Sustainable Development Goals
PROJECT INFORMATION AT A GLANCE:
Project Status:
Operating commercial reference
Organizations Involved:
Bioenergie Schuby, Niersberger Group and Klean Industries; wider strategic and mobility relationships identified in the project account include Nikola, Mercedes-Benz and Richter Group
Services / Equipment:
Design & Engineering, Due Diligence, Consulting, Component Supply
Bioenergie Schuby demonstrates how engineering and commercial integration can recover the value of a failed energy asset. Following rehabilitation led by Klean’s strategic engineering partner Niersberger, the facility supplies a reported 90 million kWh of biomethane annually to the gas grid, supported by a regional sugar-beet supply of up to 100,000 tonnes per year.
The achievement reaches beyond restarting equipment. The project connected agricultural supply, feedstock preparation, fermentation, gas upgrading and grid delivery into a working renewable-gas business. Local sourcing also supported a reported reduction of 4,000 truck trips annually, demonstrating how the supply chain contributes to the plant’s commercial and environmental performance.
For Klean, Schuby illustrates the breadth of expertise within its relationship with Niersberger: biological conversion and renewable-gas infrastructure alongside the companies’ wider resource-recovery work. It gives project owners and investors a concrete example of the engineering experience behind that collaboration.
“We see projects like Schuby not only as clean energy solutions but also as launchpads for integrated hydrogen ecosystems that advance both local energy independence and global decarbonization.”
— Rainer Dippold, Klean Industries Board Member and Director of Engineering
The Challenge
Restore the business around a distressed plant
The Schuby mono-fermentation facility had fallen into disrepair following the insolvency of its previous operator. Recommissioning required substantial site rehabilitation, engineering work and modern biogas upgrading, together with a viable feedstock and operating model.
The plant’s recovery depended on coordinated decisions. Agricultural suppliers needed a dependable outlet. The facility needed a consistent substrate and suitable storage. The gas had to reach the quality required for grid injection. Wastewater treatment, regional stakeholders and the project’s German Renewable Energy Sources Act framework also had to be addressed.
For an investor, the central issue was whether the existing infrastructure could be brought into productive use through a coherent technical and commercial plan. The redevelopment had to connect the condition of the asset with the quality, quantity and destination of its output.
The Solution
Build the operating model around a regional feedstock
The project’s supply arrangement involved Nordzucker AG and farmers within a reported 15–35 km radius. Its annual feedstock basis was up to 100,000 tonnes of sugar beets, with a reported methane yield of 85–95 normal cubic metres per tonne.
Sugar beets are an agricultural crop, and their role here is specific: they provide the substrate around which the plant’s preparation, storage and digestion systems were organized. The project also supported regional crop rotation and an alternative to concentrating biogas feedstock demand on maize.
The commercial benefit comes from linking the plant to its agricultural surroundings. Feedstock availability, seasonal storage and transport requirements shape the operating model before the gas reaches the upgrading system. Schuby demonstrates why those upstream decisions are part of energy-project engineering.
Rehabilitate and integrate the complete process
Niersberger Wohn und Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG led the engineering, procurement and construction scope for the redevelopment. The work included new fermentation capacity and a modern wastewater treatment system, together with the integration of specialist equipment.
The described configuration comprises eight 9,000 m³ storage tanks, two 3,276 m³ fermenters and three 3,000 m³ post-digesters. Putsch supplied beet-processing infrastructure, while Malmberg supplied the biomethane upgrading system.
Each part serves the commercial objective. Feedstock preparation and storage support the digestion process; fermentation produces biogas; upgrading makes that gas suitable for the intended grid outlet. Wastewater management completes an essential part of the operating system.
Connect the plant to an established energy market
The reported annual biomethane output is 90 million kWh, equivalent to 90 GWh of gas energy. Grid injection gives the facility a route from regional agricultural production into established energy infrastructure.
That connection is a defining feature of the case. It links the biological process to a saleable energy product and a distribution network beyond the plant boundary. The original project account expresses the scale as an energy-supply comparison for approximately 41,000 people.
| Reported project measure | Scale and meaning |
|---|---|
| Sugar-beet input | Up to 100,000 tonnes annually |
| Methane yield | 85–95 Nm³ CH&sub4; per tonne of sugar beets |
| Renewable-gas output | 90,000,000 kWh per year, or 90 GWh of biomethane energy |
| Regional sourcing radius | Approximately 15–35 km |
| Transport reduction | Approximately 4,000 fewer truck trips annually |
| Associated transport CO&sub2; reduction | 392,000 kg per year, equivalent to 392 tonnes |
The CO2; figure relates to the reported transport reduction. It is separate from the wider question of lifecycle emissions across feedstock production, plant operation and final gas use.
