Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BIOMETHAVERSE (Demonstrating and Connecting Production Innovations in the BIOMETHAne uniVERSE)
Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2024-03-31
BIOMETHAVERSE (Demonstrating and Connecting Production Innovations in the BIOMETHAne uniVERSE) aims to diversify the technology basis for biomethane production in Europe, to increase its cost-effectiveness, and to contribute both to the uptake of biomethane technologies and to the priorities of the SET Plan Action 8. To this aim five innovative biomethane production pathways will be demonstrated in five European countries: France, Greece, Italy, Sweden, and Ukraine.
The project is based on the following founding pillars: Demonstration of innovative biomethane pathways; Technology optimisation and upscaling by technoeconomic flowsheeting; Environmental and social sustainability assessment; Replicability, market penetration, support to planning decisions of other investors and project developers, policy recommendations to policy makers; Dissemination, exploitation and communication of project results.
It will combine research, development, and implementation of new technologies. It diversifies in terms of technologies, feedstocks, markets, and geographical locations to maximise impacts. Demonstrator replicability, market penetration, and policy are at the heart of the BIOMETHAVERSE project, as well as cross-site learning, upscaling, sustainability assessment and optimisation the different demonstrators, having as reference circular approach for energy and material.
The project production routes cover one or a combination of the following production pathways: thermochemical, biochemical, electrochemical, and biological. As a starting point, four demonstration plants use conventional anaerobic digestion (AD), and one uses conventional gasification. In the BIOMETHAVERSE demonstrators, CO2 effluents from AD or gasification and other intermediate products are combined with renewable hydrogen or renewable electricity directly to increase the overall biomethane yield. All demonstrated production routes go beyond conventional technologies, with a circular approach for energy and material, while aiming at reducing the overall biomethane production costs and increasing the biomethane production. The demonstrated technologies will reach TRL 6-7 at the end of the project.
The project is expected to contribute the follwing impacts:
- Increase biomethane production potential by 66% by 2030
- Create 294,000 jobs by 2030
- Enable 113 Mt CO2eq GHG savings by 2030
- Reduce biomethane production costs by 13% to 44%.
The project is based on the following founding pillars: Demonstration of innovative biomethane pathways; Technology optimisation and upscaling by technoeconomic flowsheeting; Environmental and social sustainability assessment; Replicability, market penetration, support to planning decisions of other investors and project developers, policy recommendations to policy makers; Dissemination, exploitation and communication of project results.
It will combine research, development, and implementation of new technologies. It diversifies in terms of technologies, feedstocks, markets, and geographical locations to maximise impacts. Demonstrator replicability, market penetration, and policy are at the heart of the BIOMETHAVERSE project, as well as cross-site learning, upscaling, sustainability assessment and optimisation the different demonstrators, having as reference circular approach for energy and material.
The project production routes cover one or a combination of the following production pathways: thermochemical, biochemical, electrochemical, and biological. As a starting point, four demonstration plants use conventional anaerobic digestion (AD), and one uses conventional gasification. In the BIOMETHAVERSE demonstrators, CO2 effluents from AD or gasification and other intermediate products are combined with renewable hydrogen or renewable electricity directly to increase the overall biomethane yield. All demonstrated production routes go beyond conventional technologies, with a circular approach for energy and material, while aiming at reducing the overall biomethane production costs and increasing the biomethane production. The demonstrated technologies will reach TRL 6-7 at the end of the project.
The project is expected to contribute the follwing impacts:
- Increase biomethane production potential by 66% by 2030
- Create 294,000 jobs by 2030
- Enable 113 Mt CO2eq GHG savings by 2030
- Reduce biomethane production costs by 13% to 44%.
Objective 1: Demonstrate increased cost-effectiveness and innovative biomethane production through five different production pathways.
Researchers have made significant progress in advancing biomethane production through experimental campaigns that validated reactor design criteria and configurations. Over this first reporting period, the focus of the trials has included the maximization of catalyst utilization, the improvement of heat and mass transfer efficiencies, and the optimization of the overall system performance. The work contributed to the development of advanced catalysts and to a more in depth understanding of methanation kinetics and reaction mechanisms. Process optimization strategies have been implemented to boost efficiency and scalability. Investigations at the 5 demo sites were related to the applied voltage to enhance hydrogen supply, maintaining fixed reaction temperatures for desired conversion rates. The design of pilot-scale reactors emphasizes easy maintenance and cost-effectiveness, aiming to minimize expenses associated with ongoing operations.
Objective 2: Increasing biomethane sustainability by reducing GHG emissions without trade-off with other aspects of sustainability.
A primary and comprehensive description of each demonstration plant and dataset has been collected from the experimental studies and is currently being utilized in the ongoing progress towards a robust and thorough sustainability assessment analysis including the demonstration and assessment of GHG emission reduction. Further quantitative figures will be provided in the next reporting periods.
Objective 3: Ensuring replicability and upscaling of the demonstrated biomethane production pathways.
