- Nordsol and Bright Renewables deliver Vireo’s first bio-LNG production plant in Hardanger, producing around 90 GWh annually.
- A repeatable blueprint is the shared goal: two separate systems engineered to work as one installation.
- Commissioning is planned for Q1 2027, with all bio-LNG supplied to Gasum under a long-term offtake agreement.
Inside the partnership
How two project managers build Vireo Hardanger as one
Author
Remco Krul
Technology Marketing
Key takeaways
Building a blueprint for future bio-LNG plants
Introduction
Nordsol has partnered with Bright Renewables to deliver a bio-LNG production plant for Norwegian renewable energy developer Vireo in Hardanger, western Norway.
For the project managers who are building the plant together, the project is about more than a single installation: from day one, they have set out to create a way of working that can be repeated. Nordsol delivers its Nordsol Core biomethane liquefaction system, while Bright Renewables supplies its PurePac biogas upgrading technology. 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.
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An integrated solution: from biogas to bio‑LNG
The two companies bring complementary technologies to deliver a seamless production chain. Bright Renewables’ membrane upgrading converts raw biogas into high-purity biomethane continuously, without regeneration cycles. This biomethane feeds directly into Nordsol Core, which liquefies it into high-quality bio-LNG for heavy transport and maritime applications.
In Nordsol Core, liquefaction takes place in a swirl separator rather than in the heat exchanger, which protects the process against cold shocks and freeze-outs, ensuring reliable, continuous production and a simple start-up. Using biomethane as the refrigerant makes cooling energy-efficient, while a low equipment count keeps investment and operating costs down, resulting in a low total cost of ownership. The close integration of the two systems creates a compact and easy-to-operate solution for decentralised bio-LNG production.
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And what's next?
Ask the project managers where they see the partnership in five years, and the answers point the same way. “I hope we have done this many times over,” says Meulenbroek. “A lot of these sites, producing green bio-LNG.” Pigiel Leal agrees: “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 Nordsol, the technology behind Hardanger is ready for the rapid scale-up of real-world bio-LNG production: plants using Nordsol technology have produced 20,000 tonnes of bio-LNG to date (October 2026). Collaboration is central to that scale-up, with partners such as Bright Renewables. Hardanger is the first plant we are building together.
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