25.07.2008
Universität Hohenheim opens Germany’s first biogas research system
Model of the biogas system
(Copyright: Universität Hohenheim)
On the 19th of July 2008, Germany’s first major biogas research system went into operation after a two-year building period. The
Universität Hohenheim research system in Eningen (Reutlingen rural district) is a big step toward significantly improving Baden-Württemberg’s environmental performance in the future with small-scale decentral power stations. Guided tours, a presentation of research projects, musical entertainment and an opening ceremony attended by high-ranking political representatives provided the proper kick-off for the pilot system of Baden-Württemberg’s bioenergy research platform.
During the opening ceremony, Friedlinde Gurr-Hirsch, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Nutrition and Rural Affairs, stated that Baden-Württemberg intends to increase the share of renewable energy in its primary energy consumption to at least twelve percent by 2020. The ecological performance of the power station is impressive: the gas powers a combined heat and power station; it can also someday fuel cars, and after further processing, it can be substituted for conventional natural gas. The generated electricity is fed into the grid, the waste heat is used to heat university buildings, and the remaining materials may one day serve as a designer fuel to replace old oil heating systems.
Not only are fossil fuels running low, so is arable land with which to feed the world’s growing population – and this is an issue that bioenergy research must address, as Universität Hohenheim Rector Prof. Hans-Peter Liebig pointed out. According to Universität Hohenheim biogas experts, yields of up to 50 percent more energy from a given area of farmland are conceivable. This is being made possible by tests to determine the proper combinations of dung, new energy plants and suitably adapted high-tech processing. The resulting increase in efficiency means reduced land requirements. The research findings can thus make an important contribution to alleviating the competition between energy and food crops on the farms of a hungry globe.
The system’s construction costs of €2.5 million were borne for the most part by the Universität Hohenheim via the Ellrichshausen Foundation and sponsors such as EnBW and Fair Energy. Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of Nutrition and Rural Affairs is financing initial research projects as a part of the Future Offensive IV programme.
More:
https://www.uni-hohenheim.de (press release in German)
