In Mannheim, Germany, climate-tech startup ICODOS GmbH, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Mannheim’s urban drainage company (EBS) have announced a project that will produce sustainable fuels from wastewater and electricity in a first-of-its-kind facility. This pioneering project exploits the immense potential of sewage treatment plants — there are around 9,000 of them in Germany alone, and the number is estimated at up to 75,000 at across the E.U. The project is an example of the power of cooperation between startup companies and established city institutions, such as EBS.
The team behind the novel e-methanol plant in Mannheim (Source: ICODOS)
“We are proud to present the world’s first plant that uses electricity to convert wastewater into sustainable marine fuel,” explains Dr. Vidal Vazquez, technical director of ICODOS.
“This technology will sustainably change the shipping industry and makes a decisive contribution to reducing CO2 emissions,” adds David Strittmatter, commercial director of ICODOS.
As part of the project, biogas is produced in the Mannheim sewage treatment plant. This is further processed in the demonstration system developed by KIT and ICODOS . The patented process makes it possible to efficiently clean the biogas and convert it into methanol in conjunction with electricity and hydrogen. The electricity is used for electrolysis to produce hydrogen. This then reacts with the CO2 dissolved from the biogas. The entire process is designed to remove unavoidable CO2 from the system, thereby helping to reduce greenhouse gases. The “e-methanol” produced ultimately serves as a sustainable shipping fuel and shows the potential of the entire process chain to transform wastewater into valuable energy sources.
“The new facility impressively demonstrates how research and entrepreneurship can produce practical solutions for the sustainable transformation of our economy,” says Professor Thomas Hirth, Vice President Transfer and International Affairs at KIT. “Here, a valuable material is obtained from biogas that is produced during wastewater treatment – an innovative approach that shows how existing resources can be used intelligently and in a climate-friendly manner.”
Maritime transport is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world. There is an urgent need to find green alternatives to traditional fossil fuels. In this context, sustainable e-fuels represent a central technology for the future of the industry. The current project impressively shows that wastewater treatment plants can serve as the heart of green fuel production – a potential that has so far remained unused. In contrast to other available technologies, the technology from ICODOS and KIT makes it possible to produce e-fuels cost-effectively in relatively small projects. This makes it ideal for quickly ramping up production in Europe.