The European community supports the unblocking of biomethane exports in Ukraine
We thank the European Biogas Association and the EURACTIVE media for the important publication on the problems of the development of the EU database (UDB) and the potential export of Ukrainian biomethane in the future. In the article, the authors quote the chairman of the board of UABIO, Georgii Geletukha.
The UDB for the gaseous fuels value chain is expected by 21 November 2024, i.e., the legal deadline in the RED III.
How will this UDB work?
This system is designed to guarantee transparency in the market by tracking the sustainability and origin of the renewable fuels placed on it. This will contribute to the creation of a single EU market for RES such as biomethane and expand its corporate use.
The system will guarantee that:
- accredited biofuel meets the requirements of RED sustainable development and decarbonization policy;
- each declared m3 of biomethane is consumed only once.
What is the problem?
Traders will not be able to register clean biomethane that comes from outside the EU gas network in the UDB, namely the United Kingdom and Ukraine.
Effectively, the UDB for gaseous fuels – and thus the market for sustainable biomethane injected into the grid – will be limited to biomethane produced in the EU.
This is a major disruption to cross-border trade with the United Kingdom in the growing European biomethane market. In addition, it will limit companies’ access to fully certified biomethane, which will consequently slow down decarbonization and energy security efforts.
In the case of Ukraine, this exclusion of imports will weaken the prospects for the formation of a national biomethane market. By the end of 2025, 12 plants are expected to be launched. Export to the EU is critically important for us!
Current situation
According to unofficial information, the United Kingdom and Ukraine will be connected to UDB soon after the official launch of the base. However, there is no official document of the European Commission that would confirm this. This leads to the fact that the market is still not settled.
This uncertainty is now hurting business and is a bad sign for investors in biomethane, which is expected to grow 10-fold by 2030.
Georgii Geletukha’s position
The import of Ukrainian volumes would bring money into Ukraine and support the development of their technology manufacturing capacity. In an article dated 5 January 2024, Georgii Geletukha, Chairman of the Board of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine, recently rang the alarm about this issue, noting that “during the construction of the biomethane plant, at least 50% of the investment will be invested in Ukrainian equipment and services”.
Excluding them would also go against the Memorandum of Understanding signed in February 2023 by Ursula von der Leyen and the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal. The Commission by this MoU committed to “harmonise certification processes (…) for importing biogas, biomethane, hydrogen and other synthetic gases“; as well integrate “economic operators from Ukraine into the EU-recognised global certification system” to enable biomethane “from Ukraine to access the EU energy market“.
Source: Biomethane trade – Urgent need to make the Union Database right | Euractive
