State-owned Hungarian Electricity Works (MVM) announced that it will establish a joint venture company with German Electrochaea for the purpose of the construction of the world’s first gridscale power-to-gas plant.
The 10 MW plant will be built in Hungary and it will use new power-to-gas technology exclusively developed by Electrochaea. This technology is used to convert electricity to a gas fuel. The patented technology is based on biological methanation, which uses a proprietary biocatalyst to convert low cost and stranded electricity from renewable energy sources and carbon dioxide into pipeline-grade renewable gas. The produced biomethane could be stored for later used or directly supplied to existing natural gas network.
Electrochaea is successfully operating a grid-scale plant with the power consumption of 1 MW in Denmark since April. The company plans to build additional plants in the United States and Switzerland.
Managing Director of Electrochaea Mich Hein said that this plant is a real milestone in the company’s development, adding that through the partnership with MVM, the company will continue to grow not just in Hungary, but in whole Central Europe.