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Biomethane-to-BioCNG Station

Pre-feasibility sizing and cost model for a biomethane-to-BioCNG (bioGNC) refuelling station: compressor flow and power, storage check, annual energy, CAPEX/OPEX and levelized distribution cost (EUR/kg).

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alexi

I do low-carbon energy stuff for 10 years & build things I wish existed.

Inputs

Choose how the daily demand is specified. If Nm³/day is used, the calculator converts to kg/day using an assumed methane density at normal conditions.

Average required dispensed amount per day. This is treated as the target daily demand; utilisation is applied separately.

min 1 · max 5000 · step 1 · kg/day or Nm³/day

Station Capacity

Max vehicles served per day (time-based)

Based on dispenser count, flow rate, fueling window, and average kg/vehicle

…vehicles/day

Design station capacity

Daily capacity required to meet demand at the specified utilisation

…kg/day

Average utilisation of the station relative to nameplate capacity. Used to translate demand into required design capacity.

min 10 · max 100 · step 1 · %

Working (usable) high-pressure storage capacity. Used to compare against a screening recommended buffer.

kg

min 0 · max 2000 · step 5 · kg

Recommended working storage (screening)

Rule-of-thumb buffer storage as a fraction of daily capacity

…kg

Fleet type

Typical dispensed mass per vehicle fueling event (fleet-specific; heavy-duty values can be higher).

kg/vehicle

min 1 · max 200 · step 1 · kg/vehicle

Typical storage/fill pressure required for vehicles (commonly 200–250 bar for CNG).

bar

min 100 · max 350 · step 10 · bar

Planned count of vehicles to be fueled per day (used for feasibility/throughput indicators).

min 1 · max 300 · step 1 · vehicles/day

Design - Compression

Number of compressor units

Modular compressor trains required to meet average flow in the fueling window

…count

Average compressor mass flow (fueling window)

Average BioCNG mass flow required during the fueling window

…kg/h

Estimated compressor electrical power

Average electrical power during compression in the fueling window

…kW

Annual electricity consumption

Compression + auxiliaries electricity based on annual dispensed mass

…kWh/year

CAPEX & Levelized Costs

Total installed CAPEX (scaled)

Compression + storage + distribution + electrical works (screening)

…EUR

Used for capital recovery factor (CRF). Enter as a decimal ratio (e.g., 0.08 for 8%).

ratio

Levelized distribution cost

Station cost per kg dispensed (excluding biomethane commodity)

…EUR/kg

If provided, the calculator adds the biomethane molecule cost to compute an all-in EUR/kg. Set to 0 to view distribution cost only.

EUR/kg

min 0 · max 5 · step 0.01 · EUR/kg

Levelized cost including biomethane

Distribution cost plus biomethane commodity price

…EUR/kg

All-in electricity price paid by the station (energy + network charges if applicable).

EUR/kWh

min 0 · max 1 · step 0.01 · EUR/kWh

Amortization period for annualizing CAPEX via CRF.

years

Station Type

Select the closest reference design used for CAPEX and modular compressor sizing.

Number of hours per day during which most fueling occurs (drives required average compressor flow and power).

min 1 · max 24 · step 0.5 · h/day

Pressure available upstream of the station compressor (e.g., grid or upgrading outlet pressure).

min 1 · max 30 · step 0.5 · bar

About

Calculator context

Introduction

This calculator provides a pre-feasibility (screening) estimate for a biomethane-to-BioCNG station serving captive fleets or heavy-duty mobility in France/EU conditions. It covers high-pressure compression, storage, dispensing, and auxiliaries, translating a daily BioCNG demand into equipment sizing, electricity use, and levelized costs.

The methodology follows standard project-screening practice (order-of-magnitude sizing, scaled CAPEX, fixed + variable OPEX) and is informed by public references such as the provided report BioGNV agricole et territorial (ADEME/sector actors), and common cost-engineering conventions used by IEA/IRENA/NREL.

Methodology

1) Demand normalization and design capacity

  • If demand is provided in Nm³/day, it is converted using a constant methane density at normal conditions.
  • Utilisation is applied as: Capacity (kg/day) = Demand (kg/day) / max(Utilisation, eps).

