project brief

To overcome Biofuel obstacles, we designed a 20,000 m³ biofuel storage cluster with heated manifolds, PTFE-coated floating roofs, and 316L stainless steel liners to stop corrosion, microbiological development, and temperature instability.

innovative process

The challenge

The EU’s RED III (2023) regulations, which demanded a 14.5% reduction in transport carbon intensity by 2030, put increasing pressure on Tanklager AG Cadenazzo and caused a 300% increase in demand for biofuel in Switzerland. A €420,000 tank liner failure occurred in 2023 as a result of our outdated infrastructure, which was built for conventional fuels, not being able to store corrosive biofuels like HVO and ethanol blends. Microbial growth, seal failure, and moisture absorption further impaired storage safety, while Swiss Minergie-ECO standards and EU CBAM requirements needed costly retrofits for vapor recovery and emissions tracking, exposing 17 compliance breaches in our initial audit. We ran the risk of losing market share and green tenders to rivals using next-generation biofuel technologies if we didn’t modernize.

project goals

To overcome these obstacles, we designed a 20,000 m³ biofuel storage cluster with heated manifolds, PTFE-coated floating roofs, and 316L stainless steel liners to stop corrosion, microbiological development, and temperature instability. Benzene emissions were lowered to 0.03g/m³, below Swiss limits, by a closed-loop vapor recovery system equipped with carbon adsorption beds and real-time FID monitoring. We future-proofed the design with dual-purpose pipework for e-fuels, AI-driven cleanliness monitoring (ISO 4406 Class 14/12/9 compliance), and blockchain-tracked CBAM reporting, obtaining ISCC PLUS certification for aviation biofuels. Additionally, the project introduced modular additive dosing systems, which allow advanced biofuels to be blended seamlessly without the need for retrofitting.

  • Environmental Compliance Achieved

  • Corrosion and Contamination Prevention Implemented

  • Future-Ready Infrastructure Established

the result

With 40% of the biodiesel market and an 8,000m³/year SAF contract with Avenergy Suisse, the expansion established Tanklager as Switzerland’s leading green storage hub. Zero microbiological issues, a 22% faster HVO turnover rate, and €1.2M in annual savings from fewer maintenance expenses were among the operational efficiencies. Regulatory milestones included ISO 9001:2024 certification, EU CBAM reporting template designation, and flawless SEVESO III inspections, which helped clients reduce Scope 3 reporting expenses by 35%. Alongside plans to trial hydrogen-ready tanks (2025) and algae-based biofuels alongside ETH Zürich, the facility is now an ETSA benchmark.

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