VERBIO (Vereinigte BioEnergie AG) has teamed up with a gas utility in northern Bavaria to enable the refuelling stations used by public transport in the region to be supplied with biomethane, branded as verbiogas – the greener biofuel which is no more expensive than natural gas. The CNG bus fleets in the public transport network can therefore now fill up on 100% verbiogas at twelve filling stations in towns in northern Bavaria such as Bamberg, Coburg and Kulmbach.
“This cooperation demonstrates the region’s pioneering role in sustainable green mobility. As well as being the most efficient and sustainable fuel at filling stations, verbiogas also slashes CO2 emissions by 90pc compared to conventional fuels like petrol and diesel,” declared Claus Sauter, CEO of VERBIO. “Drivers of CNG vehicles can now refuel on ecologically harmless biomethane from VERBIO for the same price as fossil natural gas. This practically makes driving buses and cars a way of actively contributing to climate change mitigation. And local authorities can significantly reduce their carbon footprint in the transport sector.”
Since the biomethane is made solely from agricultural residues such as straw, it doesn’t conflict with food production or entail unacceptable side-effects such as farmland being used to grow energy crops instead of food. Moreover, because the gas has the same chemical structure and quality as natural gas, it can be blended with it in any ratio and safely used in all natural gas vehicles, making an effective contribution to protecting the climate.
At present there are around 900 natural gas filling stations in Germany – and they’re continuing to grow in number. Of the 100 which have been converted to 100% biomethane, 82 are already supplied with verbiogas. By 2015, VERBIO intends to quadruple its production capacity from currently 500 GWh (gigawatt hours) to 2,000 GWh – and hence enable the existing network of natural gas refuelling stations in Germany to switch entirely to verbiogas.
(This article compiled using information from a VERBIO AG press release)
