Skip to main content
Library

Energy mass balanceCostingE-fuels

Biological methanation (archaea bioreactor, H2 + CO2 to CH4) levelized cost of synthetic methane

Ex-situ biological methanation at 63 C and 10 bar: H2 and CO2 (pure or raw biogas) to grid-grade CH4. H2 and CO2 in t/yr, own electricity per Nm3, heat at 60 C, CAPEX on the Gantenbein 0.63 law, cost in EUR/MWh HHV with and without H2.

Photo of Open Jack

Open Jack

Founder · OpenJack

Add to project
  • CurrencyEUR 2019
  • Battery limitinstalled
  • 77 documented assumptions
  • Updated27 Oct 2026

Mass and energy balance

What the asset draws and delivers for the case and load you choose.

Reference case

capacity factor: 68.5 %

Equivalent hours at nameplate per year. 6000 h is the DGC 2020 case; the cap 8322 h is 95 % of the year (DEA planned outage up to 5 %). The reactor regulates between 20 % and 100 % load (DEA).

Flows

  • In: Hydrogen—
  • In: CO2—
  • In: Electricity (agitation, compression, auxiliaries)—

Asset

Ex-situ biological methanation plant (archaea bioreactor, H2 + CO2 to grid-grade CH4)

  • Out: Synthetic methane (grid grade, HHV)—
  • Out: Recoverable heat (about 60 C)—

Annual quantities at the current usage.

CH4 leaving the bioreactor at nameplate, in Nm3/h (0 C, 1 atm). Catalogue marks: Kanadevia Inova Dietikon 100 Nm3/h; Electrochaea BioCat 50 / 500 / 2500 Nm3/h for 1 / 10 / 50 MWe. Cost sources cover about 30-450 Nm3/h; above that the CAPEX law is extrapolated.

CH4 capacity
— kW
H2 feed
— Nm3/h
Own electrical load
— kW
Recoverable heat
— kW

CAPEX

Specific cost at this size, what backs it, and how it behaves with scale.

Specific CAPEX at this size

—

Reference size 324 Nm3/h

Peer-reviewed process study

Model value: Gantenbein 2022 law, 1538 EUR/kW at 324 Nm3/h with exponent 0.63. Customized: your own quote per kW of CH4 (HHV), used as is at every size; the value is then no longer sourced.

Specific CAPEX from the scaling law by methane output

Log in to view this sensitivity chart.

  1. Ex-factory
  2. Installed· this figure
  3. Fully financed
CAPEX at the battery limit—
Working capital, contingencyproject level

Included

  • Equipment
  • Installation, civil works and engineering

Not included

  • Working capital
  • Contingency

Added at project level

  • Working capital layer, from the project settings
  • Contingency, from the project settings

Project figures

Values passed to project mode when this asset is added to a project.

Concept sketch, not to scale · drag to rotate

Hydrogen in
—
CO2 in
—
Electricity (agitation, compression, auxiliaries) in
—
Synthetic methane (grid grade, HHV) outMain product
—
Recoverable heat (about 60 C) out
—
CAPEX to the battery limit
—
Fixed O&M
—
Variable O&M, excluding feedstocks
0 EUR/year
Asset lifetime
25 years

Log in to add this asset to a project.

Synthetic methane cost

A standalone indicator for a quick read. Project mode recomputes it for the whole system.

—

  • Cost: capital—
  • Cost: fixed O&M—
  • Cost: own electricity—
  • Cost: CO2—
  • Cost: H2—

Linked to the balance above

capacity factor: 68.5 %

Equivalent hours at nameplate per year. 6000 h is the DGC 2020 case; the cap 8322 h is 95 % of the year (DEA planned outage up to 5 %). The reactor regulates between 20 % and 100 % load (DEA).

Delivered price of the H2 fed to the reactor. 6.71 EUR/kg is the 2024 EU average for renewable H2, 7.42 grid electrolysis and 3.33 SMR (European Hydrogen Observatory).

Price of the CO2 fed. 31 EUR/t is the DGC 2020 estimate; set 0 when the CO2 is the vented share of a raw biogas fed directly.

