‘Largest’ bio-LNG plant opened in Germany

Shell said it started the largest plant for the production of bio-LNG in the Rhineland. (Image: Shell)

Shell Deutschland has opened a bio-LNG plant that the company said is the largest of its kind in Germany.

The plant in the Energy and Chemicals Park Rhineland can produce around 100,000 tons of the lower-CO 2 fuel annually. The transport sector plays a significant role in Shell’s corporate strategy to create more value with fewer emissions. With the commissioning of the bio-LNG plant in the south of Cologne, an important part of Shell’s decarbonization ambitions for heavy-duty transport will become reality.

“We want to serve the entire value chain for bio-LNG,” said Felix Faber, Managing Director of Shell Germany. “To this end, Shell has already set up a Europe-wide network with 90 filling stations for refueling LNG trucks, including 36 stations in Germany. In 2022, we purchased Europe’s largest producer of biomethane from Denmark, NatureEnergy, and are currently working on building additional plants in Germany. With the liquefier in the Rhineland, we are not only driving forward the transformation of the location, but are also adding another important component to the value chain.”

Biomethane is a sustainable gas that is obtained from agricultural waste (manure, liquid manure or organic residues). In the new plant in the Rhineland, the gas is liquefied and delivered to the Shell LNG stations where customers refuel.

Shell’s goal is to become a net-zero carbon company by 2050. The focus of this transformation is on activities that reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions.

Shell is investing significantly in low- and carbon - free products and offerings such as green hydrogen, wind and solar power, the development of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and biofuels. It is important to manage the trilemma of energy security – energy costs – transition to climate-friendly energy. Road freight transport is responsible for around nine percent of global CO 2 emissions and is expected to triple by 2050. However, the entire transportation sector is difficult to decarbonize. That’s why Shell is expanding its strengths in molecules with lower CO 2 emissions, such as bio-LNG for truck fuels.

The gas liquefaction plant put into operation in Cologne contains, in addition to a liquefaction unit, a gas processing system, storage tanks, truck loading and the necessary safety flares.

Shell Germany operates over 30 LNG filling stations along the main road freight transport routes.