16.08.2023 | News
Second-generation straw-based feedstock is an affordable and sustainable option for biogas. The Danish company is piloting its straw-processing solution to support international scale-up.
Nefco – the Nordic Green Bank – has granted loan financing to 2Gen Biofuel Supply ApS to invest in a first-of-its-kind straw briquetting plant which will provide feedstock for the biogas sector. The objective of this pilot and demonstration project in Denmark is to showcase large-scale production of straw-based feedstock and its replication possibilities to support future internationalisation of the company.
“2Gen Biofuel Supply’s solution is timely, as the price and competition for digestible feedstock for biogas is increasing due to energy transition and the need to avoid Russian energy sources. We are excited to support this pilot and demonstration project and are looking forward to seeing this solution expand on international markets,” comments Bo Nyhus, Investment Director, Nefco.
Straw is a crop residue and thus a waste stream from agriculture. Due to its high energy content, it is one of the better-suited feedstocks for biogas production. However, it has so far been under-utilised in the biogas sector because of the previous lack of proper pre-processing, which meant that it could not easily be fed into existing biogas units. It required energy and cleaning of the filters and did not ferment easily in the fermentation tanks.
2Gen Biofuel Supply uses a simple Danish patented mechanical and thermal treatment of straw to solve the above issues and make the straw more digestible for biogas plants, improve handling efficiency and thus offer a new alternative highly valuable feedstock for biogas production.
“We are happy that we finally have the chance to co-finance this project, which we have worked on for a long time, and, in Nefco, we have found a financial partner that focuses on measurable environmental impacts. Together with Nefco, we will deliver our specialised straw briquettes with a calculation of the embedded CO2 to facilitate reporting for our clients’ carbon footprints,” says Carsten G. Møller, Director, 2Gen Biofuel Supply.
During the project, the company will purchase and pre-treat straw, convert it into briquettes and sell them to biogas plants. With an estimated yearly production of 45,000 tons of straw briquettes, the solution has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 15,600 tonnes compared to using natural gas, corresponding to the average annual carbon footprint of 1,902 Danish people [1].
[1] Climate action in Denmark, the European Parliament, February 2021
For more information, please contact:
Bo Nyhus, Investment Director, Nefco
bo.nyhus@nefco.int, +358 10 6180 665
Carsten G. Moeller, Director, 2Gen Biofuel Supply Aps
cgm@altituda.dk, +45 53 53 86 20
About 2Gen Biofuel Supply Aps
2Gen Biofuel Supply is a Danish company that has developed a unique process for producing an efficient second-generation agriculture residue product that will be sold to biogas/biofuel customers in Denmark and Germany.
By cleansing, hammering and briquetting the straw and then applying a thermal treatment process, 2Gen Biofuel Supply produces a uniform bio-briquette with advantages such as reducing the level of sulphur, absorbing 10 times its own weight in liquid and not floating, functioning as a stabiliser that improves the biogas fermentation process and shortening the production cycle, leading to up to 30% more efficient biogas production.
2Gen Biofuel Supply’s straw bio-briquettes deliver a new alternative highly valuable feedstock for biogas/biofuel producers, offering a standard product being more easily digestible for biogas plants and easy to handle.