Scientists at German sewage treatment plant turn biogas into climate neutral shipping fuel

Record ID: 1986039

  • Title: Scientists at German sewage treatment plant turn biogas into climate neutral shipping fuel
  • Date: 26th March 2025
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) RESEARCHER AND CO-FOUNDER AND CTO OF ICODOS, FRANCISCO VIDAL VAZQUEZ, SAYING: "So really, it's a breakthrough technology, it's a breakthrough plant, really - a demonstration. What makes it a breakthrough is two things: one, is that we use our patented process for combination of CO2 capture and methanol synthesis, and the second is that we are operatin
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Germany Mannheim Rhine river biogas fossil fuel methanol plant sewage treatment shipping
  • Location: MANNHEIM, GERMANY
  • City: MANNHEIM, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Europe,Science
  • Reuters ID: LVA003171626032025RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Biogas produced at a southern German sewage treatment plant can be turned into climate neutral shipping fuel, a scientist involved in the pilot project said on Wednesday (March 26).
    The operators at the facility in Mannheim said the “breakthrough technology” allowed for carbon dioxide from biogas to be converted into e-methanol using hydrogen.
    Francisco Vidal Vazquez, co-founder of the Icodos climate technology startup, which co-developed the idea, said there was “no limit” to the demand of their product.
    According to the German Energy Agency (dena), "the chemical industry in Germany currently consumes around 1.1 million metric tons of methanol, which is primarily fossil-based.”
    For now, Vidal Vazquez said the sewage treatment plant, with the help of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the City of Mannheim's own wastewater management company, produces a maximum of “around 50 kg per day of methanol".
    (Production: Frank Simon, Timm Reichert, Michele Sani)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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