Bio Energy netherlands
Bio Energy Netherlands focuses on converting sustainable biomass into biogas (syngas). Syngas is used to produce green hydrogen and green CO₂. These are the basic chemicals used in green chemistry and for the creation of bio-fuels.
Mission
Bio Energy Netherlands produces green molecules, such as green hydrogen and green carbon dioxiode, to be used as a resource in chemistry and for transport fuels. We aim to do this by making optimal use of local sustainable residual biomass flows.
Vision
The biggest challenge of the energy transition is finding sustainable alternatives for fossil fuels and resources. For Bio Energy Netherlands, the goal is to produce green molecules that can replace fossil resources in chemistry, industry and transport. Sustainable biomass is a renewable resource that may replace fossil resources on all fronts.
Strategy
Using modular plants, Bio Energy Netherlands gasifies biomass into syngas, which is used to produce green hydrogen and green CO₂ for the chemical sector. Because of the modular structure, Bio Energy Netherlands can respond flexibly to the local demands for its end products:
- Green hydrogen
- Green CO₂
- Green methane (CH4)
We cooperate with public authorities and industrial clients, realising the entire project from planning and financing to construction and operation.
Background
The founders believe that sustainability requires action. Sustainability should be the standard and the foundation of any healthy – profitable – business. Because of this, they, together with a team of likeminded partners, invest in several initiatives that are to accelerate the energy transition. Using the European license for American gasification technology they invest in the Netherlands, supporting their partners with the planning, financing, construction and operation of the plant.
“We assist our partners with decarbonizing their production and/or other activities. We can aid a wide variety of secors with this process, ranging from energy suppliers and the shipping industry, to breweries and greenhouse industries. We help them with the plants, so they may focus on their core business, like we focus on ours.”
Bio Energy Netherlands
Circularity
Bio Energy Netherlands contributes to the energy transition by providing an alternative for energy and molecules from fossil fuels. In addition, Bio Energy Netherlands also aims to support another transition, the transition to a circular economy. In a circular economy resources and products are reused, as opposed to an economy that continuously produces waste, causing an ongoing demand for new resources.
Besides recycling, in order to reduce the amount of biomass waste to a minimum, an optimal usage of all biomass is necessary. This can be achieved by cascading: a tiered approach where at each step the application with the highest added value is chosen. For this reason, the plants of Bio Energy Netherlands don’t use any biomass that was produced exclusively for generating energy or production of molecules. Biomass residuals that are no longer suitable for any other application are used instead. For its wood gasification plant Bio Energy Netherlands utilises non-recyclable wood, which is left over from forestry or demolition. The residual product of the gasification, biochar, can be returned to nature to enrich the soil and absorb CO₂.
By gasifying the wood instead of combusting it, not only are many harmful emissions avoided (much less nitrogen and particulates, amongst others, are emitted), but extra resources can be extracted during the process. As it happens, biomass is not only suitable for replacing fossil fuels in the energy sector, it can also replace them in other sectors and industries. For example, many molecules that are used in chemistry may also be extracted from biomass. For this reason, Bio Energy Netherlands strives to extract green hydrogen and green CO₂ from biomass. This way fossil fuels are no longer required in order to gain these resources, and Bio Energy Netherlands simultaneously contributes to the transitions to renewable energy and a circular economy, as well as a transition to a biobased economy.
Sustainability
The gasification plants of Bio Energy Netherlands use biomass, mainly in the form of residual wood. ‘Biomass’ (in this context) means all organic and biologically degradable materials that may be used as resources or fuel. The use of biomass is only sustainable under the right conditions. This is why the gasifiers of Bio Energy Netherlands exclusively use residual flows, making sure that the biomass was never harvested for the production of energy or molecules.
When untreated residual wood, which can no longer be reused in any other meaningful way, is left to rot, harmful substances are released during its decomposition. This includes methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. Often the material is burned, releasing the CO₂ that was stored in the wood back into the atmosphere. During the gasification of the wood the harmful emissions are minimal. In fact, gasifying the wood at the Bio Energy Netherlands plants, instead of combusting it, leads to net negative CO₂ emissions, because not gasifying this wood would cause more CO₂ emissions.
In order to make the whole process as sustainable as possible it is necessary to look beyond the gasifiers alone. This is because energy is also used during the gathering and delivery of the biomass. For this reason, the plants of Bio Energy Netherlands exclusively make use of regional biomass, limiting the transportation distances to a minimum.
Technology
Bio Energy Netherlands’ first wood gasification plant is located in the port of Amsterdam. This commercial wood gasifier is the first of its kind in the Netherlands. The choice for gasification is deliberate, as this results in 60-70% less nitrogen and particulates emissions compared to incineration. Moreover, gasification has an energy efficiency of 82%, much higher than incineration. From the syngas produced with biomass, green hydrogen and green CO₂ are extracted.
