GRTgaz started e-methane production at its Jupiter 1000 site
The demonstrator has now reached a new milestone: it has started producing e-methane – a synthetic gas produc
Jupiter 1000 has had two key purposes since it was commissioned in 2020:
- convert renewable electricity into hydrogen as a way of storing energy and decarbonising gas infrastructure;
- testing “methanisation” which involves mixing green hydrogen and recycled CO2 in order to produce a synthetic gas.
Now that we have the first results of the hydrogen injection test campaigns, the demonstrator has commissioned a facility for testing “methanisation”.
This process involves making use of the CO2 discharged by industrial sites: green hydrogen produced by the electrolysers reacts with CO2 captured from the flue gases released by industrial sites. Synthetic methane is then generated that can be injected directly into the gas networks. This “e-methane” is used instead of natural gas. No new transport infrastructure needs to be built and on average, only half the amount of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.
The “methaner” that makes this reaction possible was built by Khimod, with support from the CEA.
The CO2 capture facility was installed by partner company Leroux&Lotz in order to extract CO2 from flue gases produced by Asco Industries, a steel mill located close to Jupiter 1000.
Once it has been extracted and purified, this CO2 is taken to the Jupiter 1000 site via a pipeline built by the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille.
“The methaner has just been brought into service and has produced its very first cubic metres of synthetic gas; the line is expected to enter full operation in September 2022”Sylvain Lemelletier
Director of the RICE project, GRTgaz’s research and innovation centre
Hydrogen injection campaigns across the GRTgaz network
The renewable hydrogen injection campaigns which began in 2020 are continuing. The two ALCALIN and PEM electrolysers have been tested and it has been confirmed that injecting hydrogen into the network does not affect industrial clients connected up to it. Performance test campaigns are still underway on both electrolysers, run by the CEA. Once these tests are over, the CNR will test its smart management process for the facility, which is designed to produce hydrogen at the most optimum times (particularly when electricity demand is low and renewable energy can be abundantly produced).