SynerGas

Facts:

Duration: 1 April 2026–31 March 2030
Funding reference: 13HAW05PX4

Background:

Hydrogen plays a crucial role in the decarbonisation of industry. Sustainable production is possible via electrolysis using wind and solar power; however, this is weather-dependent. Furthermore, wind farms are concentrated in northern Germany, meaning that the hydrogen must be transported to industrial sites via gas pipelines. To minimise dependence on imports and transport logistics, it makes sense to produce hydrogen locally and independently of weather conditions by using microorganisms to convert organic residues, and to integrate this into a biogas process via a cascade or utilise the existing infrastructure of such a process. Biogenic residues and waste materials from agriculture, local authorities and industry have often been used for biogas production to date. Many biogas plants will lose their subsidies under the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) in the coming years and will become uneconomical. The cascade production of the dual energy carriers H_₂ and _CH₄ from residues offers a new business opportunity for biogas plant operators, local authorities and the agricultural sector.

The project:

The research project aims to further develop an integrated process for the cascade production of hydrogen and biogas from various biogenic waste materials, with a view to raising the current TRL level from 4–5 to 6–7, based on the applicants’ existing research projects. This is a technology that can be realised in practice, and its market launch is to begin following scaling-up and an increase in the TRL level within the framework of the project. With the involvement of industry partners, the aim is to strengthen existing biogas infrastructure by expanding the scope of existing biogas technology and its feedstock tolerance, so that higher-value hydrogen can also be produced from lignified and contaminated bio-residues. In this way, both energy sources can, amongst other things, be produced locally on farms or within a local authority and either marketed or used to power agricultural machinery and local authority vehicles in a CO₂-neutral manner.

Implementation within the project is divided into three work packages, which encompass both research-based knowledge acquisition and the transfer of innovation to industry. In the first work package, various residues and waste materials are investigated with regard to gas yield and raw material tolerance for sequential hydrogen and biogas production. For suitable substrates, this involves optimising an enzymatic hydrolysis stage. The second work package involves setting up the entire integrated process chain on a pilot plant scale (10 l) at FH Aachen, i.e. the preparation of residual materials via hydrolysis, hydrogen production and the subsequent biogas production. Work Package 3 involves the construction and operation of a container-based, semi-continuous pilot plant with a reactor volume of 500 l. Operation will take place at the project partner ‘Kartoffelpower’ and involve the use of potato peelings in Jülich. This enclosure enables decentralised testing under real-world conditions at the farmer’s premises. In addition, other companies and local authorities will contribute their raw materials to the pilot operation throughout the project (the City of Aachen with green waste, Bosch-Reutti with straw residues, and PAPSTAR and Fasana with short-fibre paper fractions). This paves the way for the continued use of the technology and enclosure by local authority and agricultural stakeholders. Up to 12 t of organic waste is to be processed annually in the prototype plant in order to produce approximately 400 Nm³ of H_₂ and 680 ^Nm³ of biogas through a cascade utilisation of the raw materials.

Objectives:

Upon completion of the project, the potential of various biogenic residues and waste materials for use in biological hydrogen and biogas production via a cascaded process will be established. A mobile, container-based enclosure will be available for testing further residues. This demonstration of a high TRL ensures the transfer of scientific findings into practice for businesses and local authorities, as well as for spin-offs.