduction in truck freight transport,” said Sauter.
Verbio is accelerating the conversion of its own truck fleet. In the meantime, 20 of the 80 Verbio trucks are already running on CNG or biomethane. The entire fleet is to be converted to vehicles with gas and biodiesel drives by the end of 2021. Verbio will add the first LNG vehicles to the fleet in the summer.
The company is also investing more than €10 million in the installation of the corresponding infrastructure to become the largest provider of bio-LNG in the German and European market from the middle of this year.
Sauter also highlighted the future potential of biomethane in industrial applications, with foundations laid by the National Hydrogen Strategy adopted in 2020. In addition to building a corresponding infrastructure for hydrogen, it also promotes the production of green hydrogen, which can be based on either green electricity through electrolysis or the use of biomethane.
“While Verbio is mainly concentrating on the traffic sector with biomethane today, completely different customers from the steel, chemical, and cement industries with huge needs will come to us in the next 10 years,” commented Sauter. “This supports our strategy of increasing independence from the fuel market.
“The question of how long the combustion engine will continue to exist in commercial goods transport does not become a question of survival for Verbio.” READ MORE