Fernando Giachini Lopes, director of Instituto Totum — which certifies biomethane renewable energy certificates (Gas-Recs) in Brazil — spoke to Argus about the forthcoming regulated biomethane market in 2026 and its interaction with the existing voluntary market. Edited highlights follow:
How does Instituto Totum see a mandatory biomethane market working alongside the existing voluntary market?
All biomethane plants in operation are based on demands from industries and consumers. The voluntary market is expected to grow, as there is a demand for cleaner fuel. A regulated market will come to life in 2026, but its volume will take into account what is already traded in the voluntary market, which seems to be quite high.
Biomethane plants will tend to supply the voluntary market using existing guarantee of origin instruments or the evidence of physical biomethane itself. For new plants and production expansion, there will be an incentive to seek revenue through biomethane certificates of guarantee of origin (CGOBs).
Based on the regulatory proposal, the CGOB will be very similar to the Cbio decarbonization credit. That is, a form of service to the regulated market, which ends with the retirement of the credit by the obligated party. In this sense, there is no incentive for the CGOB in the voluntary market and this market may end up using any guarantee of origin instruments it deems appropriate.
How long does the accreditation process usually take for a producer to issue credits?
The Gas-Rec certification process is very simple, taking less than two weeks if everything is in order, and requires the hiring of an entity that takes over the process of registering the plant, issuing and registering the platform — which is also simple and automated.
The CGOB process, aimed at the regulated market, requires hiring an origin certification agent, a financial market registrar and a registration platform recognized by Brazil's securities regulator (CVM), in addition to interaction with [oil and gas regulator] ANP and disclosure/transparency of volumes and prices. We will see whether the voluntary market is willing to enter this process or not.
Are self-reliant biomethane producers reaching out to understand the CGOB issuance process and its role in market supply?
In the voluntary market, self-reliant producers can issue Gas-Recs as long as they meet the certification rules that include, among others, reliable measurement and not using the environmental attributes themselves.
There are several Gas-Rec retirement operations in place for industries that bought Gas-Recs from self-reliant producers, with all the precautions mentioned.
While allowing self-reliant producers to participate could help meet the demand for CGOB for the regulated market, it also presents challenges in terms of control and mitigating the risk of double accounting.
