Natural gas and hydrogen from waste water treatment plants

Hydrogen is one essential component of future energy concepts, provided that it comes from renewable sources. But as a precondition for the establishment of hydrogen energy, the required infrastructure has to be built, e.g. filling stations. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) can make a contribution to the implementation of hydrogen technology: There is a nation-wide network of WWTP with excellent infrastructure and technical know-how. In these local sites, natural gas and hydrogen can be produced from digester gas, a renewable energy source. So WWTP can be important first modules for development and decentralization of the necessary future hydrogen infrastructure. Within the future energy supply system, WWTP might become hydrogen suppliers e.g. for hydrogen-powered vehicles, thereby moving away from their traditional role as disposal enterprises and turning into producing enterprises.

This concept is realized worldwide for the first time at Bottrop WWTP. Some of the digester gas is upgraded to natural gas quality and converted to hydrogen. The natural gas is used in cars. The hydrogen is transported via pipeline to provide a school with heat and electricity by cogeneration. In a future step, the provision of hydrogen cars by this high-quality hydrogen made from digester gas is envisaged.