French cleantech company Sublime Energie has commissioned a demonstrator system designed to liquefy biogas directly at farm level, in what the company says is a first of its kind installation.
The unit, known as 'Charlie', has been installed at a farm in Plélo, Brittany, where it processes biogas from on-site anaerobic digestion into liquefied form. The liquefied biogas is then collected and transported to centralised facilities, where cryogenic distillation produces bioLNG for heavy-duty transport and liquid bioCO2 for agricultural and industrial use.
The system is designed to address a structural barrier in the biomethane sector: many farms generate insufficient volumes to justify connection to national gas networks, or are located too far from existing infrastructure to make grid injection economically viable.
Sublime's approach involves collecting liquefied biogas from individual farms and aggregating it at central processing hubs — a decentralised model the company says could also extend the operational life of AD plants currently operating under expiring cogeneration contracts.
The Plélo unit is designed to produce around 180 tonnes of bioLNG and 330 tonnes of liquid bioCO2 per year. Production is expected to begin later in 2025 following commissioning and testing.
The company is now developing its first commercial-scale project, 'Delta', which will connect approximately ten farms to a shared processing hub in Côtes-d'Armor. Commissioning is targeted for 2028, with broader rollout planned across France and Europe.
