A new project was launched to facilitate the market uptake of biomethane in the European Union.
With the aim of reducing the EU’s dependence on natural gas imports, the
REPowerEU plan sets a target of 35 bcm of annual biomethane production by
2030.
Nevertheless, there’s an evident discrepancy in biomethane deployment rates
among EU countries: only a limited number of EU Member States have significant
biomethane production, while the majority of them are still building the first
plants.
As an example, Germany can count on 240 biomethane plants, while on the other
side Estonia only has 6 operating plants, and countries like Greece and Poland still
have no biomethane plants in their countries.
Aligning the deployment of biomethane in the EU is possible.
According to recent studies, the EU would be able to reach the REPowerEU target
of 35 bcm per year: production levels can be easily scaled up to ensure ample
future supply, since enough sustainable feedstocks are already available in the
EU-27.
With these amounts, estimates show that up to 41 bcm of biomethane in 2030
could be available.
Together with immediate availability, biomethane is also easy to transport, since
it consists of the same molecule as natural gas, and hence can be distributed
through the existing gas infrastructure. Being a natural gas substitute, it can
reduce EU’s reliance on imports, and it also contributes to circular bioeconomy by
enabling the reuse of residues and waste.
Biomethane can play a fundamental role to decarbonize energy consumption in
the heating industry as well as the transport sector, delivering very high GHG
emissions reductions and being a convenient solution for clean mobility.
In order to foster the uptake of biomethane, actions shall focus on market, society
and policy frameworks.
Building on these three pillars, the GreenMeUp project was launched in September
2022 to enhance the deployment of biomethane at scale across the EU.
Coordinated by Greek Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Savings, with 14
partners, the project will analyze framework conditions and market dynamics of
biomethane in 10 European countries, divided between advanced countries,
where the biomethane market is already structured, and target countries, where
biomethane deployment rates are still low.
The results of this analysis will be then employed to design a set of market uptake
policy measures that will refine and implement existing policies on biomethane in
the target countries and at EU level. The project will also carry out activities to
provide high societal acceptance levels for biomethane, through science-based
evidence.
It is vital for Europe to enhance the uptake of biomethane: it will help reach the
2030 GHG reduction target and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Biomethane production will also contribute to the REPowerEU target of 35 bcm/per
year by 2030, and thus increase European energy security by reducing its
dependence on natural gas suppliers.
PARTNERS
The GreenMeUp project is coordinated by CRES. Other partners are: European
Biogas Association (EBA), DBFZ German Biomass Research Centre, RE-CORD
(Italy), Biogest, Italian Biogas Association (CIB), PIGEOR (Poland), INCE (Italy),
Latvian Biogas Association (LBA), CZ Biom, Estonian Biogas Association, AEBIG
(Spain), DEDA (Greece) and ETA Florence Renewable Energies.