Price of the electricity for agitation, gas compression and auxiliaries (not electrolysis, which is inside the H2 price). 50 EUR/MWh is the Gantenbein 2022 base case.

Real discount rate of the annuity (costs are held constant). 5 % is the DGC 2020 assumption.

Annuity horizon. 25 years is the methaniser lifetime of DGC 2020 and the DEA 2025 technical lifetime.

Synthetic methane cost by full-load hours

Log in to view this sensitivity chart.

Benchmarks

This model's figures against published references and reference cases.

Own electricity per Nm3 of CH4, kWh/Nm3

0.246 Peer-reviewed process study, converted

0.277 Peer-reviewed process study, converted

0.504 Government catalogue, converted

0.74 Manufacturer product sheet, converted

Specific CAPEX, EUR/kW

940 Secondary citation

1,538 Peer-reviewed process study

2,172 Secondary citation

2,975 Peer-reviewed process study

4,320 Secondary citation

Synthetic methane cost, EUR/MWh

164 Industry report, converted

173 Peer-reviewed process study

212 Industry report, converted

Reference cases at this size and usage

Log in to compare the reference cases.

All results

Every model output at the current settings, grouped, with the sensitivity charts.

44 outputs · 5 groups · 20 also shown above, dimmed

Methane cost

11
Synthetic methane cost
ComputingEUR/MWh
Methane cost without H2
ComputingEUR/MWh
Cost: capital
ComputingEUR/MWh
Cost: fixed O&M
ComputingEUR/MWh
Cost: own electricity
ComputingEUR/MWh
Cost: CO2
ComputingEUR/MWh
Cost: H2
ComputingEUR/MWh
H2 share of the methane cost
Computing%
Methane cost per Nm3
ComputingEUR/Nm3
Methane cost, LHV basis
ComputingEUR/MWh
Capital charge vs the 6000 h case
Computingratio

Size and CAPEX

9
Installed CAPEX
ComputingEUR
Specific CAPEX
ComputingEUR/kW
Specific CAPEX from the scaling law
ComputingEUR/kW
Scaling exponent applied
Computingratio
CAPEX per Nm3/h of CH4
ComputingEUR/(Nm3/h)
CAPEX extrapolated
Computingbool
DEA 2025 CAPEX vs the model law
Computingratio
CH4 capacity
ComputingkW
Electrolyser size (information)
ComputingMW

Mass balance

10
CH4 produced
ComputingMWh/year
H2 feed
ComputingNm3/h
H2 consumed
Computingt/year
CO2 feed
ComputingNm3/h
CO2 consumed
Computingt/year
Process water formed
Computingt/year
Unconverted H2 in the product gas
ComputingNm3/h
H2 per MWh of CH4
Computingkg/MWh
Operating hours
Computingh/year
Capacity factor
Computing%

Electricity and heat

11
Own electricity per Nm3 of CH4
ComputingkWh/Nm3
Own electrical load
ComputingkW
Own electricity per year
ComputingMWh/year
Own electricity over CH4 energy
Computing%
Recoverable heat per Nm3 of CH4
ComputingkWh/Nm3
Recoverable heat
ComputingkW
Recoverable heat per year
ComputingMWh/year
Reaction heat per Nm3 of CH4
ComputingkWh/Nm3
H2-to-CH4 efficiency (HHV)
Computing%
Heat and losses
ComputingMWh/year
Recoverable share of the losses
Computing%

Finance

3
Capital recovery factor
Computing1/year
Annualised CAPEX
ComputingEUR/year
Fixed O&M
ComputingEUR/year

Sensitivities

5 charts
Methane cost components vs full-load hours

Log in to view this sensitivity chart.

Methane cost vs H2 price

Log in to view this sensitivity chart.

Specific CAPEX and cost without H2 vs methane output

Log in to view this sensitivity chart.

H2 and CO2 consumed vs methane output

Log in to view this sensitivity chart.

Own electricity and recoverable heat by reference case

Log in to view this sensitivity chart.

