GreenLNG for Europe – Electricity enhanced methanation of biomass

The thermochemical methanation of solid fuels, such as biomass or coal, involves gasification into syngas and subsequent methanation to produce Substitute Natural Gas (SNG). Recent developments since the late 1990s have seen a surge in interest in biomass-to-SNG processes driven by rising natural gas prices and renewable energy priorities. Industrial-scale demonstration projects, like the GoBiGas plant in Sweden, have marked significant progress, although challenges in gas cleaning and raw SNG conditioning persist. A new solution to streamline these processes lies in electrification, offering simplification through electric heating of the allothermal gasifier and introducing hydrogen from electrolysis for synthesis gas conditioning. A main driver for the approach is the need for green energy carriers and transportation fuels such as GreenLNG. The Horizon Europe project CarbonNeutralLNG focuses on synthesis of renewable liquefied natural gas substitutes production. Key innovations of the project are electrical heating for fluidized bed gasification of biomass and non-adiabatic additively manufactured methanation reactors. The paper concludes with an assessment of the future role of electrically heated processes in generating renewable energy carriers, emphasizing their economic potential in an energy economy dominated by volatile wind and photovoltaic electricity sources.