Project description
Breakthrough power-to-gas technology addresses intermittent renewable energy challenges
Renewable energy sources are one of the tools available to help Europe decarbonise its electricity system. A major barrier to effectively utilising renewable energy is its intermittent nature. Power-to-gas technology through methanation is an innovative energy storage technology capable of storing excess electricity produced in energy systems with a high penetration of intermittent renewables. By converting electrical energy to chemical energy in the form of methane, energy can be stored into the existing natural gas infrastructure to a practically unlimited extent. EU funding of the CoMeth project will enable the company TKE to introduce the first commercial methanation technology that converts surplus power into a grid compatible gas. The innovative technology will optimise grid usage and support decarbonisation.
Objective
Renewable energy sources attract a mass interest to reduce carbon emissions and create a sustainable energy system for the future but storing the intermittent energy is one of their challenges. Methanation processes (converting CO2 into methane) are key enabling technologies because the output of the operation can be stored and transported through the natural gas transport infrastructure already in place and further reduce the “greenhouse” effect responsible for climate change through a circular economy approach.
CoMeth, offers the disruptive technology that scales up the process of methanation for any CO2/CO source through a cutting-edge fluidized bed reactor containing nickel as catalyst, providing current providers of CH4 to the grid (Waste Water Treatment Plants and fermentation plants) considerable growth of production yield up to 60% from the same amount of biomass substrate, while avoiding the CO2 removal cost. In addition, these companies will increase their eco-profile as tool to raise both political support and societal acceptance.
For the previous, TKE aims to revolutionize the renewable energy market by introducing CoMeth, the first commercial methanation technology for any source of CO2 gas which allows the conversion of surplus power into a grid compatible gas without complex gas conditioning, the automation of the process in larger scale and fitting all applications
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringwater treatment processeswastewater treatment processes
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsfossil energynatural gas
- social scienceseconomics and businesseconomicssustainable economy
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energyhydrogen energy
- engineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologybioprocessing technologiesfermentation
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
8640 RAPPERSWIL
Switzerland
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.