Sources

77 documented assumptions · 6 sources

About

Calculator context

This calculator sizes and costs an ex-situ biological methanation plant: a bioreactor where methanogenic archaea convert H2 and CO2 into CH4 at about 63 C and 10 bar (4 H2 + CO2 -> CH4 + 2 H2O). The CO2 can be pure or the CO2 share of a raw biogas fed directly; the product gas reaches grid specification without heavy post-treatment. The size input is the CH4 output in Nm3/h (20-4000), which brackets the catalogue units (Kanadevia Inova Dietikon 100 Nm3/h, Electrochaea BioCat 50 / 500 / 2500 Nm3/h).

The mass balance follows the stoichiometry with the 98.5 % CO2 conversion printed by Electrochaea; densities and heating values come from NIST. H2 is bought at a price: the electrolyser is shown for information only (0.02 MWe per Nm3/h, Electrochaea pairing) and not re-modelled. Own electricity (agitation, gas compression, auxiliaries) and recoverable heat come from a reference case, because the sources disagree by a factor of up to 3.6: DEA ch.106 (0.50 kWh/Nm3), Gantenbein 2022 (0.25 kWh/Nm3, stirrer and compressor only) or the Electrochaea installed power (0.74 kWh/Nm3 at 500 Nm3/h, an upper bound).

The installed CAPEX scales from Gantenbein's 1538 EUR/kW at 324 Nm3/h with their exponent 0.63 (CEPCI 2019, no contingency or owner's costs, exported as battery_limit installed). Store&Go cost points span about 30 to 450 Nm3/h and sit between 14 % above and 45 % below the law; above that range no size-only source exists and the law is an extrapolation, flagged in the results. The DEA data sheet is about 1.7 times more expensive than the law at 8 MW, and the calculator shows that ratio instead of averaging. Fixed O&M is 5 % of CAPEX per year with nutrients inside; CO2 at 31 EUR/t (DGC 2020), H2 at 6.71 EUR/kg (EU average renewable H2, 2024). The headline cost is per MWh of CH4 on the HHV (PCS) basis, with and without H2. Currency years are not harmonised (CAPEX EUR2019, CO2 EUR2020, H2 EUR2024).

Model

131 variables — inputs, calculations and outputs, with their dependencies.

131 variables shown of 131
VariableValueUnitDepends on
500Nm3/h—
6000h/year—
1——
0——
1500EUR/kW—
6.71EUR/kg—
31EUR/t—
50EUR/MWh—
5%—
25years—
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
if((<=)+(<=)+(>*(-*))+(<)+(>)+(<)+(>)+(<=)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(<)+(>)+(<=)>,,)bool
*//kWh/Nm3
(-*)*//kWh/Nm3
/kg/Nm3
/kg/Nm3
*(-*)h/year
*ratio
-Nm3/h
*kg/h
/*kWh/Nm3
(+)/kWh/Nm3
/*(/)^(-)kWh/Nm3
/*kWh/Nm3
*/kWh/Nm3
/kWh/Nm3
**//*/MWh/year
**//*/MWh/year
*kW
*/Nm3/h
*ratio
*EUR/year
*EUR/year
**EUR/year
VariableFormulaUnitDepends on
min(,)h/year
/*%
/max(,)ratio
*kW
*/MWh/year
/Nm3/h
*/Nm3/h
-*Nm3/h
*/t/year
**/t/year
*/**/t/year
*/max(,)kg/MWh
*/MW
if(==,,if(==,,))kWh/Nm3
*kW
*/MWh/year
/*%
if(==,,if(==,,))kWh/Nm3
*kW
*/MWh/year
(-)*//kWh/Nm3
/max(,)*%
+--MWh/year
/max(,)*%
if(>=,,)ratio
if(>=,,clamp(*(/)^(-),,))EUR/kW
*EUR
/max(,)EUR/kW
/max(,)EUR/(Nm3/h)
if((*<)+(*>)>,,)bool
*/(*(/)^(-)*/)ratio
if(<,/,(*(+)^)/max((+)^-,))1/year
*EUR/year
**EUR/year
/max(,)EUR/MWh
/max(,)EUR/MWh
/max(,)EUR/MWh
/max(,)EUR/MWh
/max(,)EUR/MWh
+++EUR/MWh
+EUR/MWh
*/EUR/Nm3
*/EUR/MWh
/max(,)*%

Assumptions

77 assumptions used in the calculations

  • Protects divisions against a zero denominator.

