“The Pilot-SBG project and the pilot plant that emerged from it are an important bridge between research and the industrial implementation of sustainable technologies as a building block of a holistic bioeconomy. Anaerobic fermentation as a core technology of biorefinery concepts is suitable for processing a large part of the potential of biogenic waste and residues. In this way, established cascades of use can be expanded through innovative upstream and downstream process steps, enabling efficient resource utilisation and a marketable range of products.”

Umwelt- und Ingenieurtechnik GmbH Dresden (UIT) commissioned a pilot plant for renewable methane at the German Biomass Research Centre (DBFZ) in Leipzig on 18 March 2025. The innovative plant planned and built by UIT utilises biogenic residues, waste and green hydrogen to produce climate-friendly biomethane. With a total area of around 800 m², it marks significant progress in research into providing renewable energy sources for transport sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as heavy goods vehicles and shipping, according to the DBFZ. This is because the pilot plant at the DBFZ enables the efficient conversion of biogenic residues and waste into renewable methane.

The planning, construction and successful trial operation of a pilot plant for synthesised biogas (SBG) on a pilot plant scale are central components of the research and demonstration project being carried out by the German Biomass Research Centre. In the presence of around 120 guests from research, politics and industry, the new research plant was officially put into operation in a ceremony on 18 March 2025.

A new pilot plant processes biogenic residues, by-products and waste as well as green hydrogen to provide renewable methane as the main product. A pilot plant for the production of synthesized biogas (SBG) has been ceremoniously put into operation on the site of the German Biomass Research Center in Leipzig. The state-funded “Pilot-SBG” project focuses on the provision of renewable methane as an energy source for transportation sectors that are difficult to electrify.

Researchers in Leipzig are collecting data on the production of e-methane from biomass. To this end, biogas is first obtained from liquid manure, straw and, in a second project phase, from municipal biowaste. This also produces CO₂, which is then converted into methane in the plant in a reaction with hydrogen. The idea is for companies to use the scientists' findings for their own plants.

Der Verkehrssektor spielt eine große Rolle für die bis 2045 geplante Treibhausgasneutralität Deutschlands. Zuletzt hatte er jedoch seine verbindlichen Klimaschutzziele nicht erreicht. Das soll sich ändern: Im Rahmen des Projektes Pilot-SBG entstand auf dem Gelände des Deutschen Biomasseforschungszentrums (DBFZ) in Leipzig eine Pilotanlage zur Herstellung von erneuerbarem Methan und grünem Wasserstoff. Am 18. März wurde die neue Forschungsanlage offiziell in Betrieb genommen.

The “Pilot-SBG” project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV), focuses on the provision of renewable methane as an energy source for transportation sectors that are difficult to electrify. The planning, construction and successful trial operation of a pilot plant for synthesized biogas (SBG) on a pilot plant scale are central components of the research and demonstration project being carried out by the German Biomass Research Center. In the presence of around 120 guests from research, politics and industry, the new research plant was officially put into operation in a ceremony on March 18, 2025.

Climate-neutral by 2045 - this should even be part of Germany's Basic Law in the future. In many areas, fossil fuels are to be replaced by electricity. Where this is not so easy, for example in shipping, biofuels could be used. Although these fuels have a lower CO₂ impact, they are not yet considered competitive with conventional fuels.

In Leipzig, the German Biomass Research Center DBFZ is researching how these fuels can be produced more efficiently. In the coming years, a new pilot plant will determine how biomethane can be produced from agricultural by-products and organic waste - and how the methane yield can be maximized in this process.

Under the motto ‘Tank Alternative’, the current issue of ADAC Motorwelt highlights pioneering projects from industry and science that generate sustainable energy from grain, cooking oils and biowaste. One outstanding example is the pilot plant of the Pilot-SBG research project on the grounds of the Deutsches Biomasse Forschungszentrum in Leipzig, which is dedicated to the optimal production of renewable methane from residual and waste materials such as cattle manure and straw.

