Electrochaea’s BioCat Biomethanation Process Is Certified by the Environmental Technology Verification programme

Electrochaea’s biomethanation process at the company’s BioCat plant in Avedøre, Denmark has received a Statement of Verification from the independent Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program. The BioCat system for conversion of carbon dioxide into methane was certified for performance in relation to gas quality, capacity, energy consumption and operating conditions, including mass flow rate changes, and start up and shut down.

The Statement of Verification assures the BioCat process performance claims are based on reliable test data collected by appropriate analytical methods, under plant operations conducted by competent personnel. The ETV was conducted by an impartial verification body ETA-Danmark A/S and the service provider FORCE Technology.

Electrochaea’s technology uses a microorganism, an archaea, to biosynthesize methane from CO2 and H2. This process converts carbon dioxide and hydrogen, produced with renewable energy, into renewable methane, a green replacement for all uses of natural gas. The process is versatile because multiple sources of CO2 can be used. During the impartial ETV evaluation, the BioCat system performance was certified with two different sources of CO2: raw biogas from an anaerobic digester and purified CO2 from a biogas upgrading system.

The European ETV process (EU-ETV), overseen by the European Commission, was established as a pilot program to help innovative environmental technologies reach the market by providing a framework for independent evaluation of the technology performance. The core of the EU-ETV is the verification of the performance claims by an independent third-party. The process follows the ETV General Verification Protocol and provides an independent and impartial verification of the technology performance. ETA-Danmark is the Danish independent verification body and is accredited by DANAK (Danish Accreditation Board) to perform EU-ETV verifications. The claims are central to the verification process and the results are expressed in the Statement of Verification, the content of which Electrochaea’s customers can rely on.

“When we complete the steps in a verification process, it is our most important task to ensure that impartiality and competence of the verifiers is maintained,” said Peter Fritzel, Project Manager at ETA Danmark. “The strength of a verification is the trust that is established by the fact that it is an independent third party who does not have any stake in the result of the verification.”

Using the certified process, Electrochaea has continued to optimize its technology. At the fully automated plant STORE&GO in Solothurn, Switzerland, methane was synthesized by Electrochaea’s microorganism; during 1,057 hours of operation 11,165 kg of methane was injected into the Swiss gas grid.

Doris Hafenbradl, Managing Director and Technical Director, Electrochaea GmbH: "Verifying the performance of our BIOCAT process is an important component of our international marketing strategy. Independent technology evaluation allows project developers and investors to make
sound data-based investment decisions."

About Electrochaea

Electrochaea delivers a technology to produce renewable methane, a fuel that replaces natural gas, and can be stored and transported in the existing gas grid. Electrochaea’s patented process combats climate change by utilizing CO2, producing a renewable fuel, and providing a solution for long-term storage of intermittent renewable energy. The company is planning to deploy its technology with partners to produce more than 15 billion cubic feet per year of renewable biosynthetic natural gas by 2025. Industrial-scale pilot plants have operated in the U.S., Switzerland, and Denmark. Electrochaea is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with subsidiaries in Denmark and the U.S.

Source:

Electrochaea, press release, 2021-11-04.