“We have 15 plants under construction right now,” explains Lars von Lehmden, managing director of EnviTec Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG, which is based in Lohne and Saerbeck, Germany. Four of these plants are soon to go online.
The plants, all of which use manure from dairy cattle as input, will inject renewable natural gas (RNG) into the existing natural gas infrastructure after commissioning. “If there’s no local connection to the natural gas grid, the gas will be trucked to the injection stations,” von Lehmden explained.
The customers are SJI Renewable Energy Ventures LLC (SJI) together with development partner REV LNG LLC (REV). REV acts as project developer for the combined biogas and EnviThan gas upgrading plants on behalf of its customer SJI.
US-based production of tank components is a recent development for EnviTec USA . “We’re working with our partner Collins Precast in Iroquois, South Dakota to locally produce our tank panels, which are then erected at site by our qualified local employees” von Lehmden added, who also oversees stateside plant construction in his role as CEO of EnviTec Biogas USA Inc.
A total of 31 tanks have been contracted, and 20 have already been produced since last year. This makes the German company one of the few all-round providers in the US market, offering planning, construction and commissioning of biogas and biogas upgrading plants and after-sales support including technical and biological services.
Rising demand for biogas plant and gas upgrading systems ‘Made in Germany’ has also been a growth driver for the local EnviTec team, according to the company. “With Rochester in New York, Watertown in South Dakota and our headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, we now operate two warehouses and three offices in the US. All of them strategically located to best serve our clients with a team of 20 employees in five states,” said Timothy Logan, General Manager at EnviTec Biogas USA Inc.
Since its entry into the North American market, EnviTec Biogas has successfully completed four biogas plant projects.
In 2014, EnviTec received the Biogas Industry Award from the American Biogas Council (ABC) for the sustainability features exhibited by its biogas plant for Lawnhurst Energy, LLC in New York.
“Due to the introduction of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) at the federal level, state incentives such as the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard coupled with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, demand for biogas and biogas upgrading systems has skyrocketed,” explained market expert Logan.
