Infraserv Höchst and Mainova EnergieDienste GmbH, a subsidiary of Mainova AG, intend to establish a project company to build a biomethane-upgrading plant in Industriepark Höchst. The letter of intent was signed by Roland Mohr, COO of Infraserv Höchst; Dieter Gentzcke, Vice President of Legal Affairs at Infraserv; Joachim Zientek and Constantin Alsheimer, Members of the Management Board of Mainova AG; and Rainer Nauerz and Alexander Schurz, Managing Directors of Mainova EnergieDienste GmbH.
A cleaner climate through industrial innovation
"Renewable energy sources are an integral part of Infraserv Höchst's energy strategy," said Roland Mohr, COO of Infraserv Höchst. "By working with an experienced, well-established market player, we will be able to feed biomethane into the public network using technology that we developed to produce biogas from industrial sludge. This project proves once again that manufacturing activities and ecological goals are not mutually exclusive; indeed, industrial innovations can make a significant contribution to protecting our climate."
Only facility of its kind in Germany
The planned facility is also a future-looking project for Joachim Zientek, Member of the Management Board of Mainova: "We're building an innovative, technologically advanced plant. Never before has anyone built a facility of this size with this kind of bio-technology in Germany. Mainova and Infraserv are true pioneers in this regard." Infraserv Höchst will contribute not only the raw biogas but also know-how in large-plant operations, while Mainova EnergieDienste GmbH will provide expertise in conditioning biomethane and feeding it into the public network. "In conditioning, the most important thing is to keep the biomethane's calorific value constant, even as the quality of the raw biogas fluctuates due to the different co-substrates," says Rainer Nauerz, Managing Director of Mainova Energiedienste GmbH. "We feed the final biomethane into the public natural gas network as only one product in our wide range of ecological energy products," says Alexander Schurz, Managing Director of Mainova EnergieDienste GmbH.
Biogas from biosolids and organic waste products
Infraserv Höchst has been running a biogas plant at Industriepark Höchst since 2007, where it generates around 300,000 cubic meters of raw biogas per day from biosolids and co-substrates such as fermentation residues or other organic waste. An important aspect: Unlike many other biogas plants, the facility in Industriepark Höchst does not turn food or agricultural products into biogas. An investment of EUR 15 million was made in this 4 MW biogas plant.
Some of the plant's raw-biogas output will be upgraded to pipeline-quality biomethane in a new plant and fed into the public network in the future. Up to 80,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of biomethane from Industriepark Höchst will help reduce the need for conventional natural gas and lower carbon dioxide emissions at the same time. 80,000 MWh is equal to the annual consumption of 4,000 single-family homes. Biomethane production at Industriepark Höchst is one example of climate protection in action.
Investment of EUR 5 million
Both partners will invest around EUR 5 million in the new plant and the necessary infrastructure. The new plant is scheduled to come on line in 2011. The next step will be to set up a project company in early 2009. The coming year will be spent on planning and licensing, while construction may begin as early as the end of 2009.
Green light for the biomethane-upgrading plant in Industriepark Höchst: Roland Mohr, COO of Infraserv Höchst (front left), and Constantin Alsheimer, Member of the Management Board of Mainova AG (front right), and Joachim Zientek, Member of the Management Board of Mainova AG, Rainer Nauerz and Alexander Schurz, Managing Directors of Mainova EnergieDienste GmbH, and Dieter Gentzcke, Vice President of Legal Affairs at Infraserv Höchst (standing, left to right), signed the letter of intent. © Infraserv GmbH & Co. Höchst KG, 2008.
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