Developing a sustainable and competitive industrial sector

The ultimate aim of Gaya Project is to develop a sustainable and local industrial sector for producing renewable so-called biomethane from dry biomass-to-gas. This is the real challenge for the platform, i.e. to prove the viability of the technology throughout the production chain (supply, gasification, methanation, the processing of synthesis gas, and recovering fuel) and helping a genuine biomethane production sector to emerge. The biomass (wood and waste) supplies will be collected as close to the units as possible in order to enable the CO₂ footprint to be kept to a minimum, while the distance travelled by the biomass between the place where it is produced and the place where it is turned into energy will be kept as short as possible. Energy-efficiency will also be factored in on an industrial scale via local use of the excess heat produced (industry, heating networks, etc.).

Trials will be conducted using various kinds of ligneous biomass (wood, straw, and by-products from the timber industry, etc.) in order to gain a better understanding of the flexibility of the transformation process. It will also allow to explore the potential unrevealed axis, as well as to highlight other available resources, but currently not used in France and Europe.

The aim is to enable the sector to be competitive compared to other renewable energies by 2018. The technical potential of biomethane from dry biomass-to-gas output for 2020 and 2050 varies between 100 TWh and a maximum of 250 TWh per year depending on the scenario envisaged.

Consult the Report on “Gasification biomethane – Assessment of the potential production in France by 2020 and 2050″ (available only in French).
This report, which was prepared for GrDF by CRIGEN, one of ENGIE’s research laboratories, emphasizes the potential of dry biomass-to-gas. It shows that this significant potential has been achieved thanks to the flexibility of the technology and to the high conversion yield enjoyed by the industry (56% to 65% depending on the technical configuration), as this technology sector particularly benefits from a decentralized business model that has deep local roots. Lastly, the results emphasize the fact that forestry resources will remain the basic resource in plans for supplying the waste-to-energy recovery units in 2020 and 2050.)