Activities on replication analysis are ongoing. A methodology has been fine-tuned and indicators are now in the process of definition. Progress is ongoing to identify the best commercial application for the industry and to provide insights on feasibility in relation to the 5 innovative biomethane pathways routes within the specific country context. According to that, the first phase to develop the decision tree for the different scenarios and configurations under development was to carry out activities of networking and of mapping of key industrial stakeholders from the most relevant companies, associations, and platforms.
Objective 4: Ensuring market penetration of the demonstrated technologies and producing policy recommendations.
Progress has been made in the development of a comprehensive vision and outlining of strategies for the successful market uptake of the 5 innovative biomethane pathways currently under development. This included targeted outreach of key stakeholders across various biomethane use sectors, providing and progressing comprehensive input for a deep understanding of potential challenges and leverage drivers influencing market penetration towards favourable conditions for the technology adoption. The document under preparation (“Scenarios and Vision for Market Penetration”) tailors strategies to the market dynamics and addresses specific barriers in the regulatory landscapes of the demonstration countries.
Researchers have made significant progress in advancing biomethane production through experimental campaigns that validated reactor design criteria and configurations. Over this first reporting period, the focus of the trials has included the maximization of catalyst utilization, the improvement of heat and mass transfer efficiencies, and the optimization of the overall system performance. The work contributed to the development of advanced catalysts and to a more in depth understanding of methanation kinetics and reaction mechanisms. Process optimization strategies have been implemented to boost efficiency and scalability. Investigations at the 5 demo sites were related to the applied voltage to enhance hydrogen supply, maintaining fixed reaction temperatures for desired conversion rates. The design of pilot-scale reactors emphasizes easy maintenance and cost-effectiveness, aiming to minimize expenses associated with ongoing operations.
Objective 2: Increasing biomethane sustainability by reducing GHG emissions without trade-off with other aspects of sustainability.
A primary and comprehensive description of each demonstration plant and dataset has been collected from the experimental studies and is currently being utilized in the ongoing progress towards a robust and thorough sustainability assessment analysis including the demonstration and assessment of GHG emission reduction. Further quantitative figures will be provided in the next reporting periods.
Objective 3: Ensuring replicability and upscaling of the demonstrated biomethane production pathways.
Activities on replication analysis are ongoing. A methodology has been fine-tuned and indicators are now in the process of definition. Progress is ongoing to identify the best commercial application for the industry and to provide insights on feasibility in relation to the 5 innovative biomethane pathways routes within the specific country context. According to that, the first phase to develop the decision tree for the different scenarios and configurations under development was to carry out activities of networking and of mapping of key industrial stakeholders from the most relevant companies, associations, and platforms.
Objective 4: Ensuring market penetration of the demonstrated technologies and producing policy recommendations.
Progress has been made in the development of a comprehensive vision and outlining of strategies for the successful market uptake of the 5 innovative biomethane pathways currently under development. This included targeted outreach of key stakeholders across various biomethane use sectors, providing and progressing comprehensive input for a deep understanding of potential challenges and leverage drivers influencing market penetration towards favourable conditions for the technology adoption. The document under preparation (“Scenarios and Vision for Market Penetration”) tailors strategies to the market dynamics and addresses specific barriers in the regulatory landscapes of the demonstration countries.
An appropriate and effective exploitation of the results (for both policy and commercial aspects) will be realised during the project. This will happen by identifying Key Exploitable Results (KER) from the different demonstrators, in strict combination with implementation, evaluation and upscaling of demonstrators, as well as with policy recommendations. An Exploitation Roadmap will be drafted.
Concerning commercial exploitation, a complete list will be identified of benefits and advantages compared to competitor/substitute technologies, IPR issues (e.g. patent applications), business environment, major risks, barriers to the market (technical, economic, social), etc. This will lead to the so-called ‘Value Map’ in the view to become successful in market penetration.
Concerning policy exploitation, the recommendations and lessons learned from the project will be exploited by EBA (and other partners) in answering consultations from the European Commission, such as in key “Fit for 55” initiatives during the project lifetime and thereafter. Additionally, partners in the demonstration countries will actively interact with policy makers and authorities to define and adjust policy frameworks and legislations to facilitate the development of biomethane market with emphasis on innovative technologies and solutions.
Concerning commercial exploitation, a complete list will be identified of benefits and advantages compared to competitor/substitute technologies, IPR issues (e.g. patent applications), business environment, major risks, barriers to the market (technical, economic, social), etc. This will lead to the so-called ‘Value Map’ in the view to become successful in market penetration.
Concerning policy exploitation, the recommendations and lessons learned from the project will be exploited by EBA (and other partners) in answering consultations from the European Commission, such as in key “Fit for 55” initiatives during the project lifetime and thereafter. Additionally, partners in the demonstration countries will actively interact with policy makers and authorities to define and adjust policy frameworks and legislations to facilitate the development of biomethane market with emphasis on innovative technologies and solutions.