    Market range Not applicable (numerical parameter).

    0.000001
    Numerical constant

  • Calendar hours; caps the full-load hours with the planned outage.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    8760h/year
    Numerical constant

  • Unit value used in the CRF, the guards and the Customized switch.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    1
    Numerical constant

  • Zero used in the guards.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    0
    Numerical constant

  • Turns a percentage into a fraction.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    0.011/%
    Numerical constant

  • Turns a fraction into a percentage.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    100%
    Numerical constant

  • Power conversion.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    1000kW/MW
    Numerical constant

  • Power conversion.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    0.001MW/kW
    Numerical constant

  • Mass conversion between kg and t.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    1000kg/t
    Numerical constant

  • Energy conversion between kWh and MWh.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    1000kWh/MWh
    Numerical constant

  • Energy conversion: 1 kWh = 3600 kJ.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    3600kJ/kWh
    Numerical constant

  • Amount conversion.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    1000mol/kmol
    Numerical constant

  • 1 MEUR/MW = 1000 EUR/kW; converts the DEA data-sheet figures.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    1000(EUR/kW)/(MEUR/MW)
    Numerical constant

  • Code of the DEA ch.106 reference case in the technology_case select.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    1
    Numerical constant

  • Code of the Gantenbein 2022 (6 MWel) reference case.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    2
    Numerical constant

  • Code of the Electrochaea BioCat product-sheet case.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    3
    Numerical constant

  • Guard: lowest valid technology_case.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    1
    Numerical constant

  • Guard: highest valid technology_case.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    3
    Numerical constant

  • Gives the HHV (PCS) of one Nm3 of CH4: 890.7 kJ/mol x 1000 / 22.414 Nm3/kmol / 3600 = 11.04 kWh/Nm3, the basis of the headline cost.

    Market range Measured value, +/- 0.4 kJ/mol.

    890.7kJ/mol
    NIST thermochemical table

  • Used for the energy balance of the reactor: H2 energy in minus CH4 energy out gives the heat and losses, and the H2-to-CH4 efficiency on HHV.

    Market range Measured value.

    285.83kJ/mol
    NIST thermochemical table

  • Turns the CH4 HHV into its LHV (890.7 - 2 x 44.0 = 802.7 kJ/mol), needed because the DEA data sheet is on an LHV basis.

    Market range Measured value.

    44kJ/mol
    NIST thermochemical table

  • Normal cubic metres are taken at 0 C and 1 atm; converts Nm3 to mol for all mass and energy balances.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    22.414Nm3/kmol
    CODATA constant

  • Gives the H2 density 2.016 / 22.414 = 0.0899 kg/Nm3, used for the tonnes of H2 bought per year.

    Market range Exact to the stated digits.

    2.016g/mol
    NIST

  • Gives the CO2 density 44.01 / 22.414 = 1.9635 kg/Nm3, used for the tonnes of CO2 bought per year.

    Market range Exact to the stated digits.

    44.01g/mol
    NIST

  • Gives the process water formed by the reaction (2 mol per mol of CH4).

    Market range Exact to the stated digits.

    18.015g/mol
    NIST

  • Gives the heat released by the reaction alone, 165 / 22.414 / 3.6 = 2.04 kWh per Nm3 of CH4, as a physical check on the heat figures of the reference cases.

    Market range Textbook value (-165 kJ/mol with gaseous water, -253 with liquid water).

    -165kJ/mol
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • Four moles of H2 per mole of CH4 formed.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    4mol/mol
    Stoichiometry

  • Two moles of water formed per mole of CH4.

    Market range Exact by definition.

    2mol/mol
    Stoichiometry

  • Share of the CO2 fed that becomes CH4; H2 and CO2 are fed in the 4:1 ratio and the unconverted share leaves with the product gas. A maker figure, so medium evidence. It is a model value, the same in every reference case.

