GASEM - Gas quality-based sensors for industrial quality control & real-time pricing

Based on the climate targets for 2050, the Swiss gas industry wants to integrate 30% renewable gases into the Swiss heating market by 2030 and limit the use of fossil energy sources. In order to achieve this decarbonization target, new power-to-gas concepts are needed in addition to the expansion of proven biogas plants. This decentralized and diversified feed-in of different technologies will lead to heterogeneous gas qualities in the natural gas grid in the future. This results in the need for a future-oriented but cost-effective sensor that can evaluate gas qualities.

In order to meet this challenge and the needs of the energy system, the research fund of the Swiss Gas Industry Association is supporting the GASEM project via the FOGA and the Aargau Research Fund (FFA). The acronym GASEM stands for “Gas quality-based sensors for industrial quality control & management of gas feed-in points and power-to-gas plants”. In the project, the company Mems AG, together with UMTEC, is developing such a future-proof in-situ gas sensor.

Gas quality management and real-time pricing of feed-in gases

The full-range sensor enables reliable determination of the gas composition and provides data in the form of calorific value and Wobbe index. When used at any feed-in point, the sensor is able to determine the hydrogen content in methane and impurities such as CO2 at the same time. This allows the quality and price of the gas fed in to be assessed on the spot and at any time. This sensory gas assessment can be used flexibly at any feed-in point for quality monitoring and thus allows gas quality-based “real-time pricing” of the gas to be fed in. In this sense, the new sensor sets standards in gas management and quality assurance in the production, feed-in and transportation of renewable gases.

Sensor-controlled system management

Industry-compatible interfaces such as the HART communication protocol and a Modbus interface ensure simple integration into PLC plant control systems. This approach enables sensor-controlled power-to-gas plant management by precisely adjusting the stoichiometry of the educt gases and recycling or purifying insufficient product gases in order to meet the quality requirements of the feed-in regulations.