Air Liquide fortifies its role as world leader in biogas purification

Whether it is a matter of cars or heavy vehicles, transportation has been for a long time, and still is today, undoubtedly responsible for a very significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions considering the preponderance of fossil fuels it generates. It is therefore not surprising that today more and more alternative fuels are put in place, such as electricity, hydrogen, and bio-NGV (renewable natural gas for vehicle). It is in this spirit that the French company Air Liquide fortifies its role as world leader in biogas purification with a € 12 million investment for a dozen new biogas purification units in Europe.

Air Liquide in Europe and worldwide

Founded in 1902, Air Liquide is a multinational company that boasts itself as being the world leader in gases, technologies, and services for industry and health. Therefore, it is not surprising that the company is present in over 80 countries and that it has generated revenues exceeding € 16 billion in 2015. Towards the end of 2014, Air Liquide began the repatriation of its entire biogas value chain by acquiring the Swedish company FordonsGas. This transaction has enabled Air Liquide to get hold of the FordonsGas network which consists of nearly fifty bio-NGV filling stations in Sweden. Not limiting its vertical integration with the distribution of bio-NGV, Air Liquide also expanded its expertise to the purification of biogas in biomethane, to liquefaction of biomethane as well as to its injection into the natural gas grid.

The investment of € 12 million over the last year has enabled Air Liquide to proceed with the development and launch of twelve new biogas purification units in several European countries such as France, United Kingdom, Hungary, and Denmark. This dozen additional units tripled Air Liquide’s biogas purification capacity in Europe and increased to 50 the total number worldwide of such facilities that have been developed and implemented and which grant now the company a global overall purification capacity 160,000 cubic meters of biogas per hour. Therefore, Air Liquide now enjoys a vast expertise in biogas and biomethane based on its extensive control of its entire value chain for this strategic business unit.

NGV in all its forms

NGV (natural gas for vehicle), the fossil equivalent of bio-NGV, presents obvious advantages as a fuel. Economically, NGV can reduce fuel costs by up to 40% and it is expected that the price will remain stable and competitive for many years to come. Environmentally, NGV emits up to 25% less GHG and releases near-zero emissions of fine particles. It should be mentioned however that the carbon footprint of NGV cannot compete with that of bio-NGV which is zero, whereas it is produced from organic residual waste and therefore from a renewable source. However, NGV remains a more promising and more sustainable fuel than diesel or gasoline considering its economic and environmental benefits.

On the other hand, a feature of natural gas is that it contains less energy than gasoline or diesel for the same volume. It means that to obtain the same energy autonomy of these latter, natural gas must be compressed or liquefied in order to increase its energy density. We then obtain CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquefied natural gas), which are the two types of NGV or natural gas based fuels that can be used by vehicles. In comparison to natural gas, under their respective final form, CNG is 300 times denser and LNG is 600 times denser, which is twice as dense as CNG.

What to remember is that because LNG is twice as dense, it is more complex and expensive to produce, transport and store compared to CNG. But also, because it is twice as dense, LNG is therefore twice as energy dense as CNG, which makes it particularly interesting for lorries (heavy trucks) for example, which have to travel long distances. Then, while CNG can be refueled easily with and from a gas grid or network, LNG requires the intervention of a tanker truck after the step of liquefaction, which is also more complex and expensive. Thus, it is for these reasons that CNG is a fuel for small and medium vehicles as well as heavy trucks with limited autonomy needing to be refueled more often, such as garbage trucks, while LNG is used for bulk carriers that travel great distances such as lorries, trains, and ships.

Hence, in order to significantly improve the carbon footprint of our transport, NGV is an interesting option because it is more affordable and less polluting. However, NGV cannot be part of a circular economy because it comes from a fossil source. This is where bio-NGV becomes relevant, and that is also why it is important that frontline companies such as Air Liquide make investments in order to develop this alternative fuel. Finally, the ultimate incentive to stimulate the deployment of bio-NGV lies in the government, whereas public investments, adapted tax deductions or grants to develop and implement infrastructures such as biogas purification units and a distribution network of NGV/bio-NGV fueling stations could potentially greatly accelerate the transition towards clean, sustainable transportation energy among a circular economy.

By Simon Lefebvre | 2016-04-20

Sources : Air Liquide – Bio-NGV (image-header), Air Liquide – History, Air Liquide – Group, David Ducasse, Ing. – Groupe DATECH, Gaz Métro