An important meeting was held within the new project “Biomethane zoning and assessment of the possibility and conditions for connecting of biomethane producers to the gas transmission and distribution systems of Ukraine”, funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Why is this event important for the Ukrainian economy?

In addition to reducing carbon emissions, according to our forecasts, by 2050 the development of the bioenergy sector:

  • The biogas sector will create more than 26 0000 jobs.
  • The biomethane sector will create more than 20 000 jobs.

What were participants talking about?

  • Prospects for the production and use of biomethane in Ukraine.
  • Development of a roadmap for the production and use of biomethane.
  • Geographical distribution of biomethane production potential.
  • Results of preliminary assessment of the possibility and conditions of connection of biomethane producers to gas transmission and distribution systems in Ukraine.
  • Analysis of the requirements of Ukrainian legislation on the pump of biomethane into the gas distribution or gas transmission system and its further transportation to the EU.
  • The vision of the Ukrainian gas transmission system operator of Ukraine.
  • The vision of the Ukrainian gas distribution network operator of Ukraine (RGC).

The first conclusions

  • The current level of capacity utilization is at the level of 1%.
  • The current level of biomethane production potential is 8.3 billion m3 CH4 / year. The potential for biomethane production at powerful biomethane plants (over 10 million m3 of biomethane per year) is over 1.1 billion m3 CH4 / year.
  • The main components of the potential are crop residues (50%), specially grown corn for silage (30%), and manure waste from livestock (10%).
  • 50% of the biomethane production potential is concentrated in Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Kyiv, Chernihiv and Ternopil regions.
  • The projected level of biomethane production potential for 2050 is over 13 billion m3 CH4 / year.

Also relevant are:

  • Redesign of the gas transmission system.
  • Safety and disposal of unused biomethane.
  • Biomethane export opportunities.

Legislative changes needed to launch the biomethane market

  1. introduction of the term “biomethane” into the Law of Ukraine “On Alternative Fuels”;
  2. creation of a biomethane register;
  3. the procedure for creating guarantees of biomethane origin and carrying out further operations with them.

We thank the participants of the meeting who made presentations and expressed their views on the development of biomethane in Ukraine. We are currently thoroughly researching this issue. Follow the news! We will present detailed reports based on the results of the project.


Note that on the websites of SAF and UABIO you will find a lot of interesting information about the prospects of biomethane projects in Ukraine.

It will be recalled that UABIO is a partner of the SAF platform (Sustainable Agribusiness Forum) from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).