CPOTE2026
|
9th
International Conference on
Contemporary Problems of Thermal Engineering
23-25 September 2026 | Kraków, Poland | In-person
Contemporary Problems of Thermal Engineering
23-25 September 2026 | Kraków, Poland | In-person
Abstract CPOTE2026-16063-A
Business-case modelling for the integrated NET-Fuels system
Gabriel STEFFEN, Reach Innovation, AustriaFatima DARGAM, Reach Innovation, Austria
Daniele MOLOGNONI, LEITAT Technological Center, Spain
Maria VEGA-PAREDES, LEITAT Technological Center, Spain
Martin MEILLER, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, Germany
Felix LEHNER, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, Germany
The increasing integration of variable renewable electricity creates a growing need for flexible conversion pathways capable of using low-price electricity and producing storable energy carriers. Within the NET-Fuels concept, bioelectrochemical methanation (BEM) is integrated with Thermo-Catalytic Reforming (TCR), hydrogen separation and oxyfuel combustion to convert low-grade biomass into synthetic methane, hydrogen, bio-oil and biochar, while enabling certified carbon removal.
This paper develops a business-case-oriented scenario model for the integrated NET-Fuels process, using digestate as the reference feedstock and western Lower Saxony as a representative regional context. The model compares a fixed-output reference case, unrestricted hourly price-responsive operation and operation subject to a 12-hour minimum-runtime constraint using hourly German-Luxembourg day-ahead electricity prices. Product quantities, revenues and variable non-electric costs are scaled with operating hours, while CAPEX, financing and site-specific electricity charges remain outside the system boundary.
Under the reference assumptions, operation at the initially assumed annual utilisation does not achieve a positive gross operating margin. Unrestricted hourly dispatch significantly improves the economic performance by concentrating operation in periods with favourable electricity prices, while cumulative cost-covering operation remains possible over a substantially longer period. Introducing a 12-hour minimum-runtime constraint reduces both the economically favourable operating window and the achievable gross operating margin. The results demonstrate that operational flexibility substantially improves the economic performance of the integrated process, although the achievable operating duration remains below the reference annual utilisation.
As NET-Fuels represents an early-stage first-of-a-kind concept, the analysis is not intended to demonstrate immediate commercial profitability. Instead, it provides a transparent economic screening approach that quantifies the gap between the current process assumptions and the conditions required for future cost-covering operation.
The complete paper about this work can be found in the NET-Fuels Zenodo repository: https://zenodo.org/communities/net_fuels_horizon_europe_project/
Keywords: NET-Fuels, Power-to-gas, Renewable methane, Bioelectrochemical methanation, Thermo-catalytic reforming
Acknowledgment: The NET-Fuels project is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme, Grant Agreement No. 101083780. The authors thank all NET-Fuels project partners for the interactions that supported this publication.