Punjab unveils India’s first steel-integrated CBG facility

•  Steel pipeline CBG link: India’s first direct biogas-to-gas grid connection.
•  Logistics cut: No cascade needed, safer and efficient.
•  Clean energy push: Supports SATAT & gas economy goals.

CEID Consultants and Engineering Pvt. Ltd. has made history in India’s renewable energy sector by completing the integration of a Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant into a City Gas Distribution (CGD) network through a steel pipeline. This follows the commissioning of the MEPL Bio-energy plant from last year, which initially supplied CBG to the CGD through MDPE pipelines. The demonstration of steel pipeline connectivity establishes a new baseline in the industry and establishes CEID's leadership in building biogas infrastructure of the future.

The MEPL Bio-energy plant, located in Batala, Gurdaspur (Punjab) is now providing continuous flow of CBG directly into the CGD network operated by Gujarat Gas Ltd.. The integration of the plant into the pipeline eliminates the system of cascade transport for product transportation and delivery logistics. Each delivery will now offer savings in logistics costs while maintaining operational efficiency.

Future MEPL plants that embrace this steel pipeline model will adhere to the technical and regulatory framework set out by the pilot. These include parameters to follow as it pertains to pipeline design, metering, gas quality management, pressure management, safety, etc., to guarantee ongoing conformity to industry standards and government requirements.

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The plant supplying clean energy, in the form of Piped Natural Gas, (PNG) to residential, industrial and commercial customers. The facility is also directly supplying CNG retailers fuel to their filling stations, thus their last mile effort of moving CNG to customers is complete and green fuels are more accessible to customers.

 Commenting on the milestone Mr. Prince Gandhi, Founder & CEO of CEID Consultants and Engineering Pvt. Ltd. (the EPC partner to the project) stated, “We are thrilled to energize India’s first CBG offtake facility with steel pipeline injection into a CGD network. CBG facilities traditionally interfaced with additional costs, logistics, safety risks, and limited scaling using cascade systems. Our steel pipeline will allow for real-time, continuous, and safe injection of CBG into the CGD grid.”

He also added: “This opens up the possibility of a standard that all future CBG plants in India will use, and demonstrates how integration with existing gas infrastructure can deliver scalable, sustainable clean energy distribution.”

The project is an important milestone in developing a strong and scalable CBG ecosystem as part of the SATAT (Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation) initiative by the Government of India, and reemphasises India’s push towards a gas-based economy, and further highlights national priorities around energy security, climate action and decentralised green fuel production.

With this innovation, Gujarat Gas Ltd. is contributing greatly to supporting the take-up of renewable energy and sustainable urban development.