The Munich cleantech startup Electrochaea GmbH is building the world's first large-scale power-to-gas plant in Hungary together with the energy supplier MVM (Magyar Villamos Művek).
The plant is operated by Power-to-Gas Hungary Ltd., a joint venture between Electrochaea and Smart Future Lab Plc, a research and development incubator belonging to the MVM Group. The plant can consume up to 10 megawatts and converts electricity into gas through biological methanation. The biomethane produced in this way can be stored and fed directly into the existing natural gas grid. Zsolt Bertalan, Managing Director of the MVM subsidiary Smart Future Lab Plc, is enthusiastic:
"Electrochaea has found a way to solve the storage problem of renewable energies while simultaneously contributing to the long-term reduction of climate-damaging carbon dioxide. The potential of this disruptive technology is enormous. For a safe, clean, reliable, and affordable energy supply today and in the future, we are always looking for precisely such innovative solutions."
Mich Hein, Managing Director of Electrochaea GmbH, looks to the future:
"Through Smart Future Lab and the joint venture PtG Hungary, we will grow strongly not only in Hungary but throughout Central Europe and continue to market our technology worldwide. For Electrochaea, this is a true milestone in the company's development, enabling us to develop further large-scale, high-performance plants."
Electrochaea has been operating a pilot plant in Denmark since April 2016. Additional plants are under construction in Switzerland and the USA. In the medium term, plants with a capacity of up to one gigawatt are planned.
