Seasonal Energy Storage with Power-to-Methane Technology

• Other Authors: Imre, Attila R. (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2022
• Subjects: History of engineering & technology; seasonal energy storage; power-to-methane; wastewater treatment plants; techno-economic assessment; power-to-gas; regulation; energy storage; biogas; biomethane; disruptive technology; decarbonization; innovation; Power-to-Gas; Power-to-Fuel; P2M; P2G; P2F; biomethanization; biomethanation; competitiveness; hydrogen utilization; Hungary; Power-to-X; Power-to-Hydrogen; Power-to-Methane; hydrogen; methanation; sector coupling; sectoral integration; energy transition; eFuels; electric fuels; 100% renewable energy scenarios; thermophilic biogas; fed-batch reactor; Methanothermobacter; metagenome; starvation; H2 and CO2 conversion; methane; acetate; n/a
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

For a sustainable future, the need to use renewable sources to produce electricity is inevitable. Some of these sources-particularly the widely available solar power-are weather-dependent; therefore, utility-scale energy storage will be more and more important. These solar and wind power fluctuations range from minutes (passing cloud) to whole seasons (winter/summer differences). Short-term storage can be solved (at least theoretically) with batteries; however, seasonal storage-due to the amount of storable energy and the self-discharging of some storage methods-is still a challenge to be solved in the near future. We believe that biological Power-to-Methane technology-especially combined with biogas refinement-will be a significant player in the energy storage market within less than a decade. The technology produces high-purity methane, which can be considered-by using green energy and carbon dioxide of biological origin-as a Renewable Natural Gas, or RNG. The ease of storage and use of methane, as well as the effective carbon-freeness, can make it a competitor for batteries or hydrogen-based storage, especially for storage times exceeding several months.