McPhy Energy, specialised in hydrogen production and storage equipment for industry and energy markets has been selected to provide preventative and corrective maintenance services for the Audi e-gas plant in Werlte, Germany. This decision is a consequence of a partnership between Audi and McPhy, which started in late 2013 when McPhy Energy finalised the installation and commissioning of the 6MW water electrolysis plant for the Werlte installation.
The plant uses surplus green electricity to produce hydrogen from water in three alkaline electrolyzers. The hydrogen is reacted with CO2 to produce synthetic methane, or Audi e-gas. It is virtually identical to the fossil, natural gas, and is distributed via an existing infrastructure, the German natural gas network, to CNG filling stations for Audi’s A3 g-tron series. Audi produces up to 1,000t of e-gas per year, chemically binding some 2,800t of CO2. Water and oxygen are the only by-products.
Photo courtesy of Calyptus
The 6MW alkaline electrolyzer is a key component of the e-gas power plant technology, making it possible to extract hydrogen from water through surplus electricity. Through its expertise, the McPhy Energy’s subsidy in Wildau (Germany) has further optimised this technology (known as Alcaline 2.0 electrolysis) and developed in-depth experience assuring its integration into energy infrastructures such as electrical or natural gas networks.
