Biomethane: Local Energy Carrier or European Commodity?

Abstract

In most European Union member states, natural gas plays an important and increasing role in energy provision to meet the demand for heat, electricity and transport. Nevertheless natural gas is a fossil energy carrier and various countries have started the stepwise transition from a fossil resource base towards a renewable energy-based energy system due to concerns regarding greenhouse gas emissions, energy security and conservation of finite resources. A biogenic substitute for natural gas is biomethane, defined as methane produced from biomass with properties similar to natural gas. It is a promising fuel to support the transition from fossil fuels to renewables and to support the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets of the different European Union member states. Biomethane can be produced by upgrading biogas (biochemical conversion) or as so-called bio-SNG (biogenic synthetic natural gas) by thermo-chemical conversion of lignocellulosic biomass or other forms of lignin-rich biomass. Biomethane production via biochemical conversion is a widely applied technology. Bio-SNG via thermochemical conversion is currently barely applied in the respective market. At present, there is hardly any cross-border trade in biomethane in the EU. During the phase of implementation of the biogas and biogas upgrading industry, each member state started to develop its own regulations, standardisations and certifications. For a working European-wide biomethane trade, unified framework conditions like standardisations and certifications have to be established. This chapter gives a brief introduction to biomethane followed by an overview of biomethane use in several European countries. Afterwards, certification, which is a precondition for biomethane trade, is introduced and possible schemes enabling biomethane trade are presented, followed by an outlook.