Green Hydrogen and Power-to-Gas TechnologyMass Energy Storage for the Future Energy Market
Fact
She
et
Power-to-Gas – Mass Energy Storage Solution“Power-to-gas” is the name given to an energy process
and storage technology which allows electricity to be
held in reserve in the megawatt range. Existing network
infrastructure can be utilized by linking existing power
and natural gas grids. This allows seasonally adjusted
storage of signifi cant amounts of power and the provision
of CO2-neutral fuels in the form of the resulting renew-
able energy source gas.
Power-to-gas represents a system solution to the prob-
lem of surplus energy reserves. Hydrogen - and synthet-
ic natural gas (SNG) in a second additional methanation
process step - is produced from surplus wind energy by a
process of electrolyzation.
The hydrogen or SNG produced can be fed into the exist-
ing natural gas network for further use and replace natu-
ral gas on a like-for-like basis. Gas storage is not subject
to the same limitations associated with extant energy
storage technologies. Moreover, power-to-gas creates
investment potential along the entire supply chain: from
storage, production and trading to electrolyzer produc-
tion, gas compression, and smart gas metering amongst
other things.
Green Hydrogen and Power-to-Gas Value Chain
Gas-powered cars
Fuel-cellcars
Power grid
District heating
Methanation
Gas grid
PV + Wind(electricity)
Biomass gasifi cation (SNG)
Sewage plant(sewage gas)
Chemical site(CO
2: power plant
H2: byproduct)
Reforming/Gas cleaning
Biogas plant(biogas)
Filling station
Storage(salt caverns)
Domestic heating
Chemical use
Power plant/Cogeneration
Hydrogen/Mobile Application
Energy Storage/Wind-Hydrogen
Power-to-Gas
Green Hydrogen from Chemical Site
Sewage Gas or Biomass to Hydrogen
CO2
Other Streams
Source: Germany Trade & Invest 2012
Ph
oto
: L
IND
E
Electrolyzer
Future Energy Market Models and Drivers
Market Drivers
Germany’s Energy Concept - A Road Map toRenewable Energy Power SupplyGermany’s Energy Concept is a long-term energy strategy
for the period up to 2050 with ambitious goals to address
the challenge of sustainable energy provision. Uppermost
are an 80 to 95 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emis-
sion levels (compared to 1990 levels) and an 80 percent re-
newable energy share of the power mix, of which a large
part will be wind generated (including on- and off-shore
production). With an impressive 20 percent renewable en-
ergy power mix share today, Germany is already well on the
way to meeting the 2020 target of 35 percent.
Renewable Energy Supply and Demand The supply of electricity needs to match demand at all
times; whether it is a question of responding to short-term
fl uctuations in supply or long-term storage over a period of
months. Yet, renewable energy sources are, by their very
nature, subject to fl uctuation. Identifying the appropriate
renewable energy storage solution is critical, as the cur-
rent situation demands that power is consumed as soon as
it is used. At present, a compensating capacity level of 17
gigawatt is already required to maintain domestic supply
and demand balance. This fi gure is set to rise to 28 gigawatt
in 2025. To date, balancing power has largely been provided
by hydro pumped storage and gas power plants. However,
hydro pumped storage is subject to a number of geographi-
cal restrictions and capacity limitations which limit universal
application.
Renewable Mass Energy Storage Effi cient storage technologies play a pivotal role in a sus-
tainable energy supply based on renewable energies. A
number of studies forecast a signifi cant renewable en-
ergy surplus from 2025 onward. Harnessing this renew-
able energy surplus allows seasonally adjusted wind
and solar energy lulls to be addressed. Long-term mass
storage can also operate economically in the absence of
hydro pumped storage by using gas-based storage tech-
nology (e.g. hydrogen).
Model Commercialization Projects:
Creating New Markets
Power-to-Gas
Greenpeace Energy will be the fi rst German energy sup-
plier to provide its customers with “green hydrogen” en-
ergy created in regenerative and climate-neutral fashion
from wind power. The “proWind gas” generated can be
used for conventional domestic heating and cooking pur-
poses and even as a fuel for vehicles. Customers con-
nected to the ordinary gas network have been able to
take advantage of the “proWindgas” tariff since October
2011. The Hamburg-based concern plans to build its own
electrolysis plant in order to gradually increase wind-gas
energy production share.
Energy Storage/Wind Hydrogen
ENERTRAG is a European sustainable energy supplier
that specializes in generating electricity solely from re-
newable sources (predominantly wind energy). The com-
pany’s “hybrid power station” – which transforms wind
energy into hydrogen – is the fi rst of its kind in the world.
Wind power generated in Prenzlau (Brandenburg) is
helping heat and power homes as well as fi nding its way
to gas pumps to fuel H2 car and bus fl eets in Berlin. The
company has already successfully deployed its energy
storage solution at the world’s fi rst CO2-neutral fi lling
station at the new Berlin International Airport scheduled
to open in summer 2012.
Green Hydrogen from Chemical Sites
Bayer, RWE and Siemens have joined forces with a num-
ber of academic partners to research ways of transform-
ing climate-damaging CO2 into useful base chemicals
using renewable energy sources. The focal point of the
CO2RRECT (CO
2-Reaction using Regenerative Energies
and Catalytic Technologies) project is the long-term use
of fl uctuating energy from renewable sources for CO2
conversion. The initiative bundles collective academic
and industry know-how to identify ways of deploying sur-
plus energy reserves for chemical production. As well
as this, innovative technologies which allow the recovery
of quantities of energy for the material use of CO2 as a
carbon building block for chemical by-products (carbon
monoxide and formic acid) are being researched. The
project represents a new model of interaction between
the energy and chemical sectors.
