SoCalGas’ biomethanation reactor system to be installed in Maine

In California, SoCalGas’ biomethanation reactor system will be used to help produce renewable energy as part of a power-to-gas demonstration. This system will be installed at an anaerobic digester facility in Clinton, Maine in early 2023.  The power-to-gas process converts renewable electricity into hydrogen.  The biomethanation reactor converts the hydrogen and biogenic carbon dioxide into methane that can be used onsite or injected into the natural gas grid.

The process will source naturally occurring organic waste from 6 dairy farms in Clinton and other areas in Maine to create biogas which can be used for heating, cooking, and other processes.

SoCalGas, Plug Power, Electrochaea, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) worked together to develop the reactor in Golden, Colorado. The biomethanation reactor will be transferred from Colorado to Maine as a key component of this Department of Energy (DOE)-funded project. Summit Natural Gas of Maine was recently awarded nearly $5 million from the DOE to demonstrate power-to-gas with biomethanation process at a dairy digester in Clinton.