May 8, 2013
Electrochaea is pleased to announce that the company has been chosen as the recipient of two independent grants to further develop its novel power-to-gas technology, by the Danish grid operator Energinet.dk and the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (UK DECC).
The first grant was awarded by the Danish electricity and gas grid operator Energinet.dk through the ForskEL technology demonstration program. Electrochaea will receive up to DKK 3 million (approx. $500,000) in matching support toward the cost of further developing its power-to-gas technology for the Danish market. As part of the grant, Electrochaea will fund laboratory and engineering work as well as a feasibility study for the realization of a MW-scale power-to-gas facility to be built in Denmark starting in 2014. Insero Business Services will provide project administration and reporting services to the project.
Steen Vestervang, R&D Coordinator at Energinet.dk, remarks: “As the transmission system operator of the Danish electricity and gas grid, we see power-to-gas as an enabling technology for Denmark’s future low-carbon energy system with a high penetration of wind energy. We believe Electrochaea has a highly interesting solution and hope that our support will help the company bring its technology to the next stage of development.” Mich Hein, CEO of Electrochaea, adds: “Energinet.dk has been promoting power-to-gas as part of their long term strategy to integrate their electrical power and gas grids for storage and reliable delivery of renewable energy. We are excited about their continued support and are confident that this grant will allow us to quickly scale our technology to megawatt size.”
The second grant was awarded by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as part of the Energy Technology Demonstration Competition. Up to £40,000 was made available to cover parts of the costs of developing a detailed feasibility study for a 1-MW power-to-gas facility to be built in the UK starting in the second half of 2013. In this project, Electrochaea is part of a consortium led by Hydrogenics Europe N.V., a leading electrolyzer manufacturer based in Oevel, Belgium. Other members include CNG Services Ltd, a leading engineering firm for gas-to-grid projects in the UK, and National Grid, the UK’s main gas and power grid operator. Overall, 12 projects were selected for Phase 1 of this competition, but only one in the power-to-gas space.
Greg Barker, UK Energy and Climate Change Minister, has been cited saying: “This new investment will give these organisations the boost they need to drive forward the development of a range of innovative low carbon designs, helping cut costs and bring new technologies to market in this sector.” Filip Page 2 Smeets, General Manager Europe at Hydrogenics, remarks: “Power-to-gas is already a hot topic in many countries in Europe and North America, including Germany, Denmark and Canada. We are excited to help DECC increase their understanding of the role power-to-gas could play in the UK.” Dominic Hofstetter, VP of Business Development at Electrochaea, adds: “The UK does not only have a lot of potential for wind energy but also a modern gas grid as well as ambitious targets for the decarbonization of its power, heat and industrial sectors. We believe that power-to-gas can overcome multiple obstacles in the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy and are excited to see that DECC agrees with that view.”
The submission deadline for the Phase 1 feasibility studies is May 30, 2013. Successful Phase 2 bidders will be notified by late June/early July 2013. Selected projects will run through March 2015.