Periodic Reporting for period 1 - UP-TO-ME (Unmanned-Power-to-Methanol-production)
Período documentado: 2022-11-01 hasta 2024-04-30
The UP-TO-ME project aims to create, Unmanned- Power-to-Methanol-production by combining the capture of CO2 with the synthesis of methanol, in a fully autonomous unmanned plant. The technology enables the use of CO2 from point sources utilising locally available renewable energy making small scale production of methanol economically competitive for the first time.
The fully automated, self-learning and self-optimising control system allows the production of methanol under fluctuating conditions. This can be achieved by combining dynamic plant models and artificial intelligence to provide self-optimising control for off-grid operations, which is very challenging and has never been done before. The ability of a remote plant to adapt itself to varying boundary conditions such as the availability of renewable energies, or the availability of CO2 from a fluctuating source will open a variety of possibilities for distributed production.
UP-TO-ME targets a ground-breaking change in decentralised Power-to-Methanol production for hard-to-electrify applications, such as marine vessels and heavy goods vehicles (HGV).
The specific objectives of the project are:
• To convert decentralised CO2 point-sources to production sites for renewable fuels.
• Develop reliable and cost-effective technology for utilising the point sources of CO2.
• To speed up the transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.
• To develop an intensified and fully automated process for decentralised production of renewable methanol.
• To communicate, disseminate and transfer project results for their wider implementation and replication in different sectors where a renewable biofuel will be useful.
• To produce a total of at least 100 litres of concentrated methanol in the experimental plant.
• To experimentally assess the suitability of the produced fuel on a marine type of engine.
The work towards the goals has progressed well as planned and three important technology-related milestones have been reached on time:
• Experimental plant with all its parts operational (MS2)
• Models for all process units and overall P2M plant ready (MS3)
• First methanol samples ready for characterization and performance evaluation (MS4)
The Proof-of-Concept (PoC) of UP-TO-ME-technology will be achieved by the end of the project. However, the first test runs with the plant have already been done and the first batches of methanol in >96% purity have been successfully produced. The first samples of the methanol produced with the new process have already been analysed and will be characterized and subjected to extensive experimental testing of its suitability for marine fuel. This is an excellent basis to give recommendations for standardization work on methanol specifications as marine fuel (ISO/AWI 6583) which is necessary for its wider adoption as a marine fuel for existing and retrofitted engines.
A concrete outcome of the project is the founding of a start-up company ICODOS GmbH in October 2022. ICODOS is a spin-off company of KIT. Encouraged by the highly promising results already at these early stages of the UP-TO-ME-project ICODOS will continue the development and commercialization of the UP-TO-ME technology. ICODOS was included in the Consortium as an Associated Partner in July 2023. During the reporting period ICODOS has grown fast employing already nine young European professionals.
The fully automated, self-learning and self-optimising control system allows the production of methanol under fluctuating conditions. This can be achieved by combining dynamic plant models and artificial intelligence to provide self-optimising control for off-grid operations, which is very challenging and has never been done before. The ability of a remote plant to adapt itself to varying boundary conditions such as the availability of renewable energies, or the availability of CO2 from a fluctuating source will open a variety of possibilities for distributed production.
UP-TO-ME targets a ground-breaking change in decentralised Power-to-Methanol production for hard-to-electrify applications, such as marine vessels and heavy goods vehicles (HGV).
The specific objectives of the project are:
• To convert decentralised CO2 point-sources to production sites for renewable fuels.
• Develop reliable and cost-effective technology for utilising the point sources of CO2.
• To speed up the transition to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.
• To develop an intensified and fully automated process for decentralised production of renewable methanol.
• To communicate, disseminate and transfer project results for their wider implementation and replication in different sectors where a renewable biofuel will be useful.
• To produce a total of at least 100 litres of concentrated methanol in the experimental plant.
• To experimentally assess the suitability of the produced fuel on a marine type of engine.
The work towards the goals has progressed well as planned and three important technology-related milestones have been reached on time:
• Experimental plant with all its parts operational (MS2)
• Models for all process units and overall P2M plant ready (MS3)
• First methanol samples ready for characterization and performance evaluation (MS4)
The Proof-of-Concept (PoC) of UP-TO-ME-technology will be achieved by the end of the project. However, the first test runs with the plant have already been done and the first batches of methanol in >96% purity have been successfully produced. The first samples of the methanol produced with the new process have already been analysed and will be characterized and subjected to extensive experimental testing of its suitability for marine fuel. This is an excellent basis to give recommendations for standardization work on methanol specifications as marine fuel (ISO/AWI 6583) which is necessary for its wider adoption as a marine fuel for existing and retrofitted engines.
A concrete outcome of the project is the founding of a start-up company ICODOS GmbH in October 2022. ICODOS is a spin-off company of KIT. Encouraged by the highly promising results already at these early stages of the UP-TO-ME-project ICODOS will continue the development and commercialization of the UP-TO-ME technology. ICODOS was included in the Consortium as an Associated Partner in July 2023. During the reporting period ICODOS has grown fast employing already nine young European professionals.
