Biogas: present and near future perspective

Biogas and Biomethane are among the most prosperous and interesting energy sources all around the Globe, in line with the EC. It lets us tackle the problem created by organic waste streams, while producing a renewable energy source with multiple applications.

In EU28, Biogas production is expected to double or triple in the following 15 years. Some key points are.
BIOGAS:

• Potential biogas production for the EU28 to 2030: it is calculated to be 28.8 and 40.2 Mtoe in the growth and accelerated growth scenarios respectively*, about 1.9 and 2.7 times larger than the biogas production in 2014 (Eurostat data).
• Biogas production in the EU28 to 2020: 2020 production levels are in these scenarios* 1.3 and 1.6 times higher than 2014 production levels, respectively
• Largest markets in 2030: the largest markets in 2030, with more than 2,000 ktoe biogas production, are in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania and the UK
• Largest growth potential 2014-2030: the Member States with the largest potential growth of biogas production are Ireland and Romania.
• Mature markets: most of the mature markets show relatively small potential for growth of biogas production between 2014 and 2030, the exceptions being France and Sweden with high potential growth factors
• Biogas production per inhabitant: small Member States also have a large potential to increase their domestic biogas production. In particular, relatively small Member States as Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands still have large potentials
• Production costs of biogas-feedstock: costs vary considerably, with the lowest ones from landfill gas (5 €/GJ17); the highest ones for biogas production from sewage sludge digestion (around 30 €/GJ)
• Production costs of biogas: the calculated biogas production costs are 14 €/GJ in the growth scenarios and 12 €/GJ in the accelerated development scenarios*

BIOMETHANE:

• Production costs of biomethane: the production costs of biomethane are 1.8 to 2.0 times higher than the current (2014) average EU price for natural gas. The costs for bio-CNG and bio-LNG are higher than biomethane cost because extra investments are needed for compression and liquefaction of the biomethane. Clearly, realisation needs effective support policies.

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