2) Compressor sizing and power

  • Required average compressor flow during the fueling window: ṁ (kg/h) = Capacity (kg/day) / FuelingWindow (h/day).
  • Compression work (screening): W_isothermal (J/kg) = (R·T/M) · ln(P2/P1).
    • R: universal gas constant; T: assumed gas temperature; M: methane molar mass; P1 inlet pressure; P2 vehicle fill pressure.
  • Electrical specific energy: e (kWh/kg) = W_isothermal / (η_isothermal·η_motor·J_per_kWh) · (1 + aux_fraction).
  • Compressor electrical power: P (kW) = ṁ (kg/h) · e (kWh/kg).

3) Storage and dispensing check

  • A screening recommended working storage is estimated as a fraction of daily capacity.
  • Maximum vehicles/day is estimated from dispenser flow and an average fill mass per vehicle.

4) Costing and levelized cost

  • CAPEX scaling by station type: CAPEX = CAPEX_ref · (Capacity/Capacity_ref)^b.
  • Mandatory scaled metrics:
    • specific_capex_scaled = clamp(CAPEX/Capacity, min, max)
    • om_fraction_scaled = clamp(om_fraction_ref · (Capacity/Capacity_ref)^k, min, max)
  • Capital recovery factor: CRF = (r*(1+r)^n)/((1+r)^n-1).
  • Total annual cost = annualized_capex + O&M + electricity.
  • Levelized distribution cost (EUR/kg) = TotalAnnualCost / AnnualDeliveredMass.

Applications

  • Project developer: screen alternative station concepts (small vs. modular) and identify compressor power and electrical supply needs.
  • Fleet operator / logistics manager: check whether a given fueling window and dispenser configuration can serve the intended vehicles/day.
  • Municipality / territory planner: compare levelized station costs at different utilisation levels when planning local bioGNV hubs.

Model

90 variables — inputs, calculations and outputs, with their dependencies.

90 variables shown of 90
VariableValueUnitDepends on
1——
160kg/day or Nm³/day—
10bar—
250bar—
2——
8h/day—
12vehicles/day—
25kg/vehicle—
60kg—
100%—
0.15EUR/kWh—
0.62EUR/kg—
0.08ratio—
15years—
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
if(((<1)+(>2)+(<=0)+(<=0)+(<=0)+(<=)+(<1)+(>2)+(<=0)+(>)+(<=0)+(<=0)+(<0)+(<0)+(>100)+(<0)+(<0)+(<0)+(>1)+(<=0))>0,1,0)bool
*0.01—
if(==1,,*)kg/day
/max(,)Nm3/day
(/max(,))/max(,)Nm3/h
Nm3/h
if(==1,,)Nm3/h
max(,)/max(,)—
ln(max(,))—
(*)/max(,)*J/kg
*—
(/max(,))/max(,)*(1+)kWh/kg
**kg/year
*EUR/year
if(==1,,)EUR
if(==1,,)kg/day
*(/max(,))^EUR
/max(,)EUR/(kg/day)
clamp(,,)EUR/(kg/day)
if(==1,,)—
*(/max(,))^—
clamp(,,)—
if(==1,,)EUR/year
*+EUR/year
*EUR/year
(*(1+)^)/max(((1+)^-1),)—
*EUR/year
+EUR/year
/max(,)—
if(==1,,)count
*min/day
/max(,)min/vehicle
/max(,)kg/vehicle
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
/max(,)kg/day
ceil(/max(,))count
/max(,)kg/h
*kW
*kWh/year
*EUR
++EUR/year
/max(,)EUR/kg
/max(,)EUR/kg
*kg
**/max(,)vehicles/day

Assumptions

32 assumptions used in the calculations

  • Prevents division-by-zero and invalid logarithms in screening calculations.

    Market range 1e-9 to 1e-6 (typical numerical guard range)

    0.000001
    Numerical stability constant

  • Converts daily quantities to annual quantities at screening stage.

    Market range 365 to 365.25

    365days/year
    Calendar convention

  • Used to validate fueling window constraints.

    Market range 24

    24h/day
    Time conversion

  • Used to convert fueling window hours to minutes for vehicle throughput estimation.

    Market range 60

    60min/h
    Time conversion

  • Converts Nm3 of (bio)methane to kg for demand normalization. BioCNG is assumed to be near-methane after upgrading.

    Market range 0.65 to 0.75

    0.716kg/Nm3
    Methane density at normal conditions (approx.)

  • Required for ideal-gas isothermal compression work estimate.

    Market range 8.314

    8.314J/(mol*K)
    Universal gas constant

  • Representative ambient/packaged-equipment temperature for screening compression work.

    Market range 278 to 308

    288.15K
    AI

  • Converts per-mole compression work to per-kg basis.

