Biomass power plants are set to become more flexible
In the “Biovolatil” project, researchers and industry partners are developing concepts to better adapt biomass gasification plants to fluctuating energy demand and strengthen their role in the municipal energy transition.
October 20, 2026
Source: E & M powernews
A Fraunhofer project is investigating how biomass power plants can adapt their operations to energy demand and integrate with geothermal energy and municipal energy systems.
“How can municipalities better coordinate fluctuating renewable energy yields, heating demand, and local energy production?” This question is at the heart of a new collaborative project by the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology.
“Biovolatil,” as the project is called, aims to operate biomass gasification plants with combined heat and power (CHP) units more flexibly and to integrate them with geothermal energy and municipal energy systems. A newly developed reactor insert has already been tested for approximately 3,000 operating hours, the Fraunhofer Institute reported.
Participants include Burkhardt GmbH, En Pro Co Berlin GmbH, the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Infrastructures and Geotechnologies, the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, and the Ifeu Institute. Energieversorgung Oberhausen and Stadtwerke Zittau are participating as associate partners.
The project team is investigating technical modifications to biomass gasifiers. Burkhardt, the CHP plant developer, is testing the developed approaches on a gasifier system under real-world conditions. The geometry of the reactor insert influences fuel conversion as well as the electrical and thermal output of the biomass gasification CHP plant.
According to a press release from the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety, and Energy Technology, the project team has therefore developed an alternative design intended to allow the plant’s output to be specifically adapted to lower heat demand. The reactor insert is designed so that it can be retrofitted into existing plants with minimal effort.
Product Gas Recirculation Aims to Reduce Minimum Load
As a second approach, Fraunhofer researchers cite the recirculation of a portion of the generated product gas back into the gasification reactor. According to the project team, initial tests show that this can influence operating behavior and reduce the minimum plant load. Further tests are intended to determine the potential for increased flexibility and identify suitable operating strategies.
The results are to be incorporated into an operating strategy that combines biomass gasification CHP plants with geothermal energy.
“We are currently discussing various concepts for coupling biomass gasification CHP plants with geothermal energy,” Fraunhofer project manager Johannes Voß is quoted as saying. The project team is analyzing location-specific data from the municipal energy systems in Oberhausen and Zittau. The concepts under investigation will then be compared based on environmental and economic criteria, according to the report.
The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) is funding the joint project.
Author: Manfred Fischer