immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Biomasse

  • New heating network combines climate protection and regional value creation

    New heating network combines climate protection and regional value creation

    The Maisprach heating network in the canton of Basel-Landschaft and the Basel-based energy supplier IWB have launched a new project to supply heat from regional raw materials. Since the beginning of December, energy has been generated from a wood-fired boiler and a biochar plant and fed into the heating network, according to a press release.

    The municipality of Maisprach laid the foundations for this step in January 2025 with the construction of a new depot. IWB initially set up new wood heating systems there. This was followed in November by the construction of the biochar plant. Every year, 250 tonnes of biochar are to be produced here from landscape conservation wood and biomass through pyrolysis. The waste heat from the charcoal production will be fed into the district heating network. The operators anticipate 900 megawatt hours of heat energy for network customers, with a further expansion of the network on the horizon. The wood-fired boiler is also fuelled by regional biomass. The biochar produced is used in the region as an additive for composting, in soil substrates and in agriculture. IWB invested CHF 3.5 million in the project.

    “IWB has experience in the construction and operation of heating plants. As part of a pilot project in Basel, IWB tested the innovative approach of utilising waste heat from a biochar plant in a heating network. We can now benefit from this,” said Dorian Wernli, Mayor of Maisprach, in the press release.

  • Biomass plant produces electricity and gas

    Biomass plant produces electricity and gas

    A team of researchers from the Group of Energy Materials ( GEM ) in Sion, which is part of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne ( EPFL ), conducted a two-year study on the optimal configuration of biomass systems. As EPFL is now reporting , they have developed a method by means of which local biomass flows can be integrated into power grids and gas pipelines.

    Your system can be used to generate and store electricity and natural gas. It can be particularly useful in conjunction with other local but weather-dependent renewable energy systems such as solar panels and wind farms by closing any gaps in electricity production. Their models were calculated on the basis of a Danish and an Italian case study.

    “Our goal was to develop an effective approach to grid balancing that relies more on renewable energies,” explains study leader Maria Perez Fortes. “Electricity is consumed when the supply is high (to store it as gas) and generated when the supply is low.” This is why the team decided to use reversible solid oxide cells, “the only technology that seamlessly between Can switch electricity and gas generation ".

    The GEM scientists specialize in this technology, which can both store electricity as methane (Power2Gas) and convert the methane back into electricity – with high yields in both directions. As stated in the communication, their method could optimize electricity and gas distribution networks and their coupling, ensure a continuous power supply and enable utilities to manage their systems more efficiently.