European biomethane plants increased by 30% since 2021

Biomethane production facilities increased by 30% in Europe in April 2023, to a total of 1,322 plants, according to the latest Biomethane Map 2022-2023 published by the European Biogas Association (EBA). With 299 new additions compared to the previous edition in 2021, this confirms the exponential year-on-year growth in this sector, which went from 483 plants in the 2018 edition to 729 in 2020 and 1,023 in 2021.

The countries with the highest growth in this period in their biomethane production were France (+2,130 GWh), Denmark (+1,642 GWh) and Germany (+1,553 GWh); although in absolute figures, the podium of the largest producers corresponds to Germany (12,753 GWh), the United Kingdom (6,183 GWh) and Denmark (5,683 GWh).

Despite the industry’s efforts to increase biomethane production, Europe is still far from the target proposed by the European Commission in the REPowerEU plan: it currently produces 3.5 bcm while the target for 2030 is 35 bcm. However, according to the data collected for this map, more than 75% of existing plants are already connected to transmission or distribution networks.

“Gas infrastructure operators are determined to support the European Commission’s vision to boost the biomethane economy. We recognise our mission to connect producers with consumers and will ensure that the exponential growth of biomethane continues to flourish,” explains Boyana Achovski, Secretary General of the IEG.

In terms of feedstock use, there is a clear trend towards agricultural waste, organic municipal solid waste and sewage sludge.