New technique converts excess renewable energy to natural gas

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Simon Pang (left) and Buddhinie Jayathilake assemble and prepare a prototype bubble column electrobioreactor to test additively manufactured three-dimensional electrodes.

LLNL researchers have partnered with Los Angeles-based SoCalGas and Munich, Germany-based Electrochaea to develop an electrobioreactor to allow excess renewable electricity from wind and solar sources to be stored in chemical bonds as renewable natural gas.  Check out Electrochaea's press release: Electrochaea signs CRADA.

The work is funded with $1 million from the Technology Commercialization Fund of the DOE Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office, a division of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Partners will provide $1 million in in-kind contributions or research funds.  

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