The Klean and Niersberger Connection
Bring operating and construction experience into project development
Klean’s relationship with Niersberger connects resource-recovery technology with experience in designing, constructing and operating renewable-energy facilities. Rainer Dippold, a Klean board member and shareholder, provides a direct connection between the organizations’ engineering and commercial experience.
Schuby shows what that relationship can draw on: the rehabilitation of an existing asset, integration of specialist suppliers, regional feedstock coordination and delivery of a usable energy product. Niersberger’s EPC leadership is central to this plant’s story; Klean’s strategic collaboration connects that capability with a wider range of resource-recovery and renewable-fuel opportunities.
Read about Klean’s strategic partnership with Niersberger >> GO.
Connect renewable-gas supply with higher-value applications
Biomethane can also provide feedstock for a separately engineered hydrogen-production system. Methane pyrolysis is one potential route, producing hydrogen and solid carbon; the energy supply, conversion technology and carbon application determine the resulting commercial and environmental case.
This connection explains the wider strategic interest in facilities such as Schuby. An established renewable-gas supply can support evaluation of additional markets, including industrial hydrogen and heavy-duty transport. Schuby’s demonstrated project outcome remains biomethane production and grid injection; hydrogen is a further application pathway.
Klean’s announced memorandum of understanding with Nikola illustrates the commercial rationale for connecting hydrogen supply with vehicle demand and recycling logistics. That announcement provides context for the wider mobility strategy described in this case.
Read the hydrogen mobility collaboration announcement >> GO.
The Outcome
A restored energy asset with an integrated route to market
Bioenergie Schuby was reactivated as a renewable-gas facility with reported annual output of 90 GWh. Its significance lies in the combination of a substantial agricultural supply base, rehabilitated processing infrastructure, specialist gas upgrading and access to the gas grid.
The reported reduction in truck movements adds a second commercial lesson: logistics decisions can improve the wider project while the plant produces its principal energy product. Feedstock supply and transport deserve the same attention as reactor and upgrading performance.
For Klean’s clients, the case demonstrates the depth of renewable-energy experience available through its strategic relationship with Niersberger. It supports a practical conversation about how an existing asset can be improved, how a new biomethane project should be configured and how the output connects to a defined customer or energy market.
1. Distressed infrastructure can retain substantial productive value. Schuby’s rehabilitation led to a facility with reported annual biomethane output of 90 GWh, showing the significance of combining asset recovery with a workable operating model.
2. Feedstock and logistics are part of the investment case. A supply basis of up to 100,000 tonnes of sugar beets, regional sourcing and 4,000 fewer truck trips annually connect agricultural planning with plant performance.
3. Klean’s network brings experience across the full energy system. Niersberger’s EPC leadership at Schuby supports a strategic relationship spanning plant rehabilitation, renewable gas and the evaluation of further fuel applications.
These are selected achievements and lessons. Further technical and commercial insights are available through an engagement with Klean.
WHAT DO THESE LESSONS MEAN FOR YOUR PROJECT?
Make the feedstock, the plant and the energy market work together. If you own an underperforming biogas asset or are developing a new biomethane facility, Klean can help define the engineering and commercial work needed to advance the project. Share your feedstock type and annual volume, plant condition, site location and intended gas outlet so the engagement can address the decisions that matter.
Existing-plant assessments, due diligence and turnaround assignments are scoped to the asset. New equipment developments follow a paid Detailed Equipment Quotation (DEQ), then a Detailed Feasibility Study (DFS) and Front-End Engineering Design (FEED). The DEQ engagement package outlines the work; the paid DEQ proposal supplies the preliminary technical and commercial information for assessing the next investment stage.
Discuss Your Biomethane Project or Plant Rehabilitation with Klean >> GO.
ABOUT THE INFORMATION PRESENTED
This case describes the rehabilitation of Bioenergie Schuby and its place within Klean’s strategic relationship with Niersberger. Capacity, output and transport figures reflect the published project account. Further operating, engineering and commercial information is addressed through an agreed engagement and appropriate confidentiality arrangements.
This project illustrates resource-efficiency and renewable-energy themes relevant to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Regional feedstock management, energy recovery and attention to transport impacts connect the project with responsible production and the protection of surrounding agricultural ecosystems.
