In power-to-gas plants, hydrogen is produced from water by electrolysis, using excess electricity from solar and wind energy. The hydrogen can either be used directly or in a second step, converted into biomethane using renewably-produced carbon dioxide. This is called bio-SNG (Synthetic Natural Gas) due to its synthetic production method. The green gases generated by Power-to-Gas can be fed into existing network infrastructures and stored permanently.
Power-to-gas technology can be used for various applications. In addition to the use of pure hydrogen and bio-SNG as an energy source or storage medium, the process can also be used to produce power-to-liquid products such as fuel and a large number of basic chemicals. The possibilities range from power and heat generation through use in the chemical industry to use in shipping and road traffic.
Without storage processes, excess renewable electricity simply remains unused. This is where power-to-gas technology comes in, which converts electrical energy into material energy sources from which electricity can be generated again if required. Power-to-gas plants can harness large quantities of electricity as well as offer balancing power and thus react flexibly to power fluctuations. Only through power-to-gas technology is it possible to use renewable electricity totally efficiently and failure-free.
Sector coupling aims to implement an overall concept for the integrated use of carbon-free power generation and renewable carbon sources. Different industrial sectors work together on an interdisciplinary basis to bring together environmentally-friendly technologies. Electrical energy becomes the link between heat, electricity, mobility, industry and real-estate areas. The aim of sector coupling is to derive more benefit from renewable forms of energy and to strike a balance between ecological production, security of supply and economic consumption.
According to energy-industry studies, in 2050, between 100 and 700 TWh of energy will be required from synthetic energy sources. A large part of the demand for low-carbon energy is to be covered using the storage possibilities of Power-to-Gas. The appropriate framework conditions must be created for this: In addition to developing more efficient and cost-effective processes, the expansion of the power-to-gas infrastructure must also continue. The prerequisite for this is the removal of statutory and regulatory barriers, the restructuring of support mechanisms and the creation of a technology-open legal framework in Germany and Europe.
Power-to-Gas is one of the most important building blocks for achieving climate protection targets in Germany. This is because the technology helps to meet the energy needs of the heating, transport and industrial sectors with low carbon-dioxide emissions. Only if fossil fuels are replaced by renewable energies in all areas can greenhouse gas emissions be reduced by 80% to 95% by 2050.
Due to its excellent environmental properties, in Germany the green gas produced in power-to-gas plants is also known as “wind-derived gas”. It is used or processed in numerous emerging entry markets. In Germany there are more than 30 pilot projects with an electrolysis capacity of over 20 MW. Start-ups and established companies are already testing new processes, components and operating concepts, and in Germany the first concrete sectoral coupling projects are being publicly funded as part of research projects. But other countries, too, are active in the power-to-gas sector, including the USA, Japan, Australia, Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland.
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