4 th November 2019
Bonnhoff Buchenhof Bioenergie (Bonnhoff) has reduced their fuel consumption by 5.7% and
achieved an 18% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (% CO 2 -equivalent) through the installation
of Bowman Power Group Ltd’s (Bowman) Electric Turbo Compounding (ETC) technology.
Bowman’s ETC technology recovers otherwise wasted heat energy from an engine’s exhaust and
converts it into useful electrical power, in turn reducing emissions and fuel use. For this project,
Bowman used their latest system, ETC 1000, which benefits from their 15 years of R&D into the
technology, making it simpler to install, with a more compact footprint and a lower cost.
Bonnhoff operate two sites in Germany with over 440 hectares of agricultural land for growing
crops, where a digestor is used to turn any waste in to biogas. This biogas is used to generate power
across four combined heat and power (CHP) plants, whilst the excess heat is used by a local school,
gymnasium and fire station, along with the largest rose nursery in Europe.
Bowman’s extensive experience with biogas engines, and track record from installing over 400 ETC
systems in Germany, made them a natural choice to maximise the power generated by Bonnhoff.
INSTALLATION AND RESULTS
The installation was conducted on Bonnhoff’s Jenbacher J312 genset by Bowman and STORM-Group,
who hold exclusive rights to sell and install ETC 1000 in Germany. Thanks to cooperation between all
parties the work was conducted seamlessly, with testing and installation completed in just a few
days and with minimal downtime.
By improving power density and fuel efficiency, fuel consumption was reduced by 5.7%, along with a
reduction in associated CO 2 and NO x emissions. Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions were
also 30% lower as a result of reducing fuel short circuiting.
The combined CO 2 equivalent effect of these changes was an 18% reduction in greenhouses gas
emissions. Over 12,000 kWh of power has been generated to date without any extra emissions
being created.
QUOTES
Bjorn Bonnhoff, of Bonnhoff Buchenhof Bioenergie commented “I have been very pleased with the
results from the ETC 1000 system, with some highly promising initial gains in efficiency and
reductions in emissions. Bowman and STORM-Group worked seamlessly together and have provided
an excellent level of support from day one.”
Paul Dowman-Tucker, CEO of Bowman, added “This project perfectly highlights our ability to work
with partners, such as STORM-Group, to supply and install our ETC system wherever it is needed. By
combining our track record for efficiency improvements in biogas engines, with STORM-Group’s
large network of over 160 service engineers, we are able to deliver strong levels of performance
improvement in a very short time frame.”
Bowman and STORM-Group have continued to strengthen their relationship, promoting the ETC
1000 technology at a customer event on the Bonnhoff site and through STORM-Group’s Wulf
Johannsen brand at the 3rd Norddeutscher Biogas-Branchentreff event in Germany.
A full case study with further analysis of the results can be found here.
