By
29 min ago 3 min read
France-based Sublime Energie (Sublime) has commissioned what it claims is the world’s first system capable of liquefying biogas directly on a farm.
Installed in Plélo, Brittany, the ‘Charlie’ demonstrator enables biogas generated from on-site anaerobic digestion (AD) to be liquefied, increasing its energy density and allowing it to be collected and transported to centralised facilities.
There, it is upgraded via cryogenic distillation into bioLNG for heavy-duty transport and liquid bioCO2 for use across agricultural and industrial applications.
The project targets a longstanding constraint in the biomethane sector. Many farms remain unable to inject gas into national networks due to limited production volumes, distance from infrastructure, and high connection costs.
Sublime’s model claims to bypass these barriers by adopting a decentralised “hub and spoke” approach, where liquefied biogas is collected from farms and aggregated for processing and distribution.
The company said this could also provide a transition pathway for existing AD plants operating under expiring cogeneration contracts, extending asset lifetimes and improving returns.
The unit is designed to process biogas produced on-site into around 180 tonnes per year of bioLNG and 330 tonnes of liquid bioCO2.
Production is expected to begin later this year following commissioning and testing.
Sublime said the system supports wider decarbonisation efforts. Upstream, AD reduces emissions from agricultural waste and lowers reliance on fossil-based fertilisers.
Downstream, bioLNG can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85% compared with diesel in heavy transport, while captured bioCO2 can displace fossil-derived CO2 in sectors such as food and agriculture.
“By liquefying biogas directly on the farm, we enable an off-grid model capable of unlocking large scale value from a fragmented agricultural resource,” said Bruno Adhemar, founder and CEO of Sublime.
The company is targeting a share of France’s estimated 26 TWh biomethane potential by 2050, much of which remains untapped due to limited grid access.
Its model involves purchasing raw biogas from farmers, offering a revenue stream without requiring upfront investment in upgrading infrastructure, while also allowing participation in project ownership.
Sublime is now preparing its first commercial-scale project, ‘Delta’, which will link around ten farms to a shared processing hub in Côtes-d’Armor.
The facility is expected to be commissioned by 2028 as part of wider plans to scale deployment across France and Europe.