    98.5%
    Manufacturer product sheet

  • Caps the full-load hours at 8760 x 95 % = 8322 h/yr; the slider stops there.

    Market range DEA: <= 5 % in 2025. No independent range cited.

    5%
    Government technology catalogue

  • Default of the full-load-hours slider and reference of the capital-charge penalty: below 6000 h the capital cost per MWh rises as 6000 / hours.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    6000h/year
    Industry report

  • Case 1: own electricity = 0.04 / 0.79 MWh per MWh of CH4 (LHV), i.e. 0.50 kWh per Nm3 of CH4 after the LHV conversion.

    Market range Gantenbein 0.25-0.28 kWh/Nm3; Electrochaea installed power 0.64-0.90 kWh/Nm3 (upper bound).

    0.04MWh/MWh
    Government technology catalogue

  • Denominator that turns the DEA input-based ratios into per-MWh-of-CH4 ratios.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0.79MWh/MWh
    Government technology catalogue

  • Case 1: recoverable heat = 0.16 / 0.79 MWh per MWh of CH4 (LHV), about 2.0 kWh per Nm3 of CH4. At 50-60 C it needs a heat pump for district heating.

    Market range Gantenbein 2.96 and Electrochaea 2.55 kWh_th/Nm3 CH4.

    0.16MWh/MWh
    Government technology catalogue

  • Case 2: own electricity = (stirrer + feed compressor) / CH4 flow at 6 MWel = (56 + 23.76) / 324 = 0.25 kWh/Nm3 (pure CO2 feed).

    Market range 11 kW at 1 MWel.

    56kW
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • Second part of the case 2 own electricity.

    Market range 3.96 kW at 1 MWel.

    23.76kW
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • Denominator of the case 2 own electricity.

    Market range 54 Nm3/h at 1 MWel.

    324Nm3/h
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • Case 2: recoverable heat = 0.16 MW / 54 Nm3/h = 2.96 kWh per Nm3 of CH4. Printed for the 1 MWel case only, applied at every size.

    Market range DEA 2.0 and Electrochaea 2.55 kWh_th/Nm3 CH4.

    0.16MW
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • Denominator of the case 2 heat figure.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    54Nm3/h
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • Case 3: own electricity = 370 kW / 500 Nm3/h = 0.74 kWh/Nm3 at 500 Nm3/h. It is INSTALLED power, so an upper bound of the running consumption.

    Market range 45/50 = 0.90 and 1600/2500 = 0.64 kWh/Nm3 at the two other sizes.

    370kW
    Manufacturer product sheet

  • Reference size of the case 3 power and heat figures, and of the electrolyser-size information.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    500Nm3/h
    Manufacturer product sheet

  • Case 3: installed power = 370 kW x (Q / 500)^0.91, so the specific figure falls from 0.99 kWh/Nm3 at 20 Nm3/h to 0.61 at 4000. A derived exponent; below 50 and above 2500 Nm3/h it is an extrapolation.

    Market range Fit residual under 1 % on the three printed points.

    0.91
    Derived from a manufacturer sheet

  • Case 3: recoverable heat = 1275 / 500 = 2.55 kWh per Nm3 of CH4 (2.6 and 2.56 at the other sizes, so taken as size-independent).

    Market range DEA 2.0 and Gantenbein 2.96 kWh_th/Nm3 CH4.

    1275kW
    Manufacturer product sheet

  • Information only: electrolyser size = 10 MWe x Q / 500, i.e. 0.02 MWe per Nm3/h of CH4. The electrolyser is not costed here; H2 is bought at h2_price.

    Market range Gantenbein: 6 MWel for 324 Nm3/h (0.0185 MWe per Nm3/h).

    10MW
    Manufacturer product sheet

  • Anchor of the CAPEX law, per kW of CH4 output. Bare-module cost times plant cost factors (piping, instrumentation, Eq.10), so an installed figure without contingency or owner's costs. Read as per kW HHV (Gantenbein Eq.14 uses HHV for the injected gas); on LHV the absolute values change by about 10 %.