During this reporting period one of the main objectives was to develop the initial automation system for the test plant and bring the plant stepwise to operation. New safety measures regarding the autonomous operation and procedures for self-optimizing operation of the plant were developed.
New 3D-printed catalytic reactors and structured packings were developed with the aid of advanced CFD-modelling. A design space review revealed several metal printing options, including laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) and binder jetting, as well as non-metal approaches like ceramic and polymer/resin printing. The first UP-TO-ME actively cooled lab-scale methanol reactor was manufactured from 3D printed 316l steel with internals manufactured from 3D printed aluminium. The reactor designs were successfully tested in laboratory.
The installations were completed, and several liters of methanol were successfully produced using the experimental plant in Karlsruhe.
To facilitate the efficient use of biogas, thorough composition analysis at several wastewater treatment plants was carried out. The monitoring strategy implied continuous and spot sampling of biogas composition during 17 months and CH4, CO2, O2, H2S, siloxanes, NH3, Limonene, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), biogas flow rate, temperature and pressure were monitored .The properties of the produced methanol have been identified and a literature review concerning methanol combustion and utilization in various engine types was done to facilitate the installation of suitable methanol engine at project partner’s sites. The marine methanol standardization work through the National Standards Body of Finland was started. The set of analyses for the first phase product methanol batches focuses on impurities, such as:
· Water content
· Copper and potentially other metals (e.g. ICP-OES)
· Methanol content and potential impurities (e.g. GC-MS)
Development of process engineering as well as control engineering models for the plant that can be used for plant monitoring and self-optimization were completed. For optimal operation of the plant, the control technology models use machine learning (AI) methods. Based on the models, a framework for optimal scheduling of the system that takes into account also forecasts of energy availability was developed and simulated.
A data gathering protocol was created to record data for the TEA and LCA and to study the socio-economic impacts of methanol production and use. An initial assessment of the environmental impacts of the UP-TO-ME concept has been conducted. The results of the initial assessment indicate that the UP-TO-ME methanol production and use as a marine fuel can significantly reduce the greenhouse gases emissions of the maritime sector. Two sites on Crete Island were selected as favourable case study locations due to their status as two of largest sources of wastewater treatment plant CO2 emissions in the Aegean sea islands complex, potentially leading to lower methanol production costs. Additionally, Crete Island is developing a renewable hydrogen valley that could supply hydrogen to the UP-TO-ME plant.
New 3D-printed catalytic reactors and structured packings were developed with the aid of advanced CFD-modelling. A design space review revealed several metal printing options, including laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) and binder jetting, as well as non-metal approaches like ceramic and polymer/resin printing. The first UP-TO-ME actively cooled lab-scale methanol reactor was manufactured from 3D printed 316l steel with internals manufactured from 3D printed aluminium. The reactor designs were successfully tested in laboratory.
The installations were completed, and several liters of methanol were successfully produced using the experimental plant in Karlsruhe.
To facilitate the efficient use of biogas, thorough composition analysis at several wastewater treatment plants was carried out. The monitoring strategy implied continuous and spot sampling of biogas composition during 17 months and CH4, CO2, O2, H2S, siloxanes, NH3, Limonene, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), biogas flow rate, temperature and pressure were monitored .The properties of the produced methanol have been identified and a literature review concerning methanol combustion and utilization in various engine types was done to facilitate the installation of suitable methanol engine at project partner’s sites. The marine methanol standardization work through the National Standards Body of Finland was started. The set of analyses for the first phase product methanol batches focuses on impurities, such as:
· Water content
· Copper and potentially other metals (e.g. ICP-OES)
· Methanol content and potential impurities (e.g. GC-MS)
Development of process engineering as well as control engineering models for the plant that can be used for plant monitoring and self-optimization were completed. For optimal operation of the plant, the control technology models use machine learning (AI) methods. Based on the models, a framework for optimal scheduling of the system that takes into account also forecasts of energy availability was developed and simulated.
A data gathering protocol was created to record data for the TEA and LCA and to study the socio-economic impacts of methanol production and use. An initial assessment of the environmental impacts of the UP-TO-ME concept has been conducted. The results of the initial assessment indicate that the UP-TO-ME methanol production and use as a marine fuel can significantly reduce the greenhouse gases emissions of the maritime sector. Two sites on Crete Island were selected as favourable case study locations due to their status as two of largest sources of wastewater treatment plant CO2 emissions in the Aegean sea islands complex, potentially leading to lower methanol production costs. Additionally, Crete Island is developing a renewable hydrogen valley that could supply hydrogen to the UP-TO-ME plant.
An actively cooled reactor for methanol production, inserts and structured packings were designed with the aid of advanced CFD-modelling and manufactured by 3D-printing.
First batches of methanol were successfully produced in the experimental plant utilizing the UP-TO-ME-technology.
First batches of methanol were successfully produced in the experimental plant utilizing the UP-TO-ME-technology.