ProGeo

Project Information

ProGeo

Grant agreement ID: 717957

DOI

10.3030/717957

Project closed

EC signature date 10 May 2016

Start date 1 June 2016

End date 31 May 2019

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy

Total cost

€ 3 493 750,00

EU contribution

€ 2 443 875,00

Coordinated by

PLC SYSTEM - SRL
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - ProGeo (ProGeo)

Reporting period: 2017-09-01 to 2019-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

PLC System is an Italian company acting as a EPC and/or supplier for electrical plants/substations engineering and construction and as an independent power producer. The company is very active in the energy R&D, with the clear scope to fabricate and install its own products to be offered in the very competitive energy market.
Within this framework, PLC is developing ProGeo, a 500 kW Power-to-Gas modular unit able to store electricity by converting CO2 into synthetic methane with high flexibility thanks to fast start-ups and shutdowns. The project tackles some major challenges in the energy and industrial sectors, paying specific attention to:
• The development of an innovative solution for CO2 valorization (the hydrogen flow from the electrolyser reacts with CO2 to exothermically produce methane and water)
• The development of a cost-competitive and efficient solution for energy storage/conversion. Methane is a well-known and widely used fuel and technologies related to CH4 storage and distribution are fully available
Starting from the 30 kWel prototype already validated by PLC, a 500 kW modular unit will be produced during the project: the unit will have a rated production rate of 25 Nm3/h of pure methane. PLC and the strategic partner, LAMEP, a company operating in the field of precision engineering, have defined a minimum viable product, its production cost and market price, as well as a preliminary industrialization and commercialization plan.
The patented product will be offered to owners and managers of small Thermoelectric Generation (< 50 MWth) plants, who will have the possibility to store energy and avoid the sale of low-price electricity during low peak requirements (electricity market price < 20-30 €/MWh) and to reduce the CO2 emissions and the consequent carbon tax amount (5 ÷ 20 €/ton of CO2), producing an additional revenue source from synthetic-CH4 generation.
ProGeo will provide customers with the following benefits:
• increasing of average electricity sale price= +25%,
• reduction of CO2 emission and tax= -10%,
• increasing of TEG plant EBITDA= up to 1 M€/y for a 20 MWel natural gas fuelled power plant,
• ProGeo pay-back time= 3 ÷ 4.5 years,
Additional application scenarios have been evaluated as possible for the technology, this analysis being reflected in the final business plan issues in the 2nd Period.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The following activities were performed during the project:
WP1: starting from the design of the existing ProGeo 30 kW prototype, the scale-up as well as the definition of the technical specifications of all the groups and assemblies to be provided in the 500 kW one have been completed. CAD drawings, preliminary P&I diagrams and items list for each of the elements constituting ProGeo were provided.
For each unit (CO2 capture/conditioning, H2 generation unit, CH4 generation unit and gas separation), the related control logic was drafted, in order to automate the process for a proper working condition of the whole plant. The final version of the design and engineering documents (executive drawings) were issued. The sequence of equipment and sub-systems needed to implement the complete ProGeo process, and how these systems interconnect with each other were presented through diagrams, flow schemes and descriptions also taking into account safety and regulative aspects for the correct operation of the final plant.
WP2: all the components which were designed to be manufactured were fabricated, the components which were meant to be bought as commercial parts purchased and assembled; integration and connection of each part of the plant was performed following the validated design and the P&I diagram drafted in P1. Preliminary tests were conducted on the plant to verify connections and functioning of each step of the process and to fix potential leakages;
In WP3, the Consortium faced the integration and demonstration of the technology, in order to validate the technology in a real environment. Installation of the plant at ACEA in Pinerolo, operational and failure tests, as well as a full tests campaign was carried out to collect data on the plant’s efficiency and performance. This allowed for an exhaustive technical assessment under different operating conditions.
In WP4, the Consortium carried out all the necessary certification processes, produced a Life Cycle Assessment and a HAZOP analysis to address all the safety issues related to the plant operation and test. PLC took care of the preparation of an IP protection strategy and of the drafting of an industrialization plan for a proper start of the ProGeo production step soon after the project end date.
In WP5, commercial aspects related to the new business initiative were investigated, a revision of the business model to adopt was done by PLC, face-to-face visits to prospects and meetings with potential strategic end-users and customers were prosecuted.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

One of the reasons for developing Power to Gas technology is the variability of renewable energy sources and the impossibility to feed all the produced energy into the grid. Not all the existing electricity grids have enough capacity to carry all of the renewable energy produced on top of energy produced from traditional sources. This requires an alternative way to avoid losses due to the temporary switching-off of solar and wind installations and converting the energy seems to be the best solution. In this case costs and availability of CO2 must be considered.
On the other hand, P2G allows for higher revenues for s-TEG power plants as one can decide, depending on the price, whether to feed electricity or synthetic methane into the grid in a kind of plant where carbon dioxide is available and where its production represents a cost (carbon tax) and a climate threat.
A new frontier is the integration of P2G with biogas production using P2G as biogas upgrading system making conventional upgrading technologies obsolete. Combining an electrolyser with a biogas plant is particularly efficient: converting CO2 contained in biogas almost doubles the amount of methane produced. Energy markets have suffered profound changes in recent years, changes mostly affecting multi-utilities (companies offering services and/or products related to generation and distribution of electricity, methane and environmental services). Decline in demand, overcapacity, oversupply and reduction of marginalization, coupled with increased interest in environmental sustainability, have led companies to undertake strategic and technological efficiency-enhancing processes to tackle change and gain new opportunities.
The electricity producers have to deal with crucial challenges to be competitive, in particular those which suffer fluctuations in demand (and in hourly price of energy) and are interested in reducing CO2 emissions.
ProGeo can be applied in any plant involved in electricity generation, both from fossil and renewable (solar PV, solar CSP, wind, biogas) sources, converting low cost electricity in methane, and transforming a cost (e.g. carbon tax if due) in a revenue. The benefits we are expecting in adopting the ProGeo technology, meeting several market’s needs, are:
• Increase of the profitability of small-TEG power plants;
• Reduction of CO2 emissions by developing processes for CO2 valorization, by converting a cost (the carbon tax) into a revenue (the process product)
• Levelling of energy production profiles, thus improving the efficiency.

Progeo plant - addtional external view.

Progeo plant external view.

Progeo plant internal view.

Graphical overview of the process implemented in the ProGeo plant.