Green Gases – Technologies for a clean energy industry
The significance of green gases for the energy industry, plant owners and plant operators
Innovative technologies
In addition to traditional biomethane production, other possibilities to produce green gases are entering the market. These include, for example, electrolysis, steam reforming for hydrogen production and the liquefaction of CO2. These technologies are often already established in other markets and are now increasingly being focused in the renewable energy sector as a measure for the energy transition. Changes in the framework conditions, such as the German government’s H2 offensive, the EU’s Green Deal etc., are setting the political course. This makes new projects and ideas interesting that previously failed due to insufficient profitability.
Integrated energy management
New generation and sales channels for renewable energies are constantly emerging. This means that sectors such as renewable electricity and heat generation, the production of hydrogen and on the other hand, the use in the fuel sector or the chemical industry can be coupled with each other as customers. On this basis, renewable energies and regenerative gases can exhaust their full potential and are not limited to the generation of electricity. The resulting increase in complexity is opposed to great opportunities and possibilities that will forward the development of new sites but also the further development of existing plants.
Fuels (RED II)
The revised Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (RED II) had to be transferred into German law by 30 June 2021. This offers lucrative opportunities for biogas plant operators to market their gas in the transport sector outside of the scope of the Renewable Energy Act. There are various other requirements besides the binding target of the member states to increase their share of renewable energies in transport to at least 14 % in 2030. Companies that put fuel on the German market are obliged to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of all their fuel placed on the market by a certain percentage, the greenhouse gas reduction quota. They fulfil this obligation by placing biofuels such as e.g. Bio-CNG or Bio-LNG on the market, among other things. Especially biogas/biomethane from manure, biowaste or mixtures with manure content shows very high GHG standard reduction values. The fulfilment of corresponding sustainability criteria has to be kept in mind. For example, biofuels produced from food and feedstuff are to be limited in order to minimise environmentally harmful effects due to the expansion of croplands. Biomethane already achieves the highest CO2 savings compared to other biofuels and will therefore become significantly more relevant for the fuel market in the future. We are happy to support you in the necessary certification of the plants and verification of the biomethane.
After the expiry of the Renewable Energy Act remuneration, a new market segment is opening up
Advice on trade and usage
Talk to us about the two opportunities for using your biomethane based on renewable raw materials. We also support you with your CHP plant. If you produce or would like to produce gas according to RED II, we calculate this for you with our GHG reduction check calculator and we support you in the certification and execution of the “NaBisy” process. We market biomethane generated by our plants and in the context of our consulting projects.
The „classic“ way of using biomethane is in a CHP plant. The corresponding framework conditions are laid down in the Renewable Energy Sources Act. We check the economic possibilities for you.
Operating a CHP plant with biomethane is often more economical if the legal regulations of older versions of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (2004, 2009, 2011, 2014, etc.) apply to the CHP plant. This is easily done by relying on evidences generated by the shutdown of an existing CHP plant elsewhere. We assume the economic consulting or the procurement of these shutdown proofs for you.
Usage of Green Gases
- Today, the transport sector is responsible for approx. 20% of GHG emissions in Germany
- CO2 emissions in the transport sector have not decreased since 1990. The great challenges for decarbonisation in transport lie particularly in heavy commercial vehicles. Here, but also in agriculture, public transport or shipping, alternative drive concepts such as bio-CNG/-LNG or green hydrogen offer interesting prospects. Together with our partner AEDS (backlink), we create alternative mobility concepts for your company.
- The operation of gas vehicles offers many advantages:
- The truck toll exemption for CNG/LNG vehicles, until the end of 2023
- The energy tax reduction for natural gas as a fuel until 2026
- The funding programmes of the federal government and the federal states for the purchase of trucks with alternative drive systems and in the refuelling and charging infrastructure
The ARCANUM GHG emission check is a programme that allows us to calculate the GHG emission reduction for you to meet the GHG targets of the German government and the EU. ARCANUM has developed a tool specifically for this application to calculate the greenhouse gas reduction potential according to RED II. The ARCANUM GHG emission check calculates the GHG reduction potential based on the plant data. Important orientations for the future operation of biogas plants and biogas upgrading plants can be deduced on that basis.
Proofs of origin
When biomethane is used, e.g. in CHP plants, a “mass balance” has to be made for recognition by the grid operator for the electricity fed into the grid in accordance with the Renewable Energy Act. Our partner, Green Navigation GmbH, operates an independent mass balance system (“BiMas”) and thus offers a simple and inexpensive tool for ensuring recognition in accordance with the Renewable Energy Sources Act, “EEWärmeG” and “EWärmeG”.
In the context of the use of biomethane in the fuel sector, a verification via the platform NaBiSy (application for sustainable biomass) is required. Our partner, Green Navigation, takes over the use of the platform for you and supports the certification of your plant.
