[Blog 3] What is Power to Gas?
The hydrogen energy storage technology uses electricity to feed an electrolyzer that dissociates water and produces the storable hydrogen. Then, hydrogen is used as fuel to generate electricity through gas turbines or fuel cells. The main barriers to make this process feasible are the high investment and the low round-trip efficiency. In practice, despite alkaline and PEM electrolyzers are already commercial, their cost (>1000 €/kW) and efficiency (36.5% – 66.5%, LHV) are far from feasibility. In addition, transport and compression of hydrogen may lead to 10% efficiency loss, while reconversion to electricity leads to another strong penalty (efficiency of gas turbines is about 40%, fuel cell applications 50%, and combined cycles 60%).
To widen the application of hydrogen as energy carrier, and soften these drawbacks, a new concept known as Power to Gas (PtG) has stood out in the last years. Power to Gas uses the stored H2 to produce methane (the main component of natural gas) via the methanation of CO2 (CO2+4H2⇄CH4+2H2O). Thus, the electric and gas network can be interconnected to increase the flexibility of the energy supply.
This connection makes easier the distribution of the stored energy through an already stablished infrastructure (gas network), thus avoiding the transport efficiency penalty, and any additional safety measure. Besides, it allows RES to participate in other sectors such as industries, household heating, or transport, what would enable new final uses with greater reconversion efficiencies.
Methane from Power to Gas can be considered carbon-neutral whenever H2 is renewably produced, since methanation consumes the same amount of CO2 that is later emitted during combustion. However, its decentralized use is only recommended when original CO2 comes from sources as biomass (i.e., when it is initially neutral), because CO2 will be re-emitted from a large number of distributed sources (e.g., cars and households), making unlikely the possibility to re-capture it.
If carbon dioxide is originated from fossil combustion, the way to avoid its later emission would be a continuous CO2 recycle in power plants or industry, what will finally displace fossil fuels. In both cases, it could reduce the amount of fossil fuels going into the economy, thus leading to significant reduction on CO2 emissions.
Project info
1 April 2021 – 30 June 2023
Total budget: 188,442.24 €
Spain
• University of Zaragoza
Japan
• Waseda University (Nakagaki Lab)
Austria
• K1-MET GmbH
General coordinator
M. Bailera (mbailera@unizar.es)
University of Zaragoza
Further information: cordis.europa.eu
[1] A review on CO2 mitigation in the Iron and Steel industry through Power to X processes. M Bailera, P Lisbona, B Peña, LM Romeo. Journal of CO2 Utilization, Volume 46, 1 April 2021, Pages 101456.
[2] CO2 recycling in the Iron and Steel Industry via Power-to-Gas and Oxy-Fuel Combustion. J Perpiñán, M Bailera, LM Romeo, B Peña, V Eveloy. Energies, Volume 14, 29 October 2021, Pages 7090.
[3] Revisiting the Rist diagram for predicting operating conditions in blast furnaces with multiple injections. M Bailera, T Nakagaki, R Kataoka. Open Research Europe, Volume 1:141, 29 November 2021.
[4] Synthetic natural gas production in a 1 kW reactor using Ni–Ce/Al2O3 and Ru–Ce/Al2O3: Kinetics, catalyst degradation and process design. M Bailera, P Lisbona, B Peña, A Alarcón, J Guilera, J Perpiñán, LM Romeo. Energy, Volume 256, 1 October 2022, Pages 124720.
[1] The global warming paradox of the colder winters
[2] Decarbonization of the industry: why electrification is not enough
[3] What is Power to Gas?
[4] How does it look a methanation plant? (laboratory at Unizar)
[5] Why the reutilization of CO2 must be smart?
[6] How does it work a Blast Furnace?
[7] Power to X routes for the decarbonization of ironmaking
[8] How does it look a blast furnace simulation? (Aspen Plus software)
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 887077.
Project info
1 April 2021 – 30 June 2023
Total budget: 188,442.24 €
Spain
• University of Zaragoza Japan
• Waseda University (Nakagaki Lab) Austria
• K1-MET GmbH
General coordinator
M. Bailera (mbailera@unizar.es)
University of Zaragoza
Further information: cordis.europa.eu
[1] A review on CO2 mitigation in the Iron and Steel industry through Power to X processes. M Bailera, P Lisbona, B Peña, LM Romeo. Journal of CO2 Utilization, Volume 46, 1 April 2021, Pages 101456.
[2] CO2 recycling in the Iron and Steel Industry via Power-to-Gas and Oxy-Fuel Combustion. J Perpiñán, M Bailera, LM Romeo, B Peña, V Eveloy. Energies, Volume 14, 29 October 2021, Pages 7090.
[3] Revisiting the Rist diagram for predicting operating conditions in blast furnaces with multiple injections. M Bailera, T Nakagaki, R Kataoka. Open Research Europe, Volume 1:141, 29 November 2021.
[4] Synthetic natural gas production in a 1 kW reactor using Ni–Ce/Al2O3 and Ru–Ce/Al2O3: Kinetics, catalyst degradation and process design. M Bailera, P Lisbona, B Peña, A Alarcón, J Guilera, J Perpiñán, LM Romeo. Energy, Volume 256, 1 October 2022, Pages 124720.
[1] The global warming paradox of the colder winters
[2] Decarbonization of the industry: why electrification is not enough
[3] What is Power to Gas?
[4] How does it look a methanation plant? (laboratory at Unizar)
[5] Why the reutilization of CO2 must be smart?
[6] How does it work a Blast Furnace?
[7] Power to X routes for the decarbonization of ironmaking
[8] How does it look a blast furnace simulation? (Aspen Plus software)
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 887077.