‘We see ourselves as a service provider for the commercial production of alternative fuels,’ explains Karin Naumann, co-project manager of the plant. She emphasises the efficient use of biofuels and their importance for the future of mobility.

Using carbon dioxide instead of discharging it

"The aim is to reduce the greenhouse gas abatement costs for renewable LNG, increase resource efficiency, especially with regard to a higher methane yield, develop example concepts on a commercial scale and identify criteria for long-term viable plant concepts for renewable methane. In the pilot plant, the researchers combine the anaerobic fermentation of selected residual and waste materials with the methanation of the resulting biogas." [translated in English]

©2024 Lena Oerke | Land & Forst. „Kohlenstoffdioxid nutzen statt ableiten.“ Land & Forst Energie, Ausgabe 9/2024, S. 47. DigitalMagazin.de.

www.landundforst.de

Pilot plant for green methane at the DBFZ

"The PilotSBG research and demonstration project, which has been running at the German Biomass Research Center (DBFZ) since 09/2018 and is funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV), aims to contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions through the use of renewable methane in transport. Among other things, the DBFZ is planning and implementing the construction and operation of a pilot plant on a technical scale. In the pilot plant, biogenic residues, by-products and waste in accordance with RED II, Annex IX Part A (European Parliament and Council 30.05.2018) and hydrogen are to be converted into renewable methane in fuel quality (DIN EN 16723-2)." [translated in English]

©2023 gwf Gas + Energie 01|2023, S.18-19

"Fuel from biowaste: DBFZ starts construction of a pilot plant for the production of “green methane”"

“With the ‘Pilot-SBG’ model project, the DBFZ is making a significant contribution to the further development of advanced, renewable fuels with high GHG avoidance, to the mobilization of unused material flows for high-quality products and to a closed circular economy,” reports the DBFZ. [translated in English]

©2022 Leipziger Zeitung, Von Ralf Junke

Press release: DBFZ starts construction of a pilot plant for the production of “green methane”

Since 2018, the pilot project “Pilot-SBG - Bioresources and Hydrogen to Methane as Fuel”, funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport Affairs (BMDV), has been implemented at the DBFZ. The aim of the research project, which was initiated as part of the German government's Mobility and Fuels Strategy (MFS), is to convert previously unused biogenic residues, by-products and waste into renewable methane as a fuel for the transport sector using hydrogen. As an essential part of the project, the go-ahead was given on May 31, 2022 for the construction of a pilot plant on the DBFZ site in Leipzig.

©2022 DBFZ, Paul Trainer 31.05.2022

Biogasjournal: Straw for the production of fuel

The German Biomass Research Centre (DBFZ) in Leipzig is currently running the research and demonstration project “Pilot plant synthesized biogas - bioresources and hydrogen to methane as fuel (Pilot-SBG)”. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure and aims to convert previously unused biogenic residual and waste materials from rural and urban areas into biomethane as a fuel. The overarching goal is to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in segments of the transport sector that are difficult to electrify, such as shipping or road-based heavy goods vehicles. [translated in Englisch]

By Maria Braune, Karin Naumann and Kati Görsch.

©2021 Biogasjournal 6_2021

TopAgrar Online: New research project: Straw for fuel production

The German Biomass Research Centre (DBFZ) in Leipzig is currently running a research and demonstration project called Pilot Plant Synthesized Biogas (Pilot-SBG) for the production of bio-LNG. [translated in English]

©2021 TopAgrar Online, Artikel von Hinrich Neumann vom 15.10.2021

Interview: “In view of the climate protection targets, the contribution of biofuels will continue to be indispensable in the future”

Karin Naumann from Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum gemeinnützige GmbH (DBFZ) talks about the current project to produce biomethane as a fuel, the implementation of the REDII Directive in German legislation and the role of biofuels alongside e-mobility in transport. [translatedin English]

©2021 Agentur für Erneuerbare Energien, Anika Schwalbe