Anaergia signs offtake agreement in Europe

Anaergia Inc. has announced its plant in Tønder, Denmark, will supply liquified CO₂ to a company that is providing sustainable fuel to containership line A.P. Moller – Maersk.

Under the terms of the agreement Anaergia, based in Burlington, Ontario, is to supply European Energy A/S with up to 60,000 metric tons per year of liquefied biogenic CO₂ for a period of 10 years. Biogenic CO₂ is released during the decomposition of organic materials such as food waste in the anaerobic digestion (AD) process.

AD plants designed and/or operated by Anaergia use organic waste material to produce biogas that is composed of methane and carbon dioxide. Once the biogas is processed, Anaergia produces what it calls pipeline-quality renewable natural gas (RNG) and a stream of CO₂ that normally gets released to the atmosphere. Biogenic CO₂ that comes from organic material is considered a desirable raw material for low-carbon fuels as its use does not add new carbon to the atmosphere, Anaergia says.

European Energy, a Denmark-based multinational renewable wind and solar energy producer, will produce green e-methanol from this biogenic CO₂. Under terms of an agreement European Energy had previously entered into with Denmark-based Maersk, which has operations in 130 countries, the green e-methanol will be used to power the first container vessel the shipping firm is having built to operate on this carbon-neutral fuel.

Anaergia will provide the liquified CO₂ from AD plants at its facility being built in Tønder. The agreement with European Energy will prompt Anaergia to build a CO₂ liquification system at the plant.

“The benefit for us is the ability to sell the biogenic CO₂ from our plants that is produced when we convert organic materials to methane and CO₂,” says Andrew Benedek, board chair and CEO of Anaergia. “By selling this CO₂ instead of returning it to the atmosphere, our plants contribute to decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors, such as shipping, while becoming more profitable, as we turn this waste gas from our plants into a useful fuel.”

“This is a great example of carbon capture and utilization, a critical step on the path toward net zero,” Benedek adds. “We are looking forward to working with European Energy on this innovative endeavor and to potentially working with them on other projects in the future as the need for green methanol rises globally.”

Knud Erik Andersen, co-founder and CEO of European Energy, says, “We are thrilled to team up with Anaergia for the supply of biogenic CO₂ to our Danish e-methanol plants. In Anaergia, we have found a partner that, like European Energy, is committed to fight climate change through new technologies that can make a real impact. We look forward to working with Anaergia not only in Denmark but also throughout the world.”