Electrochaea GmbH  

United States
http://www.electrochaea.com

• Booth: 1358

Electrochaea is a new energy company with an innovative solution for storage of intermittent renewable energy.  Electrochaea's proprietary technology converts renewable energy and recycled carbon dioxide into low-carbon intensity, sustainable methane, which is reliable, practical, and a safe replacement for natural gas. The sustainable methane can be stored in the existing gas grid infrastructure for use in days, weeks or months. Sustainable methane is synthesized from carbon dioxide and renewable hydrogen using Electrochaea’s patented biocatalyst, archaea microorganism. This scalable solution allows for the efficient and unlimited storage of energy for future use, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and accelerates decarbonization of the gas grid.

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 Press Releases

• JUNE 28, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE: BAKER HUGHES INVESTS IN BIO-METHANATION TECHNOLOGY COMPANY ELECTROCHAEA TO EXPAND CARBON UTILIZATION PORTFOLIO WITH POWER-TO-GAS SOLUTION (Dec 03, 2021)

  Baker Hughes Invests in Bio-methanation Technology Company Electrochaea to Expand Carbon Utilization Portfolio with Power-to-Gas Solution

  • Electrochaea technology enables CO2 recycling into grid-quality, low carbon synthetic natural gas (SNG), contributing to decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors, such as transportation and heating.

  • Baker Hughes will combine its post combustion carbon capture technology with Electrochaea’s bio-methanation technology to develop and commercialize an integrated carbon capture and utilization (CCU) solution.

  MUNICH, HOUSTON and LONDON (BUSINESS WIRE) - June 28, 2021 – Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR), an energy technology company, has announced an investment in Electrochaea, a growth stage company developing novel proprietary bio-methanation technology. Through its investment, Baker Hughes will enhance its broader carbon capture and utilization (CCU) portfolio and provide an integrated solution for customers across the carbon dioxide (CO2) value chain to enable the production of low carbon synthetic natural gas (SNG) from captured CO2 and green hydrogen, helping meet demand for cleaner fuels to advance the energy transition.

  The Electrochaea bio-methanation process is an accessible, highly-efficient, scalable and complementary technology to the Baker Hughes CCU portfolio. The two companies will join efforts to accelerate the scale up and industrialization of the technology, and they will develop the commercialization of an innovative integrated carbon capture and utilization solution. Once commercialized, the solution will provide to customers a unique ability to transform CO2 emissions into clean SNG.

  Baker Hughes will draw from its portfolio of carbon capture technologies, including its Compact Carbon Capture design, to provide integrated solutions tailored to specific applications utilizing both CO2 sources with biogenic origin, such as biomass and waste-to-energy plants, as well as sources based on combustion of fossil fuels, such as industrial plants.

  “The combination of these technologies provides an integrated method to decarbonize hard to abate sectors such as road transportation and heating”, said Rod Christie, executive vice president of Turbomachinery & Process Solutions at Baker Hughes. “This agreement is another deliberate step in our strategy to position Baker Hughes for new energy frontiers like CCU by investing in emerging technologies and combining them with our own proven capabilities. Together, we can develop and scale faster, providing integrated solutions that can effectively decarbonize a range of industries.”

  “Delivering synthetic natural gas at grid scale would be a remarkable development for energy consumers,” added Mich Hein, CEO of Electrochaea. “By combining Baker Hughes’ carbon capture technology process with biomethanation, customers could potentially deploy large scale plants to reduce the carbon impact of existing gas infrastructure. We look forward to working with Baker Hughes to scale up this promising new solution.”

  SNG is methane that originates from a synthesis process that starts from carbon and hydrogen feedstock. Compared to renewable natural gas (RNG) and bio-methane - which have biological origin - or fossil based natural gas, SNG re-utilizes CO2 that would be otherwise emitted into the atmosphere, thus contributing to significantly mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

  Electrochaea’s technology produces SNG from green hydrogen and CO2 that can come from a variety of sources, such as biogas, fermentation off-gas or captured from single point emitters such as power and industrial plants. SNG can be used for low-carbon heating, transport and industrial applications. In addition, once SNG is injected into existing natural gas pipelines, it can be used as a form of energy storage.

