Experimental activities resume following electromethanogenesis pilot recommissioning
Over the past few months, significant progress has been made at the French electromethanogenesis demonstration site within the BIOMETHAVERSE project.
Following the technical issues encountered in spring 2026, repair and recommissioning operations were successfully completed through the joint efforts of the project teams and the staff of the host biogas plant. This close cooperation enabled the restoration of the pilot systems and the gradual resumption of experimental activities.
The trials have nevertheless continued to face several operational challenges, particularly due to the heatwaves experienced in France during the summer of 2026. These conditions required adjustments to operating and monitoring procedures to maintain favourable biological and electrochemical conditions within the reactors.
Despite these challenges, both experimental configurations are now back in operation. The two-chamber pilot is currently generating encouraging data, supporting the ongoing evaluation of the process while the applied voltage is progressively increased. Although the initial observations are promising, achieving stable long-term operation remains a major challenge and will be one of the project’s key focus areas in the coming months.
In parallel, a methane emissions measurement campaign is planned in collaboration with project partner DBFZ. The results will contribute to a more comprehensive characterisation of the demonstration site’s environmental performance and generate new knowledge for the BIOMETHAVERSE project.