    Market range 2975 EUR/kW at 1 MWel (same study); Store&Go 4320 / 2172 / 940 EUR/kW at 0.325 / 1 / 5 MW.

    1538EUR/kW
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • Size of the cited cost anchor (not a round number): 324 Nm3/h x 11.04 kWh/Nm3 = 3577 kW of CH4.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    324Nm3/h
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • CAPEX = 1538 EUR/kW x P_ref x (Q / 324)^0.63. Fitted by the source between 54 and 324 Nm3/h. Store&Go points (about 30-450 Nm3/h) fall faster with size: the law is 14 % below them at 0.325 MW and 45 % above at 5 MW. Above about 500 Nm3/h no size-only source exists and the law is an extrapolation (flagged by capex_outside_source_range_flag).

    Market range Usual process-plant exponents 0.6-0.7. No independent value for biological methanation cited.

    0.63
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • Lower clamp of the CAPEX law. The law gives 607 EUR/kW at 4000 Nm3/h, so the guard never binds inside the slider range.

    Market range Not applicable (guard).

    300EUR/kW
    Numerical constant

  • Upper clamp of the CAPEX law. The law gives about 4300 EUR/kW at 20 Nm3/h, so the guard never binds inside the slider range.

    Market range Not applicable (guard).

    10000EUR/kW
    Numerical constant

  • Lower edge of the size range covered by a cost source (about 29 Nm3/h). Below it the CAPEX law is an extrapolation.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0.325MW
    Secondary citation in a peer-reviewed study

  • Upper edge of the size range covered by a cost source (about 450 Nm3/h). Above it the CAPEX law is an extrapolation of the 0.63 exponent.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    5MW
    Secondary citation in a peer-reviewed study

  • Second, contradicting cost source. The calculator compares it with the CAPEX law at the DEA plant size, on the DEA LHV basis (dea_2025_capex_gap_ratio), instead of hiding the gap.

    Market range DEA mixes year and size (9.6 MEUR/MW for a 2020 demo at 0.4 MW, 1.2 at 23.9 MW in 2030+).

    2.1MEUR/MW
    Government technology catalogue

  • Size at which the DEA figure is compared with the CAPEX law (about 805 Nm3/h of CH4).

    Market range No independent range cited.

    8MW
    Government technology catalogue

  • Labour, maintenance and consumables of the methanation plant. Nutrients (growth medium, about 40 EUR/m3 per Gantenbein) are not modelled separately: no per-MWh figure can be read from the sources (DEA prints 0.98 l/MWh input with no price), so they are taken as inside this 5 %.

    Market range DEA fixed O&M 0.08 MEUR/MW/yr, about 3.8 % of 2.1 MEUR/MW; DGC methanation 3-10 %/yr of CAPEX, DEA 6-8 %.

    5%/year
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • (11 + 3.96) / 54 = 0.28 kWh per Nm3 of CH4. A converted value, so medium evidence. Pure CO2 feed.

    Market range 0.25 kWh/Nm3 at 6 MWel.

    0.277kWh/Nm3
    Peer-reviewed process study, converted

  • (56 + 23.76) / 324 = 0.25 kWh per Nm3 of CH4. A converted value, so medium evidence.

    Market range 0.28 kWh/Nm3 at 1 MWel.

    0.246kWh/Nm3
    Peer-reviewed process study, converted

  • 0.04 / 0.79 x 9.95 kWh/Nm3 (CH4 LHV) = 0.50 kWh per Nm3 of CH4. A converted value, so medium evidence.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    0.504kWh/Nm3
    Government catalogue, converted

  • 370 / 500 = 0.74 kWh per Nm3. Installed power, an upper bound of the running consumption.

    Market range 0.90 at 50 Nm3/h, 0.64 at 2500 Nm3/h.