    Market range 0.016 to 0.0161

    0.01604kg/mol
    Methane molar mass

  • Converts J/kg to kWh/kg.

    Market range 3600000

    3600000J/kWh
    Energy unit conversion

  • Aggregates thermodynamic and packaging losses for a simplified isothermal-work approach.

    Market range 0.5 to 0.75

    0.65ratio
    Packaged compressor effective isothermal efficiency (screening)

  • Represents typical industrial motor + VFD efficiency in steady operation.

    Market range 0.9 to 0.97

    0.92ratio
    Electric motor/drive efficiency (screening)

  • Adds a simple overhead to compression energy for packaged station auxiliaries.

    Market range 0.05 to 0.2

    0.1ratio
    Auxiliaries fraction (coolers, controls, dryers, etc.)

  • Represents a smaller packaged compressor module for low-demand stations.

    Market range 10 to 30

    20Nm3/h
    Small station modular compressor rating

  • Matches the report example mentioning a 40 Nm3/h compressor for an agricultural bioGNC station.

    Market range 30 to 60

    40Nm3/h
    AgriGNV40-like compressor module rating

  • Reference CAPEX for compression+storage+distribution+electrical works for a small station configuration.

    Market range 100000 to 300000

    142000EUR
    Example small station investment

  • Reference CAPEX for an AgriGNV40-like station including module and associated works.

    Market range 250000 to 700000

    400000EUR
    Example AgriGNV40 station investment

  • Provides an anchor capacity for scaling the small-station CAPEX reference. Exact throughput is project-specific; this is a screening proxy.

    Market range 50 to 150

    80kg/day
    AI

  • The report provides an example of 60,000 kg/year maximum distribution; converted to ~164 kg/day for scaling anchor.

    Market range 120 to 220

    164kg/day
    Reference capacity consistent with 60,000 kg/year example

  • Captures typical sub-linear scaling of installed costs with capacity for modular/process equipment.

    Market range 0.55 to 0.85

    0.65
    Economies-of-scale exponent (screening)

  • Prevents unrealistic low specific costs from scaling extrapolation.

    Market range 300 to 1500

    500EUR/(kg/day)
    Plausibility bound for specific CAPEX

  • Prevents unrealistic high specific costs from scaling extrapolation or small-capacity edge cases.

    Market range 3000 to 12000

    6000EUR/(kg/day)
    Plausibility bound for specific CAPEX

  • Represents maintenance/servicing intensity relative to CAPEX for small stations at screening stage.

    Market range 0.04 to 0.12

    0.07ratio
    Reference variable O&M fraction (small station)

  • Lower fraction reflects moderate economies of scale and more standardized service contracts for a larger reference station.

    Market range 0.03 to 0.1

    0.05ratio
    Reference variable O&M fraction (AgriGNV40-like)

  • Allows slight reduction of O&M fraction with increasing size (economies of scale).

    Market range -0.2 to 0.05

    -0.1
    O&M scaling exponent (screening)

  • Prevents unrealistically low O&M fractions after scaling.

    Market range 0.01 to 0.04

    0.02ratio
    Clamp lower bound for O&M fraction

  • Prevents unrealistic high O&M fractions after scaling at very small capacities.

    Market range 0.08 to 0.2

    0.12ratio
    Clamp upper bound for O&M fraction

  • Captures recurring fixed costs (inspections, basic certification/admin) not well represented by a CAPEX fraction alone.

    Market range 1000 to 8000

    3000EUR/year
    Fixed O&M adder (small station)

  • Reflects hotline/availability service, certification, and payment-system fixed costs mentioned for larger stations.

    Market range 5000 to 20000

    9000EUR/year
    Fixed O&M adder (AgriGNV40-like)

  • Represents a single-lane/one-dispenser configuration as a screening default.

    Market range 1 to 2

    1count
    Small station dispenser count

  • The report example includes a single fueling lane for the agricultural configuration.

    Market range 1 to 2

    1count
    AgriGNV40-like station dispenser count

  • Used to estimate queue-time/throughput feasibility. Actual flow depends on cascade, pressure, and protocol.

    Market range 0.5 to 3

    1.2kg/min
    Nominal dispenser mass flow (screening)

  • Approximates working storage needed to smooth short-term demand peaks relative to daily throughput.

    Market range 0.1 to 0.6

    0.3ratio
    Rule-of-thumb buffer storage fraction

Sources

1 external source

  • biognv_agricole_territorial_methanisation-rapport.pdf