Photo courtesy of Waga Energy
OCI Global, a Netherlands-based producer of nitrogen, methanol and hydrogen products, announced it has entered into a long-term agreement with Waga Energy Inc., the United States subsidiary of the France-based Waga Energy Group, to upgrade landfill gas to renewable natural gas (RNG) at the municipal landfill in Beaumont, Texas.
OCI Global has had a presence in Beaumont since 2010, and is building Texas Blue Clean Ammonia, a low-carbon ammonia facility scheduled to start production in early 2025, nearby.
OCI Global will install a gas collection system on the landfill to recover the landfill gas spontaneously produced by organic waste. This gas will be converted into biomethane through a Wagabox unit installed at the landfill before being injected into the nearby gas infrastructure.
The facility is expected to be commissioned in 2025 and would avoid up to 27,400 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually, equivalent to cutting emissions from 2.8 million gallons of gasoline per year based on methodology from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“We’re excited about this partnership with Waga Energy and the city of Beaumont, which will not only secure sustainably sourced RNG for OCI HyFuels, but also assist the city in abating significant GHG emissions,” says Bashir Lebada, CEO of OCI Methanol and HyFuels. “We’re proud that our first RNG investment is in Beaumont, where we have a 15-year history of investment and employment, and we look forward to partnering with other local landfills to assist in their decarbonization goals and create meaningful value for these communities.”
Wagabox technology uses cryogenics to upgrade landfill gas, maximizing the renewable energy production of landfills by offering pipeline-quality RNG, regardless of nitrogen concentration or the landfill gas variations in flow rate and composition. This will be the first RNG facility for OCI Global in Texas, and the first Wagabox unit to be build by Waga Energy in the state. The project is expected to create more than 20 jobs during construction and to generate revenue for the city of Beaumont once completed.
As part of the agreement, OCI Global will own the RNG produced, while Waga Energy will build, own, operate and maintain the Wagabox unit through a gas upgrading service contract. This business model is the first of its kind in the U.S., the companies say, and is expected to be replicated to address numerous landfills with the potential to produce RNG.
“We are thrilled to partner with OCI Global, a visionary leader in low-carbon solutions and a pioneer in the use of renewable natural gas for decarbonizing feedstock industries,” says Guénaël Prince, CEO of Waga Energy. “This project at the City of Beaumont Landfill is innovative not only because of the cutting-edge technology and utilization of cryogenics, but also for the transformative business model we’re introducing to OCI Global as a provider of landfill gas upgrading services.”
