Choren opens biomass-to-liquid plant in Germany; company may add second synthetic diesel plant

In Germany, Choren Industries opened what it called the world’s first biomass-to-liquid (BTL) plant, a 5 Mgy plant utilizing the Carbo-V process, in Freiburg, Saxony. The company said it would take up to 18 months to reach full productivity at the plant. The Carbo V process is a gasification process in which biomass is gasified at high heat, and carbon monoxide and hydrogen are converted into synthetic diesel fuel. The fuel is chemically equivalent to conventional diesel fuel; however it is produced from renewable biomass. Choren is studying the construction of a 71 Mgy commercial scale plant in Brandenburg.

Last December, Choren announced that it will build a 57 Mgy biodiesel plant in Schwedt. The plant will use sawdust and wood chips as feedstock among other waste materials.

The company’s target is  five production units and a total planned capacity of 285 Mgy by 2015, and 10-15 plants constructed by 2020 to reduce C02e emissions by 3 million metric tons.

Volkswagen and Daimler acquired a minority stake in Choren last year.

Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter

Related Stories

Biofuels Digest Special Report on Gasification & Pyrolysis: Germany’s Choren opens BTL gasification plant

Germany's Choren, opened a 5 Mgy biomass-to-liquid plant. The company said it would take up to 18 months to reach full productivity at the plant. The Carbo V process is a gasification process in which...

VW and Daimler invest in German biomass-based synthetic fuel developer

In Germany, Volkswagen and Daimler have acquired a minority shareholding in CHOREN Industries, a biofuels producer with a goal of producing 60 Mgy of BTL (biomass-to-liquid) second generation biomass-...

Choren, Norske Skog plan wood-based advanced biofuels plant in Norway

In Norway, Choren Industries and Norske Skog announced that they will jointly evaluate the potential for an advanced biofuels plant using wood biomass as feedstock for a synthetic biofuels process. Ch...

Choren biomass-to-liquids project in Germany slated for operation in early 2010

In Germany, the Choren plant in Freiburg that is targeting 15,000 tonnes of biomass-to-liquid fuels is scheduled to open early next year, according to reports in Reuters and Lesprom. The plant utilize...

2nd generation biodiesel plant to open in Germany: 57 Mgy plant uses wood waste products as feedstock; four more planned

In Germany, Choren Industries announced that it will build a 57 Mgy biodiesel plant in Schwedt. The plant, which will open in late 2010, will use a second-generation process, called biomass-to-liquid,...

German firm continues development of 18 Mgy ethanol project in Saxony despite feedstock woes

In Germany, Theodor Heuss Investitions und Beteiligungs said that it will continue development of its 18 Mgy etahnol plant in Torgau, Saxony. The company will invest more than $50 million in the proje...