European biogas production could double by 2030: EBA

Biogas and biomethane production in Europe could double by 2030 and more than quadruple by 2050, according to the European Biogas Association (EBA).

Around 19,000 biogas plants and 725 biomethane plants are already in use in Europe, producing around 167TWh of biogas and 26TWh of biomethane. The EBA projects overall production to increase to up to 467TWh by 2030, of which around 117TWh will be available for the road transport sector. This will allow for an increase in the share of biomethane used to fuel Europe's natural-gas vehicle fleet, which it said will comprise around 13.2mn vehicles by that date.

In comparison, only around 3.9TWh of biomethane was used to fuel natural-gas vehicles on European roads in 2020.

Biomethane, which is purified biogas that can be used as a substitute for natural gas, will primarily play a role in those sectors in transport that are difficult or impossible to electrify, such as heavy-duty truck operations, according to participants of the recent virtual Fuels of the Future conference.

Compressed biogas (bio-CNG) has an advantage, in that much of the supply chain and infrastructure is in place. This year, most of the around 850 CNG filling stations in Germany have switched to biomethane, Eon Biogas' head of portfolio management Claus Bonsen said during the conference. The premium of bio-CNG to fossil CNG of around 5¢/kWh can be compensated by participating in the German greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction certificate market.

But additional investment is needed to increase the market share of liquefied biogas (bio-LNG), because suppliers will have to change their supply chain and the number of gas liquefaction plants is limited. The LNG market in Germany will therefore remain mainly fossil in the near future, but the bio-LNG sector will grow in the mid- and long term, Bonsen said.

The feedstock used for biomethane production was mainly energy crops, but since 2017 producers have moved towards agricultural residues, bio- and municipal waste and sewage sludge, according to the EBA.

By Sophie Barthel