Electrochaea and the European Innovation Council Accelerate Rollout of Biological Methanation Technology

• Engineering design work begins with Munich-based Kraftanlagen Group on first commercial and standardized 10 megawatt biological methanation plant
• Project work on the plant archetype will serve to accelerate global rollout and enable safe, rapid, and cost-effective implementation of biological methanation
• For the scaling of this technology and for the realization of the first standard 10 megawatt plant, Electrochaea receives European Union grant in the amount of €2,485,000 and project equity investment in the amount of €14,975,000

Planegg/Munich, Germany, April 15, 2021 – Market-leading power-to-methane technology provider Electrochaea announces official start of project work on a pioneering first standardized 10 megawatt (MWe) power-to-gas biological methanation plant. The preferred location for the first of the 10 MWe biological methanation plants is in Denmark, with other sites within Europe on the shortlist. The plant will be built as part of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Program.

In August 2020, Electrochaea was selected as one of 64 pioneering companies, from more than 2,000 international applicants, to receive a grant of €2,485,000 in funding and an equity investment of €14,975,000 for the realization of the first commercial project. The standard plant design enables the realization of the first of many commercial projects. The biological methanation technology developed by Electrochaea makes it possible to store electricity from renewable sources in the form of e-methane, which replaces fossil natural gas in the existing natural gas infrastructure where it can be transported and used for transportation, electricity generation and industrial processes.

Electrochaea is the technology leader for biological methanation and the only company in the world that has validated a biological methanation technology by successfully operating industrial prototypes. The Kraftanlagen Group, a unit of the French construction firm Bouygues Construction, is responsible for the concept, basic and detailed engineering phases of the archetype 10 MWe biomethanation plant design.

“We are delighted to be paving the way to produce green fuel on a larger scale in this project. As part of our climate strategy, Kraftanlagen and Bouygues Construction are promoting a significant improvement in the carbon footprint through our own initiatives and sustainable projects. Biological methanation technology is an important solution in this regard,” said Florian Stöger, Head of Engineering of the Industry Business Unit at Kraftanlagen. Especially for companies with high process-related CO₂ emissions, such as wastewater treatment, lime and cement production, or steel and glass manufacturing, Electrochaea’s technology offers a proven and cost-effective way to significantly reduce the CO₂ footprint by feeding the released CO₂ to the methanation process (carbon capture and utilization).

“Our technology solution can be licensed and implemented today. Planning and implementation times, including commissioning, are significantly reduced by this step and the modular design minimizes the footprint considerably. Thus, this archetype product is directly tailored to a broad, international customer portfolio. Through the EIC’s Accelerator Program, we can significantly increase the pace at which we offer standardized and scalable engineering packages tailored to individual industries and further extend our technological lead,” said Harald Beschid, COO at Electrochaea.

The use of Electrochaea’s technology also has major advantages from the viewpoint of national and municipal economies. For example, by feeding renewable e-methane into the gas grid, the existing natural gas infrastructure can be gradually decarbonized and converted into a large-scale storage facility for intermittent wind and solar energy. Infrastructure investments would thus also be secured in the long term. At the same time, less fossil natural gas would need to be purchased and imported. It is a win-win situation for cities, municipalities and communities that want to drive the expansion of renewable energy and reduce CO₂ emissions while maintaining a flexible and reliable energy supply.

Source: Electrochaea, press release, 2021-04-15.