Successful European Biogas Conference highlights biomethane potential
Over 200 participants and more than 30 speakers attended the European Biogas Association’s (EBA) virtual conference on 1-4 September, including high-level industry representatives, policymakers, researchers, and journalists.
The discussion focused on the EU Green Deal and the potential to scale-up biomethane. According to the EBA, the biomethane industry has “huge available potential” to deploy renewable gases, help the development of rural economies, and drive an efficient circular economy.
Globally, the biogas sector has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 12%. According to the IEA outlook for biomethane published earlier this year, and presented at the conference, biogas and biomethane will play a key role in a low-carbon energy transition.
During the conference, an IEA expert recalled that biogas and biomethane offer wide benefits like waste management and enhanced security of supply, and cannot be judged solely on their production costs, higher than fossil alternatives, such as natural gas.
Harmen Dekker, EBA director, said: “The high participation rates and the quality of the speakers present at the conference this year prove the increasing interest in the positive advantages of our industry.
“How the future of biogas and biomethane will look will depend on the policy framework and the ability of our industry to strengthen its competitiveness in the coming years.
“This is a key moment for the development of renewable gases with the revision of existing legislation and many new political initiatives in the pipeline to contribute to carbon neutrality.
“Our industry can immediately scale-up its production and is committed to untap its full potential and work towards a carbon-neutral economy. This will bring benefits to many other sectors and will ensure the protection of our environment and our future generations.”
The EBA said one of the key takeaways of this conference was the need to ensure that all positive advantages of biogas and biomethane across sectors are recognised and exploited.
The discussion focused on the EU Green Deal and the potential to scale-up biomethane. According to the EBA, the biomethane industry has “huge available potential” to deploy renewable gases, help the development of rural economies, and drive an efficient circular economy.
Globally, the biogas sector has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 12%. According to the IEA outlook for biomethane published earlier this year, and presented at the conference, biogas and biomethane will play a key role in a low-carbon energy transition.
During the conference, an IEA expert recalled that biogas and biomethane offer wide benefits like waste management and enhanced security of supply, and cannot be judged solely on their production costs, higher than fossil alternatives, such as natural gas.
Harmen Dekker, EBA director, said: “The high participation rates and the quality of the speakers present at the conference this year prove the increasing interest in the positive advantages of our industry.
“How the future of biogas and biomethane will look will depend on the policy framework and the ability of our industry to strengthen its competitiveness in the coming years.
“This is a key moment for the development of renewable gases with the revision of existing legislation and many new political initiatives in the pipeline to contribute to carbon neutrality.
“Our industry can immediately scale-up its production and is committed to untap its full potential and work towards a carbon-neutral economy. This will bring benefits to many other sectors and will ensure the protection of our environment and our future generations.”
The EBA said one of the key takeaways of this conference was the need to ensure that all positive advantages of biogas and biomethane across sectors are recognised and exploited.
