MEDIA RELEASE: Optimal Group and BOC sign agreement to focus on development of Australia’s first bioLNG facility
Published Tue 30 Nov 2021
Optimal Group and BOC, a subsidiary of Linde plc have today announced a Memorandum of Understanding agreement to jointly explore the development of Australia’s first bioLNG facility at the BOC Westbury micro-LNG Plant in Tasmania. The agreement will allow the companies to investigate the potential of Optimal’s subsidiary, Optimal Renewable Gas (ORG) to build a $55 million, 2.4 TJ/day waste to biogas plant adjacent to the existing Westbury micro-LNG plant.
BOC and its subsidiary Elgas supply LNG to industrial customers in Tasmania. The biogas plant would provide biomethane to BOC’s micro-LNG plant, which would then be processed into bioLNG and distributed to customers in agriculture, food processing and other industries.
As demand for renewable energy gathers pace Optimal has recognised the need to provide commercial and industrial customers with a mechanism to achieve net zero carbon emissions from natural gas usage. With many industrial customers requiring up to 70% of their overall energy requirements for thermal processes, progressing the development of both renewable biogases and electricity is critical.