A pig farming business in Lower Saxony is upgrading its biogas operation to include biomethane production, installing an EnviThan gas upgrading unit as its original 20-year EEG support period draws to a close.
The Timphaus family business in Lohne first added biogas to its agricultural operations in 2011, attracted by the income stability offered by guaranteed revenues under Germany's Renewable Energy Sources Act. Now, after 15 years under the scheme, the operator is investing in a 561 Nm³/h EnviThan upgrading plant supplied by EnviTec Anlagenbau, with construction having begun in January and first injection into the gas grid targeted for October 2026.
Plant modules are currently being prefabricated and tested at EnviTec's production facility in Saerbeck ahead of transport to the Lohne site following factory acceptance testing.
Approval for the gas upgrading unit also enabled permission to expand the wider biogas plant, allowing additional feedstocks including manure and slurry, increasing overall biogas production. The expanded setup will give the operator the flexibility to generate electricity or upgrade biogas to biomethane for grid injection depending on market conditions.
Franz Timphaus, managing director of Timphaus Erneuerbare Energien, said the arrangement allows the business 'both to generate electricity flexibly and to upgrade biogas to biomethane for injection into the gas grid'.
The original 549 kW plant was supplemented in 2020 by a 1,500 kW flexible combined heat and power unit, enabling the business to direct electricity generation towards periods of peak market demand. The biomethane expansion represents the latest step in a broader repositioning of the business model around market-driven revenues following the end of fixed EEG support.
German farming business adds biomethane upgrading to biogas plant
