May 9, 2024 - Over the years, the EnergyDecentral trade fair has established itself as the central exhibition venue for the renewable energy industry. This year between November 12-15, the trends and innovations for reconciling security of supply and decarbonisation will once again be presented at the exhibition grounds in Hanover, Germany. The industry offers a variety of effective technological solutions that visitors can compare over four exhibition days. Biogas and hydrogen will play a major role at EnergyDecentral, which is held in parallel with EuroTier, the leading trade for animal farming and livestock management.
Germany plans to be completely climate-neutral by 2045, the first industrialised nation in the world to do so: "The decarbonisation of the energy system is feasible," says Marcus Vagt, Project Manager of EnergyDecentral. CO2 reduction is the central building block that comes first according to Vagt. "This is followed by substitution and, where emissions cannot be avoided, compensation," explains Vagt. This not only requires a change in technology - from gas and oil boilers with fossil fuels to innovative heating technologies and, in the case of combustion engines, to renewable fuels and alternative drive systems. This is because the switch to renewable energies also brings with it new principles: "While electricity generation in the 'fossil' world has been based on demand, future consumption will have to be based on the output of weather-dependent wind and solar power plants," concludes Vagt.
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Decarbonising with electricity
Research institutions, start-ups and technology providers will be shaping the future of net zero emissions at EnergyDecentral 2024 from November 12-15. Part of the remit is to expand the share of renewable energies in gross electricity consumption, further development and comprehensive modernisation of combined heat and power generation and the conversion of heating networks to renewable energies and waste heat. Over 250 exhibitors will be showcasing innovations and solutions from the fields of solar, wind, biomass, green hydrogen and storage technologies at the exhibition grounds in Hanover, Germany. Also on display are digital technologies, which have developed rapidly in recent years and are the key to intelligent systems that can be used to monitor and control the energy supply.
One of the most evident traits of decarbonisation are the renewable energy plants that are replacing coal, gas and nuclear power plants. When restructuring the energy system, they are not focusing solely on electricity generation. "The successful implementation of the energy transition also includes making the heating and transport sectors more climate-friendly," adds Vagt. The electrification of the heating and transport sectors - known as 'sector coupling' - also offers another major advantage: "It makes the entire energy system in Germany more flexible. This also makes it very important for decarbonisation," says Vagt.
Biomass - a climate-neutral alternative
biomass plays a key role among renewable energies as the only 'renewable' carbon source. Since the introduction of the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), a series of German laws offering feed-in-tariffs to encourage renewable electricity, biomass has become an integral part of the energy mix. Today's biogas plants show the enormous potential for decarbonisation that still lies in the use of biomass. They convert manure and slurry into fertiliser through a fermentation process and simultaneously produce methane (bio-LNG) in gaseous or liquid form. Hydrogen can also be produced from biogas, which opens up a new perspective for biogas plants when subsidies in Germany shortly expire. "With every additional flexibilisation of a biogas plant, we reduce the need for new, central gas-fired power plants," confirms Vagt.
With a total output of around six gigawatts, some 10,000 biogas plants in Germany today generate over 33 terawatt hours of electricity annually. This corresponds to around six percent of electricity consumption in Germany and the same amount of heat, which is mainly used in rural areas. "Doubling the current output to 12 gigawatts by 2030 would be possible without any problems," says Horst Seide, President of the German Biogas Association. This assessment is shared by Silke Weyberg, Managing Director of the Lower Saxony/Bremen Renewable Energy Association: "In Lower Saxony alone, the current output of 1.4 gigawatts could easily be doubled to 2.8 gigawatts by 2030. That is roughly equivalent to the output of six gas-fired power plant units." it would not be necessary to use more biomass or require more space. "Instead, additional combined heat and power plants could be set up to produce electricity simply when neither sun nor wind are available," says Weyberg.
The new role of combined heat and power (CHP) generation
The value of providing renewable energy on demand at the touch of a button will continue to increase in the coming years. Flexible, decentralised CHP plants are therefore needed to close the capacity gap of at least 15 gigawatts, expected as a result of the coal phase-out in a reliable and climate-friendly manner. They enable energy sources to be used much more efficiently than when heat and electricity are generated separately. The logical consequence: future-proof combined heat and electricity are generated separately. The logical consequence: future-proof combined heat and power plants are evolving from heat-controlled base load operation to flexible, electricity market-optimised plants. Externally fired gas turbines, which are used in biomass cogeneration plants (biomass CHP), are just one example of this. They open up a wide range of fuels in the power range between 40 kilowatts and several megawatts of electricity. Equipped with intelligent energy management systems and buffer storage systems such as those on show at EnergyDecentral, they can be decoupled from the current heat demand at any time.
In order to offer even more alternatives for the hearing transition, technology providers now also offer large heat pumps in their portfolio and are positioning themselves as full-service providers for decentralised energy supply concepts. Christian Grotholt, CEO of combined heat and power plant manufacturer 2G EnergyL "For us, there is huge added value in interlinking the two technologies. From revenue potential on the electricity market and the significant reduction in CO2 emissions to the technical interaction in different weather conditions, combined systems create direct added value for both the operator and society."
Green hydrogen - a resilient energy system
Presenting modern hydrogen CHP units, fuel cells and electrolysers of the latest generation, the exhibitors at EnergyDecentral are fully in line with the trend of the energy policy discussion. Hydrogen is seen as one of the main keys to a resilient and climate-neutral energy system. The commitment of Spanish fertiliser manufacturer Fertiberia has emerged as a showcase project in this regard. In mid-May 2024, the energy company Iberdrola commissioned 16 electrolysers and a lithium-ion battery system with a total capacity of 20 megawatts in Puertollano, 250 kilometres south of Madrid - right next to the fertiliser factory. Fertiberia has been producing artificial fertiliser at this location for over 60 years, the most important ingredient of which is ammonia. To date, gray hydrogen obtained from natural gas has been used to produce this. The plant obtains its electricity for the electrolysers directly from a 100 megawatt solar park. The 20 megawatts of capacity installed so far covers around 10 percent of Fertiberia's energy requirements. By 2027, it is expected to increase more than tenfold to 40,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
The hydrogen business is picking up speed, not only in Germany but also internationally. By 2030, the EU Commission plans to install electrolysers with a capacity of at least 40 gigawatts and produce 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen in a step-by-step approach. Visitors to EnergyDecentral from November 12-15 can explore the potential of hydrogen as an energy source and identify the technologies that will help to switch production from grey to green.
Exhibitor bookings continue
Companies can still register an exhibitor stand at EnergyDecentral.
The Global MillerThis blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
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