ERMES Project - About Us
The Project
ERMES (E-fuels from Residues Gasification and Green H₂ for Bio-MEthane Synthesis) is a research project launched in January 2025 and scheduled for completion in June 2026. It is dedicated to developing a new production chain for renewable gaseous fuels. The initiative addresses the problem of the variability of renewable sources: the energy produced by wind and photovoltaic plants does not always coincide with consumption times, and some of it may remain unused.
The project aims to convert this excess energy into a usable energy carrier over time. To this end, it integrates the valorization of organic waste and biomass with renewable electricity, transforming them into Bio-SNG (Synthetic Natural Gas), a renewable gas suitable for energy, civil, and industrial uses. Activities include laboratory experiments, pilot plant trials, and process simulations, with the aim of verifying the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of the solution.
Project Partners
University of L'Aquila (UNIVAQ) – Coordinator
The University of L'Aquila is a public university founded in 1960 and coordinator of the ERMES project. Activities are carried out primarily by the Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics (DIIIE), which integrates expertise in chemical, energy, mechanical, electronic, and economic engineering. Several scientific laboratories involved in the ERMES project operate within the department—such as the Industrial Chemistry: Catalysis and Green Engineering Laboratory, the Chemical Reactor Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, the Fluid Machines Laboratory, and the Electronics Laboratory—which have been active for over twenty years in the fields of heterogeneous catalysis, fluidized bed gasification, the development of sustainable energy systems, and electronic systems for data acquisition and processing. The facilities enable both laboratory- and pilot-scale experiments, with advanced capabilities for the analysis and characterization of materials and processes. In the ERMES project, UNIVAQ leads technological development, conducts experimental process testing, coordinates the integration of gasification, electrolysis, and methanation, and validates the overall renewable fuel production system.
Università di Teramo (UNITE)
The University of Teramo is a public university committed to scientific and technological research, with a particular focus on environmental issues and the sustainable development of biomass. The Faculty of Biosciences and Agri-food and Environmental Technologies participates in the ERMES project through its Energy and Environment Laboratory, which has been active for over a decade in the study of catalytic gasification and thermochemical conversion processes of organic waste. The laboratory has experimental facilities and expertise in fuel characterization, studying the fluid dynamics of fluidized bed reactors, and integrating gas cleaning and conditioning systems. In collaboration with the University of L'Aquila, UNITE conducts experimental work on gasification and syngas treatment, contributing to the development of the renewable gas production process envisioned by the project.
Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" (UNITOV)
Tor Vergata University of Rome (UNITOV), established in 1982, participates in the ERMES project
mainly through the Department of Industrial Engineering, in collaboration with the
Department of Civil Engineering and Computer Engineering (DICII), the Department of
Electronic Engineering, the Department of Business Engineering, and the Department of
Biology.
Project activities are carried out primarily at the laboratory of the
SCERG (Sustainable and Clean Energy Research Group) research group of the
Department of Industrial Engineering. The laboratory is equipped with infrastructure and instrumentation dedicated to the
study of systems and components for energy conversion from renewable sources.
In particular, it has equipment for the characterization of biomass, thermochemical and biochemical reactors of various types and sizes, as well as tools for the analysis and
characterization of processes. Experimental activities are also conducted in
collaboration with the DICII Sanitary and Environmental Engineering Laboratory, equipped with
instruments for the chemical-analytical characterization of feedstocks and products.
Within the ERMES project, UNITOV is engaged in both experimental and
modeling activities. The experimental activities specifically concern the study of the
pyrolysis process with fluidized bed reactors fed with different feedstocks, with the aim of producing
biochar functional for gasification processes in fluidized bed thermochemical reactors. The
modeling activities are also developed both at the individual component level and at the
overall system level. Furthermore, the UNITOV group is responsible for the
LCA and LCC analyses, with particular attention to defining the exploitation strategy
aimed at the commercial valorization of the technology under study.
The Achievement Objectives
The Implementation Objectives (ROs) represent the main lines of activity into which the ERMES project is organized. Each RO encompasses a coordinated set of technical and management activities, assigned to the various partners, which together cover all phases of technology development: from experimental research to pilot-scale validation, up to performance evaluation and the exploitation of results.
- OR1 – Management and Dissemination
- OR2 – Availability and characterization of biomass and waste. Pretreatment by pyrolysis of biomass and waste
- OR3 – Tests on benchtop gasifiers with integrated catalytic and non-catalytic spark plugs
- OR4 – Testing of process catalysts in microreactors and selection of process sorbents
- OR5 – Methanation simulations and tests
- OR6 – Installation and testing of the entire system
- OR7 – System integration
- OR8 – Process simulations at different scales, technical-economic analysis, LCC and LCA
- OR9 – Exploitation-exploitation of results (ISES)
Expected results
Upon completion of the project, a complete process for producing Bio-SNG from renewable energy and organic waste will be validated on a pilot scale. The production of a renewable gas compatible with existing gas infrastructure and suitable for various energy applications will be demonstrated.
The activities will also allow:
- evaluate the performance of the integrated system,
- analyze the costs and environmental sustainability of the process,
- define the conditions for future industrial-scale application.
The project will therefore provide the technical and economic basis for the adoption of the technology and its possible development in real energy contexts.