Technology and Innovation Communications
Oliver Strohbach
Tel: +49 841 89-45277
E-mail: [email protected]
www.audi-mediacenter.com
Audi e-gas plant stabilizes electrical grid
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World’s largest power-to-gas plant compensates for load peaks
Qualification confirmed for participation in the electricity balancing
market
Audi extends line-up of g-tron models with Audi A4 g-tron
Ingolstadt/Werlte, July 15, 2015 – The Audi e-gas plant in the city of Werlte in
Lower Saxony produces CO2-neutral fuel, and it also contributes toward stabilizing
the public power grid. After successfully completing a test sequence, the plant is
now qualified for participating in what is known as the electricity balancing
market.
In the German electrical energy mix, the share of renewable energies is growing
rapidly – this share already reached 33 percent in the first half of 2015. However,
regional expansion of wind and photovoltaic generation plants leads to increasingly
larger load fluctuations – it is therefore important to have flexibly available
consumers such as the Audi e-gas plant to buffer load peaks and thereby stabilize
energy grids.
The Audi e-gas plant in Werlte (Emsland) is able to respond to even slight load
changes in the electricity grid to balance them out. This has resulted in the plant
being accepted under the direction of grid operator Tennet TSO GmbH. The plant
had to be able to draw 6 megawatts of power from the grid within five minutes as
well as run prescribed load profiles. By passing this test, the Audi e-gas plant has
been qualified for participation in what is known as the electricity balancing market
that is organized by grid operators. This means that the plant can now target higher
annual operating times, which benefits the power grid and the amount of Audi e-gas
that is produced.
The power-to-gas plant in Werlte, which produces synthetic methane (Audi e-gas)
from water and CO2 utilizing wind-generated electricity, was launched in 2013. Audi
customers can pay with the Audi e-gas card at CNG fueling stations, and Audi then
feeds equivalent quantities of e-gas into the German natural gas network. The
Audi A3 Sportback g-tron* with 81 kW (110 hp) of power is currently available from
dealers. The new Audi A4 Avant g-tron with 125 kW (170 hp) will follow next year.
*The collective fuel consumption of all models named above and available on the German
market can be found in the list provided at the end of this MediaInfo.
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Both models can be driven climate-neutrally with Audi e-gas. This means that the
amount of CO2 that is emitted during vehicle operation is equal to the amount that
is chemically bound to produce the fuel.
In addition to e-gas production in multiple plants, the brand with the four rings is
also working on a broad front to develop other CO2-neutral fuels – Audi e-fuels. In
early 2015, a pilot plant in Dresden that is operated by project partner
sunfire GmbH started up production of the synthetic fuel Audi e-diesel. Audi is also
conducting joint research on the synthetic manufacture of Audi e-gasoline with the
French company Global Bioenergies S.A.
In another project, Audi is working together with the USA-based company
Joule Unlimited Technologies, Inc., which is using microorganisms to produce the
synthetic fuels Audi e-diesel and Audi e-ethanol. In the field of e-gas, Audi is also
working with a partner to develop a new production method in which the
methanation process runs on biological pathways.
– End –
Fuel consumption of the models named above:
Audi A3 Sportback g-tron
CNG consumption in kg/100 km: 3.6 - 3.3 (5.8 – 5.3 kg/100 mi)
Combined fuel consumption in l/100 km: 5.5 - 5.1 (42.8 - 46.1 US mpg);
Combined CO2 emissions in g/km (CNG): 98 - 89 (157.7 - 143.2 g/mi);
Combined CO2 emissions in g/km (gasoline): 128 - 117 (206.0 - 188.3 g/mi)
In 2014, the Audi Group delivered approximately 1,741,100 cars of the Audi brand to its customers. The
company achieved revenue of €53.8 billion and an operating profit of €5.15 billion in 2014. Audi
operates globally in more than 100 markets and has production facilities in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm
(Germany), Győr (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Bratislava (Slovakia), Martorell (Spain), Kaluga (Russia),
Aurangabad (India), Changchun and Foshan (China) as well as Jakarta (Indonesia). The brand with the
Four Rings will start producing cars in Curitiba (Brazil) this year and in San José Chiapa (Mexico) in 2016.
Wholly
owned
subsidiaries
of
AUDI
AG
include
quattro
GmbH
(Neckarsulm),
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy) and sports motorcycle manufacturer
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy). The company currently employs approximately
80,000 people worldwide, thereof around 58,000 in Germany. Total investment of about €24 billion is
planned from 2015 to 2019 – primarily in new products and sustainable technologies. Audi is committed
to its corporate responsibility and has anchored the principle of sustainability for its products and
processes in its strategy. The long-term goal is CO2-neutral mobility.
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