A unit of LNG giant Shell has launched what it says is the largest bio-LNG production plant in Germany.
The new bio-LNG plant is located at Shell’s Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland near the German city of Cologne.
Shell Deutschland (Shell Germany) held on Thursday the opening ceremony attended by government and other officials, as well as customers from the transport industry, it said in a statement.
The firm started building the bio-LNG plant in February 2022 and installed three LNG tanks later the same year. It previously expected to launch the facility by the end of 2023.
In addition to the tanks, the plant has a liquefaction unit, a gas treatment system, as well as truck loading facilities.
The new plant has a capacity of about 100,000 tons and will supply bio-LNG to Shell’s growing network of LNG filling stations in the country.
The quantities produced in the plant can cover the annual needs of around 4000 to 5000 LNG-powered trucks, opening up the possibility of saving up to a million tons of CO2 per year compared to conventional diesel trucks, Shell Germany said.
Shell’s European network includes 90 stations for refueling of LNG trucks, including 36 stations in Germany, it said.
Last year, Shell completed a deal worth nearly $2 billion to buy 100 percent shareholding of Denmark-based biogas producer Nature Energy Biogas.
The firm said it is currently working on building more biogas plants in Germany.