Linde buys Choren's Carbo-V technology

Linde Engineering Dresden, a subsidiary of the Linde Group, now owns the process, but the pilot system remains mothballed. The sale is the second success story in the bankrupt firm's insolvency proceedings.

The hype was not enough. Choren is broke and is now being sold off in chunks. Photo: Choren

Liquidator Bruno Kübler says the technology developed by Choren for the production of a second-generation biofuels now has a real chance of coming to fruition, but the test facility in Freiberg will remain closed nonetheless. That is where Choren failed.

At the beginning of July 2011, Choren filed for bankruptcy along with its two German subsidiaries after failing to demonstrate that the gas it was making from timber could move from the pilot stage to industrial production, which was originally to start at the beginning of 2009.

Called SunFuel, the product is a second-generation biofuel, meaning that it is not made from plants also used for food production. SunFuel is made from wood. The pilot facility has a capacity of 15,000 tons of biofuel per year in the Carbo-V process.

A few years ago, Choren drew a lot of attention by getting such prominent firms as VW, Daimler, and Shell to take part. Expectations rose. And then came the delays. Shell reportedly demanded some guarantees, which doubled development time. Costs eventually got out of hand, pushing the German firms into bankruptcy.
Choren USA LLC and Choren China Co., Ltd. remain in business, however.

Last year, some relief came when Jonas Kappeller, the executive director of Choren Components, took over 25 employees and kept his old firm in business under the name of TAF Thermische Apparatebau Freiberg GmbH, the name it previously had before being taken over by Choren.

The purchase by Linde Engineering Dresden comes at the end of several months of negotiations among investors. Kübler contacted more than 200 potential investors worldwide, but none of them was willing to make the investments needed to bring the pilot system up to utility scale. Choren says the 65 remaining employees will keep their jobs for the time being. Talks are still being held with investors for other parts of the Choren Group, including the pilot production plant. (Dittmar Koop / Craig Morris)