  Along with the lead investor Baker Hughes, the existing investors MVP, Storengy (an ENGIE subsidiary), KfW, Caliza, Focus First, Energie 360°, and btov also participated in Electrocheaea’s latest financing round. Baker Hughes will take an approximately 15% stake in Electrochaea to help advance new project development and commercialization. Baker Hughes will also assume a seat on Electrochaea’s Board of Directors.

  About Baker Hughes: Baker Hughes (NYSE: BKR) is an energy technology company that provides solutions to energy and industrial customers worldwide. Built on a century of experience and with operations in over 120 countries, our innovative technologies and services are taking energy forward – making it safer, cleaner and more efficient for people and the planet. Visit us at bakerhughes.com.

  About Electrochaea: Electrochaea delivers a technology to produce renewable methane, a drop-in fuel for natural gas, that can be stored and transported in the existing gas grid. Electrochaea’s patented process addresses the climate challenge by utilizing CO2, producing a renewable fuel, and providing a solution for long-term storage of intermittent renewable energy. The company is planning to deploy its technology with partners to produce more than 15 billion cubic feet per year of renewable SNG by 2025.Industrial-scale pilot plants have operated in the U.S., Switzerland and Denmark. Electrochaea is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with subsidiaries in Denmark and the U.S. Visit us at www.electrochaea.com

• NOVEMBER 4, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE: ELECTROCHAEA’S BIOCAT BIOMETHANATION PROCESS IS CERTIFIED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION PROGRAM (Dec 03, 2021)

  Planegg, 4.11.2021 - Electrochaea’s biomethanation process at the company’s BioCat plant in Avedøre, Denmark has received a Statement of Verification from the independent Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program. The BioCat system for conversion of carbon dioxide into methane was certified for performance in relation to gas quality, capacity, energy consumption and operating conditions, including mass flow rate changes, and start up and shut down. The Statement of Verification assures the BioCat process performance claims are based on reliable test data collected by appropriate analytical methods, under plant operations conducted by competent personnel. The ETV was conducted by an impartial verification body ETA-Danmark A/S and the service provider FORCE Technology.

  Electrochaea’s technology uses a microorganism, an archaea, to biosynthesize methane from CO2 and H2. This process converts carbon dioxide and hydrogen, produced with renewable energy, into renewable methane, a green replacement for all uses of natural gas. The process is versatile because multiple sources of CO2 can be used. During the impartial ETV evaluation, the BioCat system performance was certified with two different sources of CO2: raw biogas from an anaerobic digester and purified CO2 from a biogas upgrading system.

  The European ETV process (EU-ETV), overseen by the European Commission, was established as a pilot program to help innovative environmental technologies reach the market by providing a framework for independent evaluation of the technology performance. The core of the EU-ETV is the verification of the performance claims by an independent third-party. The process follows the ETV General Verification Protocol and provides an independent and impartial verification of the technology performance. ETA-Danmark is the Danish independent verification body and is accredited by DANAK (Danish Accreditation Board) to perform EU-ETV verifications. The claims are central to the verification process and the results are expressed in the Statement of Verification, the content of which Electrochaea’s customers can rely on.

  “When we complete the steps in a verification process, it is our most important task to ensure that impartiality and competence of the verifiers is maintained,” said Peter Fritzel, Project Manager at ETA Danmark. “The strength of a verification is the trust that is established by the fact that it is an independent third party who does not have any stake in the result of the verification.”

  Using the certified process, Electrochaea has continued to optimize its technology. At the fully automated plant STORE&GO in Solothurn, Switzerland, methane was synthesized by Electrochaea’s microorganism; during 1,057 hours of operation 11,165 kg of methane was injected into the Swiss gas grid.

  Doris Hafenbradl, Managing Director and Technical Director, Electrochaea GmbH: "Verifying the performance of our BIOCAT processis an important component of our international marketing strategy. Independent technology evaluation allows project developers and investors to make sound data-based investment decisions."

