Italian engineering firm Ecospray said it has won a new contract from Germany’s Ruhe Group to build more bio-LNG production plants in the country.
To remind, Agrarvereinigung eG Darchau, Ruhe Biogas, and Ecospray recently launched what they say is the first compact bio-LNG plant in Germany.
The plant will have an initial capacity of 3 tons per day and will supply LNG-powered trucks.
Ecospray and the Ruhe Group signed deals back in 2021 and in March 2022 for the construction of six biomethane production plants, three of which will liquefy CO₂.
Now the two firms signed another deal for the construction of three new bio-LNG plants in Germany.
Ecospray, owned by Carnival Corporation’s Costa Cruises, said in a statement it would supply Ruhe Group’s German agricultural company with three complete biomethane production plants, which include pretreatment, biogas upgrading, as well as biomethane liquefaction systems.
The Italian firm did not reveal the price tag of the deal.
Delivery in 2023
According Ecospray, it plans to deliver all three plants, located in Bavaria, in the state of Lower Saxony, and in Brandenburg, in autumn 2023.
The three plants would in total produce about 26.5 tonnes of bio-LNG per day for the heavy-duty transport sector.
Also, this would save up to 50,000 tonnes/year of CO2, Ecospray claims.
While the main market for this “carbon-neutral biomethane product” is the heavy
transport sector, this is not the only application: the fuel can also be used in the maritime
industry, by the latest-generation LNG-powered ships, the firm noted.
Many shipowners, such as Carnival Corporation’s Costa Group, the cruise operator which manages the Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises brands, have expressed an interest in these new fuels
Costa Group is engaged in a “number of projects” which will see biofuels being tested and used on board its ships, Ecospray said.