The engineers behind Reverion were born in the Technical University of Munich and have been working on a solution for seven years.
Methane is the main component of biogas, coming from decomposing waste. It has to be converted into electricity before it can be used in homes. You could burn it, but that would release pollutants and waste around half the energy, and a cleaner and more efficient option is to use fuel cells. Reverion wants to push the efficiency of the fuel-cell to its limit.
The industry usually fights for a small increase in efficiency. Reverion chief executive Stephan Herrmann said that it was an accomplishment. In one step, we get an increase from the best power plant that is available. Reverion increases efficiency by capturing and processing gas that would otherwise go unused inside the fuel cell. The CEO of the Eresing, Germany-based company was in San Francisco to give a presentation.
Fuel cells have always been 80% efficient, but they have some limits. Up to 30% of the fuel you give to the fuel cell comes out unused again. The CEO said, "We eliminate that by re- increasing the quality of the gas in two steps and then recycling it into the fuel cell."
The startup says it is getting ready to pilot 10 modular power plant units, each of which has enough capacity to power 100 households. Reverion wants to deliver its first unit by the end of the first quarter of next year.
Germany's Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection was one of the funders of the company.
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