Bright Renewables has partnered with Nordsol to deliver a bio-LNG production plant for Norwegian renewable energy developer, Vireo, in Hardanger, western Norway. Bright Renewables will supply its PurePac biogas upgrading technology, while Nordsol delivers the bio-LNG system. Together, the integrated solution is expected to produce around 90 GWh of fossil-free bio-LNG annually from local salmon processing residues and poultry manure.
Hardanger is the first project on which Bright Renewables and Nordsol work together.
“Our goal is to create a blueprint,” said Dorota Pigiel Leal, Project Manager at Nordsol. “Not only a system that works this one time, but one that works for all the future projects. It creates a different culture, one that fosters working together and building a product we are proud of together.”
Ruud Meulenbroek, Project Manager at Bright Renewables, added: “Normally, we deliver the gas into the grid, and that is easy for us. Here we deliver to Nordsol and have to match their demand with our production. That requires a lot of engineering together beforehand.” His counterpart puts it more simply: “We are two separate systems that have to work together as one. That is where the challenge lies.”
The answer is to make both teams fluent in each other’s technology.
“As engineers at Bright Renewables, we understand roughly how the Nordsol system works, and Nordsol understands roughly how the Bright system works,” Meulenbroek explained. “That has already yielded measurable results. We warn each other: is this going to be all right? Should we do something here? That has worked really well.”
The approach has been put to the test at the factory acceptance test for Hardanger, with the client attending in person.
“We are really pleased that the client will join the FAT, so they can see the installation not only when it is delivered to site, but while it is still in the factory,” commented Ruud. “They know exactly what they will receive on site, and now we are ready to ship.”
Meulenbroek stated: “The care and attention we have put in beforehand has resulted in an installation we can copy and build more of for other clients.”
The Hardanger plant is Vireo’s first bio-LNG facility. It is designed to process around 125 000 tpy of organic feedstock, turning salmon processing residues and poultry manure into approximately 90 GWh/y of bio-LNG. The plant has been under construction since 2Q25, with commissioning planned for 1Q27. All bio-LNG produced will be supplied to Nordic energy company Gasum under a long-term offtake agreement. With Hardanger, the partnership is playing an active role in building out Norway’s bio-LNG infrastructure.
The two companies bring complementary technologies to deliver a seamless production chain. Bright Renewables provides the biogas upgrading technology, converting raw biogas into high purity biomethane. This biomethane feeds directly into Nordsol’s liquefaction unit, which cools it to -156˚C using the reverse Brayton cycle to produce high-quality bio-LNG ready for use in heavy transport and maritime applications.
Bright Renewables’ PurePac system uses advanced membrane separation technology to deliver continuous operation without regeneration cycles. The result is high energy efficiency, stable biomethane output, and straightforward system control. Precisely the qualities needed to feed a reliable liquefaction process. The close integration of the two systems creates a compact, energy-efficient, and easy-to-operate solution for decentralised bio-LNG production.
The Hardanger project reinforces the potential of circular, locally rooted energy solutions in driving real emissions reductions. By converting challenging organic residues, including salmon processing residues and poultry manure, into a clean fuel for heavy road and maritime transport, the plant contributes directly to Norway’s national ambitions for a fossil-free transport sector and creates sustain-able value for the local community.
Leal concluded: “The goal of this first project is to create the template. I expect it to work perfectly as one system, and I want to see more and more of them all around the world.”
For Bright Renewables, the Hardanger project lays the foundation for a scalable, integrated bio-LNG model.