The wood gasification plant initially has two gasification reactors, each with a maximum capacity of 6MW. This capacity can be expanded. ‘Stratified Fixed Bed Downdraft Gasifiers’, developed by the American Net Zero Hydrogen (formerly ZeroPoint Clean Tech), were chosen as reactor type. Net Zero Hydrogen’s patented gasification technology makes it possible to produce syngas with an extremely low tar content on a commercial scale. An inherent advantage of fixed-bed gasification reactors is that the resulting gas hardly contains any tar, as opposed to many other types of gasification reactors. This increases efficiency, as tar is difficult and costly to remove from the syngas afterwards. Until now, however, the production capacity of this type of gasification reactor has been limited due to scale constraints. Net Zero Hydrogen has succeeded in significantly increasing the size of the reactor and thus its production capacity, making this type of gasification reactor suitable for the commercial-scale gasification of biomass.
The wood to be gasified is supplied from the region, it is exclusively non-recyclable wood, which has no other possible destination (eg. prunings). Before the wood enters the reactor, it is first dried and shredded. The wood chips are then put into the reactor at the top, where the biomass is heated under low-oxygen conditions. The resulting gas is called ‘syngas’ (synthesis gas), which consists mainly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The syngas leaves the gasification reactor at the bottom, leaving the remaining residues behind. These residues in the form of ‘activated carbon’ (biochar) can be used as a soil improver, among other things. Before the syngas is used, it is first cleaned with a water scrubber and a bag house filter, which filter out most of the residues and fine dust.
The syngas has many different applications. The wood gasification plant extracts hydrogen and CO₂ from the syngas using the Water-Gas-Shift reaction, molecules which can be used for transport fuels and in chemistry, among other things. During this process, the syngas will also be desulphurised.
Net Zero Hydrogen’s innovative technique has been assessed by the Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), the most important research institute in the field of energy in the Netherlands, and is considered proven from a technological point of view. The technique has previously been tested and optimised in various demonstration projects. Bio Energy Netherlands is using the technique for the first time on a commercial scale.
Bio Energy Netherlands is developing a second project in the north of The Netherlands (Bio Fuel Groningen, located in Delfzijl, production start planned for 2024) which will combine the H2 and CO2 in the similarly produced syngas into methane (CH4), for application as grid-quality biogas (Bio-SNG). For the conversion of the syngas to Bio-SNG, proven methanation technology by MAN Energy Systems is used. Audi is using the same technology in Germany for synthetic natural gas (SNG) production, but with a different feedstock. The unique integration of both technologies is designed by professor Harald Klein at the Technical University of Munich. This is a larger scale project than Amsterdam.
Society
The energy transition is initiated for a better future. Such a profound change brings challenges, which Bio Energy Netherlands meets in multiple areas.
The port of Amsterdam is an important transhipment port for coal. When the energy transition results in a decreased demand for coal, parts of the port will need to be revised. Bio Energy Netherlands’ first gasification plant can be part of a solution, for when it produces molecules for the chemical industry, the port of Amsterdam can become an interesting location for chemical business to cluster.
Meanwhile, the gas extraction in Groningen is gradually being stopped. Heat production forms the majority of the Dutch energy demands, with natural gas being its main fuel. Bio Energy Netherlands plants can deliver sustainable biogas to existing gas infrastructure, partially compensating for the reduced supply of natural gas from Groningen.
Media
Bio Energy Netherlands plant in Amsterdam is operational since 10 january 2022
Bio Energy Netherlands’ plant in the port of Amsterdam has been operational since 10 January 2022, is fully staffed and produces sustainable syngas 24/7.
Global first in hydrogen production from biowaste
16 November 2023
Bio Energy Netherlands’ gasification plant in the port of Amsterdam has been able to separate hydrogen from syngas, producing pure hydrogen from biowaste. This is the first time worldwide that pure hydrogen (99.999%) has been extracted from this form of ‘biowaste’. The plant has already been supplying green power and heat to a local heat network since early 2022.
Due to the high purity of the hydrogen, it can be used as a renewable fuel in cars and buses, or as a feedstock for chemical processes. After scaling up, production can be increased to over 4,500,000 kilograms per year, enough to supply 100 cars per hour.
The project is made possible in part by the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) and the AKEF (Amsterdam Climate & Energy Fund).
For more information, read the full press release.
contact
Bio Energy Netherlands BV
Keizersgracht 534-6
1017 EK Amsterdam
The Netherlands
info@bioenergynetherlands.nl