    0.74kWh/Nm3
    Manufacturer product sheet, converted

  • Same study and boundary as the anchor, at 54 Nm3/h. The 0.63 exponent was fitted by the source on these two points, so the law reproducing it (about 2900 EUR/kW) is not an independent check.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    2975EUR/kW
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • The anchor of the law, at 324 Nm3/h.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    1538EUR/kW
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • Independent cost point at about 29 Nm3/h. The law gives about 3700 EUR/kW at that size, 14 % lower. Boundary and kW basis of Store&Go are not restated in the citing paper.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    4320EUR/kW
    Secondary citation

  • Independent cost point at about 91 Nm3/h. The law gives about 2460 EUR/kW, 13 % higher.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    2172EUR/kW
    Secondary citation

  • Independent cost point at about 450 Nm3/h. The law gives about 1360 EUR/kW, 45 % higher: Store&Go falls faster with size than the Gantenbein exponent.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    940EUR/kW
    Secondary citation

  • 173 EUR/MWh (HHV). Different boundary: the source builds and runs its own PEM electrolyser at 50 EUR/MWh electricity, while this calculator buys H2 at h2_price. Comparable only once the H2 price is set to the cost of that electrolysis.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    173EUR/MWh
    Peer-reviewed process study

  • 1223 / 7.45 = 164 EUR2020/MWh. Different technology (catalytic methanation) and boundary (own electrolysis): an order of magnitude, not a validation.

    Market range Up to 212 EUR/MWh (1576 DKK/MWh).

    164EUR/MWh
    Industry report, converted

  • 1576 / 7.45 = 212 EUR2020/MWh, catalytic methanation with own electrolysis.

    Market range From 164 EUR/MWh (1223 DKK/MWh).

    212EUR/MWh
    Industry report, converted

  • The calculator covers the bioreactor (archaea at about 63 C, 10 bar), its gas compression, agitation and auxiliaries. H2 comes in at a price; the electrolyser is shown for information only and not re-modelled. CO2 may come pure or as raw biogas: only its CO2 share is converted, methane_output counts the CH4 formed (CH4 already in the biogas passes through and is not counted), and the extra compression of the biogas CH4 is not modelled. Grid-injection, odorisation and post-treatment are excluded.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    —
    Method and scope

  • The cost is per MWh of CH4 on the higher heating value (PCS), the grid convention. Per MWh LHV it is 11 % higher (890.7 / 802.7).

    Market range No independent range cited.

    —
    Method and scope

  • Both sources are installed figures without contingency: neither is ex-works nor fully financed. Exported with battery_limit = installed, so project mode adds only working capital and contingency (about x1.17 by default).

    Market range No independent range cited.

    —
    Method and scope

  • CAPEX and O&M are in EUR2019 (Gantenbein), the CO2 price in EUR2020 (DGC), the default H2 price in EUR2024 (EHO). No index is applied: all costs are held constant over the life and the discount rate is read as a real rate. Re-index the CAPEX (or use Customized) before comparing with a recent quote.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    —
    Method and scope

  • No source gives a cost per MWh of CH4, so the calculator does not invent one: nutrients sit inside the 5 % fixed O&M.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    —
    Method and scope

  • The heat is exported as a chainable outlet at about 60 C; its value depends on a heat pump and a buyer, so the levelised cost gives it no credit. Project mode can price it.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    —
    Method and scope

  • Default of the H2 price input. The slider starts at the SMR price (3.33) and stops at 10 EUR/kg.

    Market range 3.33 (SMR) to 7.42 EUR/kg (grid electrolysis) in 2024.

    6.71EUR/kg
    EU observatory

  • Default of the CO2 price input. Set it to 0 when the CO2 is the vented share of a raw biogas fed directly.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    31EUR/t
    Industry report

  • Default of the discount-rate input, read as a real rate (costs held constant). A rate of 0 is legal: the CRF then falls back to 1 / lifetime.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    5%
    Industry report

  • Default of the annuity horizon, equal to the sourced technical lifetime (25 years), which is also what the meta exports as asset lifetime.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    25years
    Industry report

  • Default of the electricity-price input for the own consumption (agitation, compression, auxiliaries) only; electrolysis electricity is inside the H2 price.

    Market range No independent range cited.

    50EUR/MWh
    Peer-reviewed process study