Construction of the NORDLIQ plant, which is the first of its kind in Denmark, has begun at the Port of Frederikshavn. When summer comes around, passenger and freight ships can bunker at the port with liquid, carbon-neutral biogas. Heavy road traffic can also make use of this green fuel. The plant is a joint project by MAKEEN Energy and Nature Energy.
The demand for green energy sources for heavy transport is soaring, and now MAKEEN Energy and Nature Energy ensure that the heavy road traffic and maritime sector get access to a green alternative to fossil energy sources.
Mayor of Frederikshavn Municipality Birgit S. Hansen looks forward to passing this green milestone in Frederikshavn:
"It’s important to us that we keep up with the times and constantly look for ways to make the green transition a reality. So, the opportunity to offer green fuel for transport on land and at sea in the future is a milestone that helps position us as a green municipality."
For the Port of Frederikshavn, the plant also signifies a green future, the port’s managing director Mikkel Seedorff Sørensen declares:
"For us, beginning the construction of this plant marks yet another green initiative at the Port of Frederikshavn. The new plant greatly strengthens the port’s position as a green center, and its placement in Frederikshavn emphasizes the port’s strategically important location between the shipping route into the Baltic Sea and the highway network."
Around 75,000 ships pass through the Port of Frederikshavn each year and will have access to bunkering with liquid biogas close to their route.
Biogas for trucks as well
While gas-fueled vehicles are a fairly rare sight on Danish roads, the picture looks very different in neighboring countries. In Sweden, for example, 50,000 gas-fueled trucks, buses, vans, and personal cars populate the roads.
Therefore, the biogas not only ensures independence from fossil natural gas but also an energy source that can enable the green transition of heavy transportation, as Ole Hvelplund, CEO of Nature Energy, explains:
"Biogas is a natural resource in the same lane as solar and wind power. But biogas also has the big advantage that the ships and trucks that can use it already exist. Broadly speaking, all that is missing is a gas station", he says and adds:
"We are changing that now. The demand is there, and the green transition demands green alternatives to fossil fuels."
The plant on the Port of Frederikshavn can produce 20,000 tons of liquid biogas (LBG) per year, but production can be scaled up to 120,000 tons per year.
In MAKEEN Energy, we have decades of experience with solutions for the gas sector, and it is great to see this experience becoming a launch pad for the development of green fuel and the transition of Danish industry. LBG will be an important part of our energy supply in the future, so Nordliq is a big milestone.
The future is green
The plant, which is a joint project by Nature Energy and MAKEEN Energy, has been dubbed Nordliq (Nordic Liquefaction) and is designed by MAKEEN Energy who also is responsible for its construction.
In 2021, biogas made up around 25 percent of all gas in the Danish gas grid, but this share is expected to rise to around 40 percent this year.
