Methanation plant in Falkenhagen starts operation and supplies synthetic methane
Published by John Williams,
Editorial Assistant
World Fertilizer,
After the power-to-gas plant in Falkenhagen, Brandenburg, was expanded by a methanation stage in May 2018, synthetic natural gas (methane) has recently been fed into the natural gas grid.
This allowed the partners of the international research project STORE&GO to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the power-to-gas process through methanation, using electrolysis, for feeding the ‘green’ gas into the natural gas grid. So far, pure hydrogen has been fed into the natural gas grid of the power-to-gas plant in Falkenhagen. The plant produces up to 1400 m3/day of synthetic methane (SNG), which corresponds to approximately 14 500 kWh of energy. With this amount of energy, 200 golf class CNG cars could drive about 150 km/day. The methanation is designed for continuous operation.
To produce the green methane, the regeneratively produced hydrogen is converted to synthetic natural gas (methane), with CO2 in a bioethanol plant. The heat generated during the process is also used by the neighbouring veneer plant.
Green methane can make an important contribution to the success of the energy transition in the future. Wind and solar energy are subject to natural fluctuations in their availability, which can lead to the shutdown of plants at peak times. Therefore, great potential for the supply of natural and cheap electricity can be lost. Green methane closes this gap and can be used in many ways, such as to generate heat and electricity in power plants and as a raw material for the chemical industry. At the same time, the unrestricted use of existing natural gas infrastructure opens up new opportunities for the transport and storage of energy generated from renewable sources. The stored energy is always available as needed, even when the sun and wind are not available to the required extent.
In the STORE&GO project, 27 partners from six countries are working together to investigate the possibilities of integrating power-to-gas applications into the European energy network and, above all, to promote the methanation of hydrogen as an important component of an integrated energy transition.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldfertilizer.com/materials-handling/02042019/methanation-plant-in-falkenhagen-starts-operation-and-supplies-synthetic-methane/
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