Biogas and biomethane in Europe: review of the EBA report on SAF

08/01/2025
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For the SAF platform, UABIO Expert Council member Yurii Matveev prepared a review of the recent European Biogas Association (EBA) 2023 report on the state of biomethane production and use in European countries.

Production

In 2022, primary energy production within the EU was 23,566 PJ or 6,550 TWh, which is 5.9% lower than in 2021. Renewables accounted for the highest share of production (43.2%). Bioenergy represented 59% of total renewable energy production in Europe, which is equivalent to 1,670 TWh.

Combined biogas and biomethane production in 2023 amounted to 234 TWh or 22 bcm. This is 7% of the natural gas consumption of the European Union in 2023.

виробництво біогазу та біометану по країнах європи — Source: EBA.

Biomethane production grew to 52 TWh or 4.9 bcm in 2023 with an installed capacity of 6.4 bcm/year by the first quarter of 2024. Countries with the strongest growth in their biomethane production in 2023 were Italy, France, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.

Feedstock

In recent years, there has been a clear trend towards the utilization of feedstock delivering the best GHG savings is visible for biomethane production:

agricultural residues,
organic municipal solid waste,
sewage sludge,
industrial waste.

Сировинна база для виробництва біогазу та біометану — Source: EBA.

Prospects

According to the European Biogas Association, Europe could potentially produce 40 billion m3 of biomethane in 2030. In 2040, it will already be 111 bcm biomethane, of which 101 bcm relates to the EU-27.

This potential is made up of 74 bcm from anaerobic digestion (67% of the total) and 37 bcm from thermal gasification (33% of the total). Research and innovation is expected to unlock additional biogas potential in ways not yet considered in the above calculations.

Currently, €27 billion has already been earmarked for investments in biomethane production in Europe. This is expected to provide a total added capacity of 6.9 billion m3/year of CH4. Thus, additional investments and efforts by all stakeholders are needed to achieve the REPowerEU programme’s target of 35 billion m3 of biomethane in 2030, and even more so to fully realise the declared production potential.

End-uses

In 2023, 23% of upgraded biogas was used for transport, 17% for buildings, 15% for power generation and 13% for industry. This balanced distribution demonstrates how versatile biomethane is as a renewable energy source.

In 2023 the transport sectors’ energy consumption accounted for over 29% of EU’s final energy consumption, with 10% of renewables. Countries such as Italy, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia choose a clear direction of biomethane use for transport, with almost all biomethane being used as a transport fuel.

There were 59 active bio-LNG producing plants in Europe in 2023, and this number is expected to increase sharply in the years 2024-2027, with 134 bio-LNG plants scheduled to be ready by 2027. The projected bio-LNG production capacity by 2027, considering only confirmed plants, adds up to 21.1 TWh per year.

Read the full material with more information and a chapter on additional economic value on the SAF platform.

We remind you that UABIO is a partner of the Sustainable agribusiness platform (SAF).

SAF is a communication platform that brings together agribusiness stakeholders and aims to establish strong links between market players and introduce sustainable approaches in agriculture. For this platform, our team prepares verified professional content on the bioenergy sector.