Concerning the activities at the demo sites:
In Falkenhagen, the existing process to produce hydrogen from an alkaline electrolyser unit was expanded in May 2018 by a methanation unit with a capacity of approximately 1 MW. The operation of the demo site started in January 2019 and run until February 2020. The plant produced SNG for a total of 1.186 hours of operation, and for 668 hours of them gas was injected into the gas grid, corresponding to a total amount of 11.367 kg of injected gas. The developers of the plant (TKIS, UST, KIT) and particularly TKIS, had the chance to develop design rules for plants suitable for large-scale continuous electricity storage.
For the plant in Solothurn, the commissioning was completed in July 2019, and afterwards continuous operation started. The plant produced SNG for a total of 1.300 hours, with gas injection for 1.057 hours. The total amount of injected gas is 11.165 kg. In the framework of these activities, the project partner Electrochaea built a fully automated biological methanation plant with several new features, leading to an improved technology outcome for future commercial exploitation.
Finally, the plant in Troia, after commissioning in April 2019 and performing first test sessions, a continuous testing period started in October 2019. The plant produced 4.669 m3 of SNG for a total of 1.142 hours of operation. Liquefaction was conducted for 191 hours generating 441 kg of LNG. The project gave to the partners KHIMOD (ATMOSTAT) and CEA the opportunity to bring their methanation technology to a level at which commercialisation can start. The partner HST had the chance to realize a small-scale liquefaction plant, which has been added as a new product to their portfolio, and the partner Climeworks had the chance to conduct further field tests of their innovative CO2 capturing unit.
Other highlights from the activities include:
•A technical and economical evaluation was performed for the three different PtG technological solutions developed within the project, based on data collected from the erection and operation of the plants. Results show that all three plants were able to meet the gas quality goal (CH4 > 90 Vol -%) at different loads.
•An estimation of the development of production costs until 2050 was performed for different sub-components of PtG plants. Both electrolysers and methanation systems, show promising cost reduction behaviour related to scaling effects and technological learning. Taking 5 MW as reference scale, CAPEX reductions are estimated, for electrolysers in a range from 60 – 75%, and for methanation systems from 50 – 60%.
•The interactions between the future electricity transmission system and PtG technologies were investigated. Results show that investments in PtG will promote an increase in the range from 7 up to 20%, in the amount of RES dispatchable in Europe, and can also lead to a decrease in electricity costs, ranging from 13 up to 23%.
•The European and national (Germany, Italy, Switzerland) legal framework applicable to power-to-gas was thoroughly examined to identify obstacles for PtG. Studies included various aspects, like the legal classification of power-to-gas, the authorisation procedures for PtG, the legal measures facilitating the injection of SNG into the gas network, the exemptions from network tariffs and other charges, etc.
•An EU-wide identification of potential locations for PtG plants was performed based on the geographical availability of wind energy and substation distribution, combined with industrial and biogenic CO2 sources. Potential for power-to-methane (PtM) technologies exists all over Europe, and the total theoretical PtM potential by 2050 will range from 1200 up to 1400 TWh/a with CO2 from biogenic sources alone.
•A roadmap with policy recommendations for the implementation of PtG until 2050 in Europe was created.
