Graforce’s methane electrolysis method converts LNG into hydrogen

At the International LNG Conference 2023 in Düsseldorf, Graforce showcases the methane electrolysis (plasmalysis) method used to transform LNG into hydrogen.

Large gas customers will therefore be able to transition to clean-burning hydrogen in the future without altering their current energy suppliers or energy delivery channels to the final user.

The European Union also relies on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and autogas to become independent of Russian natural gas imports by 2027. (liquefied petroleum gas, LPG). By converting LNG into hydrogen using an inventive technique developed by the Berlin-based technology company Graforce, the EU is still able to meet its climate goals by 2030.

Using cutting-edge, climate-neutral technology to reduce carbon emissions

In the modular plasmalysis systems, hydrocarbons like methane are broken down into their molecular constituents, hydrogen and solid carbon, using a high-frequency plasma field produced by renewable electricity. Plasmalysis uses only a quarter of the energy of water electrolysis to produce the same amount of hydrogen.

The hydrogen can subsequently be applied to the chemical sector, or used to generate heat and energy without producing any emissions. A important raw material for numerous industrial uses is high purity carbon (steel, concrete, asphalt or soil improvement). This method is also the first commercially viable substitute for carbon capture storage since carbon dioxide is long-term bonded in products.

In comparison to burning, a single 20 megawatt plant can produce hydrogen from about 70,000 tons of LNG annually and avoid about 200,000 tons of CO2.

In Berlin and Brandenburg, Graforce has already constructed three demonstration systems. One for the decarbonization of natural gas and the production of hydrogen and fixed carbon in a refinery, as well as a plant for CO2-free heat and electricity generation in a 40,000 square meter urban area in Germany, are two more projects with well-known firms that will be finished this year.

Collaboration for power-heat coupling with self-sufficiency

In order to generate CO2-free combined heat and power, Graforce and Kawasaki Gas Turbine Europe agreed into a partnership in January 2023. In the industrial sector, CO 2 free electricity and high temperature heat can be produced using a plasmalysis and hydrogen turbine combination. The entire system doesn’t need any more electricity after it’s begun.

The system solution uses biomethane, natural gas, LNG, or LPG to produce carbon-free hydrogen. This is reused in the Plasmalyze to produce hydrogen after being transformed into energy by Kawasaki’s hydrogen gas turbine. Businesses that previously used natural gas to produce their high-temperature heat can greatly improve their overall efficiency while lowering their gas and, in particular, electricity expenditures.

In 2020 and 2022, both technologies received the German gas industry’s Innovation Award.