7 March 2023 A flagship project for the transition to sustainable transport: the order from Ohra Energie GmbH means Lower Saxony-based biogas all-rounder EnviTec Biogas AG will now implement its innovative gas upgrading technology as a single-stage process for the first time. "We developed this innovative approach together with our customer," explains Jürgen Tenbrink, CTO at EnviTec Biogas and responsible for project research, who also reports that the EnviThan gas upgrading plant constructed in Saerbeck has just left production and is now headed for Thuringia Germany.

The project encompasses a single-stage gas upgrading plant that is operated with only five SEPURAN® Green Membranes.The purified methane is then fed directly to the CNG filling station. The remaining residual gas stream, consisting of methane and CO2, known as the 'permeate', is used thermally.This additional heat can be deployed for heating the digester or used in dairy cattle operations. "Since all of the gas is used as clean energy, no methane slip is discharged into the atmosphere," says Volkmar Braune, CTO at Ohra Energie GmbH. The raw gas is sourced from an existing 400 kW biogas plant run by Agra GmbH Frohndorf/Orlishausen in Sömmerda.

Focus on plant sustainability

The second step in this joint project plan is an integrated CNG compressor and storage unit, including a dual fuel pump, for a filling station located in the Frohndorf district of Sömmerda. Apart from cooler, fuel pump and card payment point, all of the components are housed in a single container. "Although we kept the size of the container as a 45-foot unit, we've redesigned the interior from scratch compared with our conventional, three-stage EnviThan process," explains Stefan Laumann, Head of the Gas Upgrading Department at EnviTec Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG.

This is the first time that EnviTec Biogas sources the CNG compressor, cylinder bundle storage, fuel pump and gas upgrading screw compressor from one provider, which also minimises service costs. Laumann: "We also want our customers to be able to benefit from our long-standing cooperation with BAUER." "For routine maintenance in the future, just one appointment is needed, which helps to guarantee long-term plant operations," comments Volkmar Braune from Ohra Energie.

The shared project was initiated following the completion of a feasibility study on the regional generation and use of biogas as a fuel ('RUM' - regional, environmentally friendly and mobile). "We completed the groundwork back in September 2021 in Fröttstädt, and the project will now be completed with the implementation of a small-scale biogas upgrading plant featuring direct integration with a CNG/biogas filling station," Braune continues. "We received funding from Thüringer Aufbaubank for both the feasibility study and the demonstration project. Without this support, a pilot project of this kind would simply have been economically impractical."

Stefan Laumann: "Thanks to this CNG filling station, we will soon have filled yet another gap on the map of CNG filling stations in Germany." Currently, more than 760 CNG filling stations are usable across Germany, of which roughly 80% (660) offer bio-CNG. In Thuringia, only about 25 CNG filling stations have been completed to date. For more information, please visit: https://www.cng-club.de/cng_tankstellen_deutschland_europa

About EnviTec Biogas AG
EnviTec Biogas AG covers the entire value chain for the production of biogas, including the planning and turnkey construction of biogas plants and biogas upgrading plants as well as their commissioning.The company takes charge of biological and technical services on demand, and also offers operational management services. EnviTec operates 75 of its own plants, making it one of the largest biogas producers in Germany. EnviTec's business interests also include the direct marketing of upgraded biomethane as well as the marketing of electricity and balancing energy. The company is represented in 16 countries worldwide by its own companies, sales offices, strategic partners and joint ventures. In 2021, the EnviTec Group generated revenue of EUR 262.4 million and EBT of EUR 23.3 million. The Group currently employs about 600 people worldwide. EnviTec Biogas AG has been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since July 2007.

Contact:
Katrin Hackfort
EnviTec Biogas AG
Tel.: +49 25 74 88 88 - 810
Email: k.hackfort@envitec-biogas.de

About Ohra Energie GmbH
Ohra Energie (until 2012: Ohra Hörselgas) is a regional gas and electricity utility that was formed in 1991. The company's head office is located in Fröttstädt. Ohra Energie supplies customers in a region encompassing approximately 844 km², stretching from Mihla in the north to Unterellen in the west, Wandersleben in the east and down to Luisenthal in the south of Thuringia, and which is criss-crossed by the waterways of Ohra, Hörsel, Apfelstädt, Nesse and Werra.
Since its formation, Ohra Energie has been expanding the gas grid in many communities within its concession area while simultaneously focusing on modernising the existing supply network. As of this writing, 70 communities are supplied with natural gas or liquefied gas by Ohra Energie. Alongside conventional gas grid operations and energy trading, Ohra Energie has been active in the field of renewable energy since 2009, and operates two of its own biogas upgrading plants, as well as multiple CNG filling stations.

Contact:
Anne-Kathrin Habermann
Ohra Energie GmbH
Phone: +49 3622 621 124
Email: anne-kathrin.habermann@ohraenergie.de

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EnviTec Biogas AG published this content on 07 March 2023 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 07 March 2023 13:43:01 UTC.