Virent Startup Hydrogen From Biomass System

Virent Energy System today announced that it has successfully started up the first ever demonstration system capable of directly converting sugars and glycerin into power. The system, purchased by Madison, Gas & Electric (MGE), is based on Virent’s patented Aqueous Phase Reforming (APR) process, a carbon neutral, one-step method for on-demand production of hydrogen, natural gas and/or other fuel gases for distributed power systems from widely available renewable biomass.

Virent’s APR system offers a cost effective method for low temperature production of hydrogen and/or fuel gas. By demonstrating the capability of localized, on-demand fuel delivery, the system is a promising first step to providing a reliable method for renewable fuel generation from a variety of widely available biomass sources. The APR systems can be designed to deliver predominantly hydrogen or alkanes (i.e. natural gas, ethane, butane and propane), or a customized blend of these fuels. Virent refers to these various biomass-generated streams as SupernaturalTM fuels. This system design will target a number of opportunities, ranging from stationary power systems, industrial hydrogen, renewable fuel stations or, longer term, mobile applications.

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