SolarFuel
Twitter Pitch
Smart Energy Conversion: SolarFuel builds plants which convert renewable energy like wind and sun into storable synthetic natural gas. Side product: Oxygen.
Company Information
- ECO12 Award category: Startup
- Company name: SolarFuel GmbH
- Country of origin: Germany
- Company address: Heßbrühlstraße 15, 70565 Stuttgart, Germany
- Founding year: 2010
- Company status: private company
- Website: www.solar-fuel.net
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/SolarFuelGermany
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/SolarFuelGermany
- Contact person: Stephan Rieke, CCO, SolarFuel, rieke@solar-fuel.net
- CEO: Gregor Waldstein (Photo)
Elevator Pitch
The amount of electricity being generated from the wind and the sun is increasing the world over. One problem is the lack of electricity storage facilities for green electricity, which is generated at irregular intervals, since wind and solar power is often produced at times when it is not needed. In collaboration with leading German research institutes, SolarFuel has succeeded in converting renewable electricity into synthetic natural gas, thus enabling it to be stored. The SolarFuel power to gas method converts green electricity into CO2 neutral, renewable natural gas. The advantages include:
- The accommodation of larger shares of renewable electricity in the energy system is possible.
- Renewable natural gas stores the electricity for long periods of time and can be accessed at all times.
- The natural gas infrastructure with its large-scale capacities can keep energy in storage for several months.
In this way, the existing natural gas network becomes a cornerstone for the renewable energy system and provides the storage and transport capacities which are not available in the power grid. SolarFuel founder is the Austrian engineer Gregor Waldstein.
Smart Green Product
Large-scale power to gas plants in the Megawatt range that use methanation as depicted below.
Milestones
- Funding: confidential
- Investors: Juwi, MT Energie
- Employees: 2011: 3 employees and 12 contractors
- Revenues: confidential
- Customers: First customer is AUDI AG for whom SolarFuel builds the first power to gas pilot plant of the world in Werlte (Northern Germany).
- Milestones: Partnership with the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research (ZSW) which in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Power and Energy System Technology (IWES) developed the technology. ASUE Award 2010 for “Environmentally friendly Mobility and Innovation”, Landmark 2011 in 365 Landmarks in the Land of Ideas Germany.
SolarFuel on Ecosummit.net
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