The pilot plant, which was built at the  Deutschen Biomasseforschungszentrum gemeinnützige GmbH as part of the ‘Pilot-SBG | Bioresources and hydrogen to methane as fuel’ project, is a research and demonstration platform commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Transport as part of the German government's mobility and fuel strategy. The pilot plant was officially commissioned on 18 March 2025.

At its core, the pilot plant combines the anaerobic fermentation of selected residual and waste materials with the subsequent methanation of the resulting biogas. Innovative upstream and downstream processes increasing the resource efficiency and provide valuable by-products.

For the two campaigns, agricultural by-products in the form of straw and cattle manure as well as urban waste such as organic and green waste are sourced and processed regionally. The process chain essentially consists of the specific preparation of the raw materials, the subsequent optional pre-treatment using a hydrothermal process, the anaerobic fermentation to biogas in three parallel fermenter lines of different designs, the catalytic methanation of the CO₂ in the biogas with the addition of hydrogen and the processing of the fermentation residues. Various aggregates of a separation cascade including optional hydrothermal post-treatment are available for digestate processing. As a result, renewable methane is produced as the main product at the pilot plant.

This is to be used in a subsequent tank facility in compressed form as renewable CNG in the DBFZ vehicle fleet. According to the current planning status, it can be assumed that 0.2-1.2 t of raw materials will be processed monthly in the final pilot operation and two car tank fillings of renewable CNG will be provided.

The representation of the entire process chain in one plant is unique in Germany on this scale. The pilot plant serves to gain knowledge, for example, on the interaction of components and apparatus or the influence of process parameters on its stability and yield. Its capacity has been selected to provide sufficient flexibility for research and development and to be cost-justifiable. After the operating campaigns planned from 2023, the plant will be available to actors from science and industry alike as a technology platform for research and development and is designed in such a way that different technology modules can be used flexibly. To a limited extent, it can also be used for these purposes already during the project term Pilot-SBG.

This is to be used in a subsequent tank facility in compressed form as renewable CNG in the DBFZ vehicle fleet. According to the current planning status, it can be assumed that 0.2-1.2 t of raw materials will be processed monthly in the final pilot operation and two car tank fillings of renewable CNG will be provided.

The representation of the entire process chain in one plant is unique in Germany on this scale. The pilot plant serves to gain knowledge, for example, on the interaction of components and apparatus or the influence of process parameters on its stability and yield. Its capacity has been selected to provide sufficient flexibility for research and development and to be cost-justifiable. After the operating campaigns planned from 2023, the plant will be available to actors from science and industry alike as a technology platform for research and development and is designed in such a way that different technology modules can be used flexibly. To a limited extent, it can also be used for these purposes already during the project term Pilot-SBG.