New biogas plants produce carbon negative power

The plug-and-play units also make green hydrogen for energy storage

Spotted: German energy company Reverion is scaling renewable energy production while creating green hydrogen and capturing carbon – all in the same micropower plant. The company’s power plants are built into shipping containers for ease of use and utilise high temperature fuel cells, rather than combustion engines. The fuel cells run on biogas, which comes from animal manure, making it a weather-independent renewable energy source.

By removing manure from the land, the plants reduce global methane emissions. And by eliminating the need for fossil fuel, emissions drop further. Biogas is used to create biomethane, a fuel source capable of directly replacing fossil fuels. It can be pumped into existing infrastructure, requiring no new parts or systems. Each unit produces a standard 100 kilowatts of energy and can be used in bundles for large facilities.

Upgrading the biogas to biomethane produces carbon dioxide, another useful resource. The captured CO2 can be stored or used as an ingredient in a range of chemical production processes. Reverion stores it under the sea or sells it for industrial use. And when the plants produce more energy than is required, the system reverses and begins making and storing green hydrogen.

Reverion is currently working on an expansion to the biogas upgrading plant of Landwärme, which will increase output and enable the capture and storage of carbon dioxide. The collaboration recently won the 2022 German gas industry innovation award. Reverion’s development plans include expanding into other locations as companies seek to transition their plants to renewable energy.

Biogas is becoming more accessible, with projects using waste at a variety of levels, from subsistence farmers to commercial kitchens, to produce locally-made, renewable fuel.  

Written By: Keely Khoury