Grid operators TenneT, Gasunie Deutschland and Thyssengas are planning to build a 100-megawatt power-to-gas pilot plant in Lower Saxony, Germany in an attempt to couple the electricity and gas grids, as well as advance energy transition, according to a joint statement released on Tuesday.
Power-to-gas technologies convert renewable energy into gas, in the form of green hydrogen or methane, which is transported or stored in the gas grids. Once converted into gas, the renewable energy can be used in other sectors, which ultimately accelerates the energy transition.
The ELEMENT ONE pilot project will be the largest of its kind in Germany, giving the companies first experiences with power-to-gas facilities on an industrial scale, the companies said.
"Potential sites are located in the vicinity of the TenneT substations in Diele and Conneforde, which primarily collect and distribute offshore wind energy from the North Sea," they explained.
According to the statement, starting in 2022, the pilot plant will be gradually connected to the grid. By converting green energy into gas, it will develop new storage capacities for renewable energies. The partners eventually hope to achieve a comprehensive coupling of the energy, transport and industrial sectors.
"Gas that has been produced from green energy will be transported from the North Sea to the Ruhr region through existing pipelines, but that is not all. It could also be made available to the mobility sector through hydrogen filling stations and to industrial consumers through storage caverns," they said.
Olaf Lies, the minister of environmental affairs and energy for Lower Saxony, commented on the project, calling it an "extremely important signal for Lower Saxony as an energy state". "The expansion of offshore and onshore wind energy is advancing. But we cannot think of the energy transition in terms of electricity only. Sector coupling is a crucial aspect of it. I am delighted that important players of the energy transition are taking steps in that direction now," he said.
According to the statement, the partnering organizations have already presented the project to Thomas Bareiss, a MP and the parliamentary state secretary at the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy.
Bareiss expressed great interest in the proposal, saying, "I am convinced that the use of renewable energy in the form of hydrogen will constitute an important solution to major questions of the energy transition".
According to the statement, power-to-gas technologies can help stabilize the electricity grid, limit the curtailment of wind energy and reduce the future need for grid expansion. TenneT is a leading European electricity transmission system operator with activities in the Netherlands and in Germany. Thyssengas GmbH, headquartered in Dortmund, is an independent gas grid operator and one of Germany's leading gas transportation grid companies.
Gasunie Deutschland Transport Services GmbH is headquartered in Hanover. The company, which is a subsidiary of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie, manages, operates and expands a long-distance transmission grid in Northern Germany that spans around 3,800 kilometers. On account of its geographical location and its total length of more than 15,500 kilometers, the Gasunie grid in the Netherlands and Germany functions as a gas hub for northwestern Europe.
(Anadolu Agency)
