MéthyCentre is a demonstrator project dedicated to energy transition. The aim is to test an innovative process which enables the conversion of electricity into green gas. It is based on power-to-gas technology which includes an electrolysis process for the production of hydrogen and a methanation process for the production of synthetic methane. The gas will help to meet clean mobility requirements and partly replace the fossil fuel of our networks. The project is supported by Storengy and its partners in the Centre-Val de Loire, near the Céré-la-Ronde gas storage site.
- 29 November 2019
This project will make it possible to study the technical and economic viability of the process in different energy markets (network services, hydrogen and NGV mobility, biomethane and synthetic methane injection in the natural gas network) and to foster the emergence of sustainable ecological and economic methods. It will also make it possible to evaluate the social and societal acceptability of the use of hydrogen, to identify the technical, technological, economic or regulatory obstacles, as well as the various levers for reducing investment and operating costs.
The growing share of renewable energy in the energy mix could generate electricity surpluses, including two to three TWh which could be put to use by 2030 using power-to-gas technology. This issue will require service solutions to the electricity grid, particularly to ensure its flexibility, while having the lowest possible environmental impact.
The MéthyCentre project is the first methanation-coupled power-to-gas demonstration project in France. This demonstrator will be connected to the gas network by a single injection point for biomethane and synthetic gas.
Developing a circular economy
This coupling project enables the carbon efficiency of biogas into methane to improve from almost 55% to more than 95%. The project is part of a local area of sustainable development and contributes to the deployment of a circular economy in the Centre-Val de Loire region.Méthycentre aims to:
convert surplus intermittent renewable electricity into hydrogen;make use of the CO2 derived from a biogas into synthetic methane by hydrogenation of the latter;recover agricultural waste from local farms or the agri-food industry for biogas;produce three carbon-free gases: hydrogen, biomethane and synthetic methane;propose hydrogen mobility and local and competitive NGV.A research and development project
R & D technological components are developed by industrial experts - Areva H2Gen deals with electrolysis, Atmostat deals with the catalytic methanation and Prodeval deals with the separation of gas. They are supported by the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies Commission (CEA) for certain more specific research tasks. Storengy has a lead role in the R & D project dealing with the integration of these technological components, the implementation of the methanation project and the tests that will be carried out when the unit is operational.
The project is currently in the design phase. Construction is planned for between mid-2020 and mid-2021, in order to be able to start producing green gases from 2021 and testing the flexibility of the system and its performance over time until 2023.
A player involved in the energy transition
The project should generate one to two service delivery jobs for the methanation unit and the equivalent of one job for the R & D project maintenance work in its operational phase. It received aid in the form of subsidies from Ademe, the European Regional Development Fund, as well as the Centre-Val de Loire region (Lavoisier programme). Throughout its development, it has received active support from the Centre-Val de Loire region, where Storengy is already established through its gas storage business.
Storengy has adopted a business plan in which power-to-gas project development is central to the storage of renewable energy in the form of green gas. These developments are in line with Storengy’s second priority, aiming to be a committed player in the energy transition in all projects.
Total investment and European funding
The ‘MéthyCentre’ project received a total investment of EUR 3 007 607, with the European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 1 401 601 through the ‘2014-2020 Loire Interregional Programme’ cooperation programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the ‘Jobs, Growth and Investment’ priority.