Future Energy Market Models and Drivers
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NORTH SEA
BALTIC SEA
CZECH REPUBLIC
POLAND
THE NETHERLANDS
BELGIUM
FRANCE
LUXEM-
BOURG
Bavaria
Baden-Württemberg
Thuringia
Saxony
Brandenburg
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Schleswig-Holstein
Niedersachsen
Saxony-Anhalt
Hessen
Rheinland-Pfalz
Saarland
North Rhine-Westphalia
Berlin
HamburgBremen
Green Hydrogen and Power-to-Gas Demonstration and Pre-Commercialization Projects
Please visit the Germany Trade & Invest website
for more model project information:
www.gtai.com/energystorage
Hydrogen/Mobile Application
Energy Storage/Wind-Hydrogen
Power-to-Gas
Green Hydrogen from Chemical Site
Sewage Gas or Biomass to Hydrogen
Future Power-to-Gas Projects
Source: Greenpeace Energy 2011, Fraunhofer IWES 2011, Germany Trade & Invest 2011
Market and Funding
Market Advantages
Gas Network Storage CapacityGermany’s gas network – more than 400,000 km of pipe-
line connecting natural gas reservoirs with a total stor-
age volume of 23.5 billion cubic meters and a further 15.2
billion cubic meters in planning - allow for provision of
approximately one sixth of annual domestic electricity
generation. Put another way, Germany’s extant gas net-
work provides energy storage capacity of approximately
220 terawatt hours – or a three thousandfold capacity in-
crease on Germany’s current pumped storage levels (as-
suming a base effi ciency level of 55 percent).
Gas Grid Market OpportunitiesThe production of hydrogen and SNG from wind and PV
represents a major long-term renewable energy storage
opportunity. Power-to-gas allows existing gas network
storage capacity to serve both storage and distribution
functions, while discharging the burden on the power
network. Moreover, it also contributes to its stabiliza-
tion by providing negative and positive balancing power
through targeted on-off switching of electrolyzers and
up/down ramping of CHP devices and gas power plants.
It also contributes to "greening" the gas that will be in-
creasingly used for power and heat generation and mo-
bile applications in the future. The production of SNG
through hydrogen methanation also makes the recovery
of CO2 for material use (e.g. in the chemicals sector) pos-
sible. The EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS), CO2 re-
duction goals, raw material scarcity, and price consider-
ations are the major drivers for these markets.
German Gas Grid Infrastructure AdvantagesGermany is unique in the fact that hydrogen can be fed
into the in-situ gas grid in signifi cant quantities. And just
like natural gas, hydrogen and SNG enjoy the same ac-
cess rights to the gas grid. Hydrogen and SNG created
from at least 80 percent renewable sources also have
the same priority access to the gas grid as methane from
biomass (biomethane). Germany provides another major
advantage: the presence of salt caves in wind-intensive
regions which are already being used for natural gas
storage purposes.
Research & Development Funding
The German government supports green hydrogen and pow-
er-to-gas projects through a number of funding instruments,
initiatives and programs. Listed below are just a few of the
major energy R&D funding initiatives, instruments and mea-
sures available in this growing sector.
6th Energy Research ProgrammeThe programme sets out the key focal points of German
energy funding policy for the period 2011 to 2014. Energy
R&D funding in the region of EUR 3.4 billion will be made
available, with particular emphasis placed on two areas
of major strategic importance: energy effi ciency and re-
newable energies. Foremost among the research focal
points are energy storage solutions and grid technology,
as well as the integration of renewable energy into the
power supply.
Energy Storage Funding InitiativeThe Federal Ministries of Economics and Technology,
for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear
Safety, and of Education and Research have launched a
joint initiative to promote research and development in
the fi eld of energy storage technologies. Part of the 6th
Energy Research Programme, the Energy Storage Fund-
ing Initiative will make EUR 200 million available to re-
search projects to develop a broad range of storage tech-
nologies for electricity, heat and other forms of energy. A
fi rst project selection phase has already taken place. A
second selection round is scheduled for 2012.
National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Innovation ProgrammeThe National Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Inno-
vation Programme provides a common framework for a
number of hydrogen and fuel cell research projects con-
ducted by academic institutions and industry. Funding of
EUR 700 million makes this the biggest R&D and imple-
mentation initiative of its kind in Europe with a focus on
hydrogen and fuel cell technology.
Additional funding is also available at the regional and
European level as well as outside the framework of the
6th Energy Programme.
For more information please contact:
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Natural gas storage
Natural gas grid > 60 bar
H2 tranport by pipeline
(pipeline after 2030 according
to GermanHy study)
Selected biomethane plants
POLAND
CZECH REPUBLIC
BELGIUM
THE NETHERLANDS
LUXEM-BOURG
AUSTRIA
Source: GermanHy 2008, DVGW 2011
Network Infrastructure
Green Hydrogen and Power-to-Gas Network Infrastructure
Germany’s gas network transports an annual 1,000
billion kWh of energy (approximately double the
amount of energy transported by the power grid).
Twenty percent of annual gas consumption is stored
in underground gas storage facilities – this fi gure
is set to rise to 30 percent by 2030. Germany’s gas
network is not only a national and European-wide
power distribution system, but also represents a
major energy storage solution thanks to its signifi -
cant storage capacity levels.
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Chief ExecutivesDr. Jürgen Friedrich, Michael Pfeiffer
AuthorsRaphael Goldstein, Senior Manager,
Energy Storage & Fuel Cell Technologies,
Germany Trade & Invest, [email protected]
William MacDougall, Senior Manager,
Investor Marketing & Creation, Germany Trade & Invest
EditorWilliam MacDougall
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Notes©Germany Trade & Invest, May 2012
All market data provided is based on the most current
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