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Titan has announced plans to produce 200,000 tonnes of liquefied biomethane (LBM) per year in the Port of Amsterdam.

The independent supplier of low and zero-carbon fuels – formerly ‘Titan LNG’, but it was rebranded in June – has signed contracts with biogas producer BioValue for the exclusive off-take of all on-site produced biogas, and Linde Engineering to perform basic engineering.

BioValue, one of the largest biogas suppliers in the Netherlands, will supply a significant part of the biogas required for the total LBM production, and will construct a new biogas plant, next to the LBM plant.

The remaining biogas will be sourced from other production installations throughout Europe that are connected to the existing gas grid.

This hybrid sourcing setup enables the scale required for impactful decarbonisation of the marine industry.  The bulk of the LBM volumes produced by the plant will be supplied to the LBM-powered vessels of Titan’s launching customer.

For the remaining volumes, truck refuelling stations and industrial customers are also within scope. The LBM will substitute fossil fuels, avoiding about 1m tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions per year, equal to the annual emissions of about 25% of all diesel cars in the Netherlands.

The project aligns with EU regulations such as proposed in the Fit-For-55 package and the recently published RePowerEU plans. The plant will be located adjacent to Titan’s berth in the Port of Amsterdam, from whom the land will be leased. Producing LBM in the most sustainable way is a key project target and has been integrated throughout the plant’s design. The project will only source biogas from sustainable feedstocks that are compliant with the latest EU Renewable Energy Directive, and are International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) certified.

Other sustainable integrations in the plant include the capturing and utilisation of the biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) side stream, and the hydrogen-ready design. This enables future production of e-methane where the biogenic CO2 is combined with green hydrogen.

For this, a connection to the hydrogen backbone planned in the Port of Amsterdam is envisaged. Ronald van Selm, CTO at Titan, said Titan is committed to decarbonise shipping by supplying LBM and any other renewable fuels such as hydrogen-derived methane (also known as E-LNG).

He said, “Strategic value chain collaborations are paramount to ramping up alternative fuel production to the scale required for shipping.” Ids Schaap, CEO at BioValue, said it has six production sites in the Netherlands and through this project, will “climb the circularity ladder” to on-site production of advanced biofuels.” Roon van Maanen, Director Energy & Circular Industry at Port of Amsterdam, said having the energy transition, circular economy and clean shipping at the core of its sustainability strategy, Port of Amsterdam welcomes the novel renewable fuel plant with full support.

He said, “We want to reduce emissions in our port area and lead the way in the transition to a sustainable society.”

Titan, Attero and Nordsol were awarded €4.3m funding in December 2021 to fund a bio-LNG plant.

The FirstBio2Shipping project, set to be completed in 2023, will achieve a decentralised production of bio-LNG designated for usage in the maritime industry.

The plant will produce around 2,400 tonnes/year of bio-LNG, located at the Attero facility in Wilp, the Netherlands.

Dominic Ellis is Deputy Editor of gasworld and H2 View. Dominic, who joined the company in August 2022, has more than 25 years’ editorial experience, working across a wide range of business magazines and websites in the UK and the Middle East.