EBA: 30% increase in European biomethane plants since 2021

The European Biogas Association (EBA) has released its EBA/GIE Biomethane Map 2022-2023.
It shows that Europe reached a total of 1,322 biomethane-producing facilities by April 2023, with 299 new plants representing an increase of almost 30% from 2021.
The number of plants in Europe has shown continued increase compared to previous editions of the map. There were 483 plants in the 2018 edition, 729 in the 2020 edition and 1,023 in the 2021 edition.
The EBA's map displays 1,174 of the total reported.
The countries with the strongest growth in their biomethane production in 2021 were France (+ 2,130 GWh), Denmark (+ 1,642 GWh) and Germany (+ 1,553 GWh).
In absolute numbers, the largest producers of biomethane in 2021 were Germany (12,753 GWh), the United Kingdom (6,183 GWh), Denmark (5,683 GWh), France (4,337 GWh), the Netherlands (2,374 GWh) and Italy (2,246 GWh).
Europe is already producing over 3.5 bcm of biomethane. This represents a production increase rate of 20% in 2021. An even bigger increase is expected for 2022 where, despite consolidated data not being disclosed, estimations confirm a significant rise in the number of plants and production shares, said the EBA.
Additionally, the data collected for the preparation of this map shows that over 75% of the current plants are already connected to the transport or distribution grids.
Regarding feedstock use, a clear trend towards agricultural residues, organic municipal solid waste, and sewage sludge is visible. From 2017, almost no new plants were established to run on monocrops.
“Biomethane production has enjoyed a remarkable growth in the last decade and this upwards trend goes on with a nearly 30% increase in the number of biomethane plants compared to the previous edition of this map," said Harmen Dekker, CEO of the EBA. "This is a strong signal on the efforts of the industry to scale up production and push for further acceleration to reach the 35 bcm target by 2030 proposed by the European Commission in the REPowerEU plan.”
"Gas infrastructure operators are determined to support the European Commission's vision to upscale the biomethane economy. We acknowledge our mission to connect producers to consumers and will ensure that biomethane's exponential growth keeps thriving," added  Boyana Achovski, GIE secretary general. "Already today, we store and transport biomethane. It's good to open the door for more renewable molecules to integrate Europe's energy system. More biomethane produced at the European level is also good news for EU's energy independence."
Access the map here.