  About Electrochaea: Electrochaea delivers a technology to produce renewable methane, a fuel that replaces natural gas, and can be stored and transported in the existing gas grid. Electrochaea’s patented process combats climate change by utilizing CO2, producing a renewable fuel, and providing a solution for long-term storage of intermittent renewable energy. The company is planning to deploy its technology with partners to produce more than 15 billion cubic feet per year of renewable biosynthetic natural gas by 2025. Industrial-scale pilot plants have operated in the U.S., Switzerland, and Denmark. Electrochaea is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with subsidiaries in Denmark and the U.S. Visit us at www.electrochaea.com 

• JANUARY 7, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE: GROWTH-STAGE POWER-TO-GAS COMPANY ELECTROCHAEA CLOSES SERIES D FINANCING ROUND (Jan 11, 2022)

  Growth-Stage Power-to-Gas Company Electrochaea Closes Series D Financing Round Munich, Germany, January 7, 2022 - Power-to-gas company Electrochaea announced today a €14.9 million equity investment from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund. This investment completes the €36 million Series D round, led by the energy technology company Baker Hughes and existing partners MVP, Storengy (an ENGIE subsidiary), btov, KfW, Energie 360°, Caliza, and Focus First, which was announced last year (06-29-21 Press Release). The purpose of this investment round is to accelerate the scale up and commercialization of Electrochaea’s technology that produces a replacement for fossil natural gas while storing renewable energy and reusing CO2.

  The equity funds permit Electrochaea to catalyze the construction of a commercial European project, through direct investment of funds, and to realize the engineering work completed under the €2.5 million award that Electrochaea received in August 2020 from the ´´EIC Accelerator´´ program, a part of the EU research and innovation program "Horizon 2020". EIC equity investments are made to scale-up game-changing innovative technologies that promote Europe’s goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

  Electrochaea’s power-to-gas biomethanation technology produces grid-quality renewable methane using CO2 and renewable hydrogen. Renewable methane can replace any use of fossil natural gas, thereby significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, utilizing investment in existing gas distribution and storage infrastructure, and contributing to the transition to a clean energy economy.

  “Equity support from the EIC Fund will have a significant impact on Electrochaea’s ability to deliver renewable gas to customers throughout Europe and the world,” said Mich Hein, CEO of Electrochaea. ´´Technologies that can deliver on net-zero greenhouse emission goals need to be scaled up and brought to the market without delay. Electrochaea´s biomethanation technology, which has been proven in two demonstration plants, one in Denmark and one in Switzerland, is an ideal solution to replace fossil gas with fully renewable gas and to participate in the energy transition´´.

  “Electrochaea is a great example of how the EIC Fund is supporting the climate tech innovators to bring their technologies to the market and help achieving the Green deal objectives,” added Martin Bruncko, member of the EIC Fund Investment Committee. “This equity financing will support Electrochaea to successfully produce at industrial scale renewable methane that replaces natural gas and can be stored and transported in the existing gas grid”.

  About Electrochaea: Electrochaea delivers a technology to produce renewable methane, a fuel that replaces natural gas, and can be stored and transported in the existing gas grid. Electrochaea’s patented process combats climate change by utilizing CO2, producing a renewable fuel, and providing a solution for long-term storage of intermittent renewable energy. The company is planning to deploy its technology with partners to produce more than 15 billion cubic feet per year of renewable biosynthetic natural gas by 2025. Industrial-scale pilot plants have operated in the U.S., Switzerland, and Denmark. Electrochaea is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with subsidiaries in Denmark and the U.S. Visit us at www.electrochaea.com.

  About the EIC Fund: Established in June 2020, the European Innovation Council Fund (EIC Fund) is a breakthrough initiative of the European Commission to make direct equity and quasi-equity investments (between €500.000 and €15 million) in European high impact and deep tech start-ups and scale ups. With a long-term perspective, the EIC Fund invests in companies from any sector, across all EU member states as well as in associated countries. The EIC Fund aims to fill a critical financing gap and its main purpose is to support companies in the development and commercialization of disruptive technologies. This is achieved by crowding-in market players, and further sharing risk by building a large network of capital providers and strategic partners suitable for co-investments and follow-on funding. The Fund pays particular attention to the empowerment and support of female founders as well as the ambition to reduce the innovation divide among EU countries. https://eic.ec.europa.eu/index_en.