Producing green methane with the help of microorganisms
Methanation
In times of rising energy costs and stricter climate targets, methanation represents an innovative solution for the production of methane and the associated storage of renewable energies. How can biological methanation be optimized in terms of efficiency and stability? What scope of dynamics and flexibility can a power-to-gas plant cover? How can the technology be integrated into existing infrastructure such as sewage treatment plants? Together with partners from industry, research and municipalities, a team from the Research Center for Energy Networks and Energy Storage headed by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Michael Sterner is working on these and other questions.
Research activities in the field of
Methanation
Biological methanation can play a central role in the global energy transition as it offers a sustainable way to convert excess CO2 into renewable methane. In a world facing growing challenges from climate change and rising energy costs, this technology not only enables the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, but also the storage of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. This makes it an important building block for achieving international climate targets and decarbonizing the energy supply.
Biological methanation technology is based on natural processes in which microorganisms known as methanogenic archaea convert CO2 and hydrogen into methane. This process uses hydrogen that has been produced using renewable energies in an electrolysis process and combines it with CO2 that comes from industrial processes, biogas plants or the air, for example. The resulting methane molecules can then be used as a carbon-neutral energy source and can be used in the existing gas infrastructure.
Prof. Michael Sterner and his team have been researching the further development of this technology for over 10 years. Current work includes investigating the dynamic range of power-to-gas plants in order to synchronize their flexibility with the fluctuating generation of renewable energies. Other research questions include the integration of methanation into existing infrastructure such as sewage treatment plants. The investigations are carried out together with various project partners on the basis of a pilot-scale plant and industrial-scale plants operated by industrial partners. In addition, potential sites for power-to-gas plants in Germany are identified and evaluated.
