Trucks
Trucks
The transport industry is slowly waking up to the potential of bio-LNG as a promising alternative to diesel. But how sustainable is bio-LNG and how viable will it be for the future?
As a fuel made from organic waste with virtually zero C02 emissions, it is easy to see why bio-LNG (otherwise known as liquefied biogas) seems so promising. And that is not even the full scope of its positive impact on the environment.
The process for making biogas is pretty straightforward. In a biogas facility, various sources of feedstock are placed in a warm, oxygen-free environment and digested by bacteria. Through this fermentation process, complex molecules of organic matter are broken down into simpler molecules such as alcohol, CO2 or methane renewable gas, which can be used for heat and power.
Since it is made from feedstock like non-edible parts of grain, sewage and household waste, bio-LNG contributes to a circular economy by reusing resources that would otherwise go to waste. This also means that bio-LNG doesn’t compete with food supply—something for which biofuels have been widely criticized for.
Consequently, what farmers, supermarkets and municipalities previously saw as “waste” is now seen as a resource, which is increasing the supply of material needed to make biogas. For example, dairy producer Arla is currently using manure collected from its farms to produce biogas, which is then used to power its growing fleet of gas-powered trucks. The remaining digestate is reused on their farms as a fertilizer, thus creating a closed loop system.
By transitioning from diesel to bio-LNG, truck operators can reduce their CO2 emissions to virtually zero. However, depending on how the bio-LNG is produced, reductions beyond net zero could even be achieved, in effect negative emissions.
If the bio-LNG is produced from manure, for example, then transitioning from diesel can generate net-negative CO2 emissions of up to 200%. This is because it not only prevents the release of carbon from burning fossil fuels, but also hinders the release of methane into the atmosphere that would ordinarily come from manure storage and processing.
In effect, under this scenario, the net emissions from one gas-powered truck could cancel out the emissions from two diesel trucks.
Despite its green credentials, bio-LNG has had a tough time gaining a major foothold in the trucking industry, partly because of high production costs. Even though biogas is made from waste and is relatively easy to produce, the cost of producing it is still higher than the cost of producing diesel.
This is largely due to issues such as economies of scale and distribution costs. The production of biogas has traditionally been handled by municipalities at a local level. It has lacked the scale and incentives to be truly efficient, since the primary purpose most of the time has been waste treatment.
However, that is rapidly changing. Through a mixture of government incentives and private investment, global production is ramping up. The EU aims to increase biomethane production to 35 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2030 as part of its REPowerEU plan.
A number of private companies are also scaling up their production of bio-LNG, such as St1 Biokraft, who currently operates 12 plants in Sweden and Norway, with more currently under construction. Titan is currently building the world’s largest bio-LNG plant in the Port of Amsterdam, which is expected to begin production in 2025. Overall, by 2027, 105 bio-LNG plants will be operational in Europe, with a combined production capacity of 13.1 TWh per year.
While electric vehicles may have stolen biogas’s thunder in recent years, bio-LNG could be a more viable alternative for long haul transport. Not only is it possible to carry large quantities of bio-LNG and ensure the necessary operating range for long-haul assignments, but it’s also possible to fill up a tank in just a couple of minutes. In contrast, electrifying long haul has been a challenge due to the current range of batteries, their weight and the relatively long time it takes to charge them.
Transitioning to gas-power also requires little compromise in driveability and reliability. Volvo Trucks’ gas-powered vehicles for instance drive and perform just like the diesel versions in terms of range, payload and horsepower.
In some parts of the world, insufficient fueling infrastructure and limited biogas production remain challenges. However, in other parts, the costs are coming down and the refueling infrastructure is growing.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a matter of time as bio-LNG has all the right prerequisites to become a major alternative to diesel.
