Chemical Uses of Lignite Will Prevail in the Future
Coal gasification is considered a key technology for the long-term switch to carbochemistry. The greenhouse gas carbon-dioxide will one day be entirely integrated in chemical products and fuels, according to the International Freiberg Conference on IGCC & XtL Technologies (IFC) in Leipzig. May 30, 2012
Less Carbon Conversion Means More Biomethane
The standard production processes of bioenergy sources can be greatly simplified using a new procedure. Scientists from Leipzig, Bremen and Karlsruhe are researching the biological and technical requirements for it. February 6, 2012
More Control over Biogas Production
A new biogas technology is capable of producing this renewable energy resource precisely when it is needed for the production of electricity. Biodegradable waste is increasingly being used as an input. 10/2011
Power-exchange price more consistent with green electricity
Solar and wind power are naturally quite irregular in terms of production and supply to the grid. The Epex Spot power exchange has coped with these fluctuations in supply rather well over the last year and a half. 07/2011
Biomethane from a Bioethanol Plant
The watery residue from bioethanol production used to be disposed of on farm fields. Verbio, a Leipzig-based bioethanol producer, is now using it in a new procedure to produce biomethane in natural-gas quality as well as organic fertilizer. The company has thus added two new, high-quality products to its portfolio while improving its greenhouse balance sheet. 12/2010
Fire-Free Energy
Scientists have presented a concept of how German energy supply can be wholly converted to renewable energy by the year 2050. It’s really a matter of political decision-making, said Wolfgang Eberhardt, managing director at the Helmholtz Center for Materials and Energy. 10/2010
Biomethane in every corner of Europe
German scientists have come up with a procedure for storing surplus wind and solar electricity as biomethane. The upgrading of biogas to natural-gas quality is making particular headway in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. Yet the basic parameters still need to be set for the international transport and trade of biomethane. 04/2010
Energy Charter or Energy Code?
Russia never ratified the Energy Charter, the international legal framework for the energy industry. At the German-Russian Raw Materials Forum in Freiberg, Germany, Russian energy politician Valery Yazev announced meanwhile the “concept of a Global Energy Code”. 03/2010
US energy efficiency needs ‘holistic approach’
Huge potential for energy savings could be unlocked in the US by 2020, concludes a report from McKinsey. But this will only happen if a ‘holistic approach’ is adopted – and investments of some $500 billion are made. The investment would quickly pay for itself. 12/2009
Energy efficiency is becoming a competitive factor
German industry could save twenty-five percent of its energy consumption by consistently applying existing efficiency technologies. While industry managers adopt a new way of thinking, scientists are working on the vision of a resource-efficient factory. 12/2009
Biogas finds its way into the German grid
In Germany, some 4,000 plants produce biogas which is used to generate electricity. The latest trend is for plants to convert biogas into biomethane, which is then fed into the gas grid. By 2020, some 6% of the gas that flows through the German grid must be from renewable sources. 07/2009
German gas system proves highly resilient
German gas providers coped remarkebly well with the supply disruption in January. They even managed to supply extra gas to hard-hit customers in Eastern Europe. Even so the companies are expanding their storage capabilities and looking for alternative supply routes. 02/2009
‘You don’t solve market challenges by merging exchanges’
European energy exchanges may be undergoing a process of consolidation, Erik Saether, ceo of Nord Pool Spot (NPS), is not eager at this moment to merge with his European competitors. ‘It will be better for Europe if local markets are improved first.’ 02/2009