Biogas reforming at Kempten wastewater plant

Metacon’s cutting-edge hydrogen reforming technology will play a central role for Abwasserverband Kempten Allgäu (“AVKE”), a wastewater treatment plant in Kempten, Germany, in 2024. This project is an important part of a green hydrogen center in the area.

Kempten, located on the border with Austria, with a population of 70,000, is facing a transformation of its energy sources and mobility solutions. Hydrogen will be a central part of the city’s transition towards sustainable energy.

AVKE, a public institution in Kempten, operates a wastewater treatment plant with fermentation towers that produce biogas. With a capacity adapted for a population of 460,000 people, the produced biogas is used to generate approximately 800 kW of electricity and heat. Future plans include the production of biomethane and green hydrogen. Through its participation in the “HyAllgäu project”, AVKE is a driving force behind the establishment of the “Kempten Hydrogen Centre”, which will be the basis for several hydrogen projects.

In addition to hydrogen production via electrolyser, Metacon’s biogas reformer will be installed at the AVKE plant. In this process, Metacon’s HHG technology will be used to drive the reforming of the biogas.

This compactly designed reforming construction has the capacity to produce approximately 36 tonnes of hydrogen per year from an input of approximately 40 Nm3 of biogas per hour. The hydrogen produced has a quality of 99.999% and the necessary electricity for the plant is generated by converting existing biogas into electricity.

Through this process, we will not only significantly reduce energy consumption, but also enable a direct comparison and evaluation of two different hydrogen production technologies: electrolysis and reformation, in a real operating environment.