Biogas and biomethane industries are providing today the cheapest and most scalable renewable gas made in Europe
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Brussels 03/11/22 - The biogas and biomethane industries are ready and fully committed to scale up the sector and produce at least 35 bcm of biomethane by 2030. “These industries are providing today the cheapest and most scalable renewable gas produced in Europe” stressed Harmen Dekker, CEO of the EBA, during the closing ceremony. The 2022 edition of the European Biogas Conference held in Brussels last week was sold out for the 2nd time in a row. This edition was a platform for insightful discussions on how to scale-up the sector, based on the thought-provoking interventions of over 50 high-level speakers, including the Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, the Head of Cabinet of the Commission’s Executive Vice-President, Diederik Samsom, the Deputy Director for DG Energy, Metchild Wörsdörfer, and the International Energy Agency.
Over 350 delegates, including policymakers, academia, industry representatives and civil society organisations, enjoyed a 2-day intensive programme addressing critical bottlenecks and opportunities for the sector. A key topic on the agenda was the sustainable achievement of the 35 bcm yearly biomethane production target by 2030. During his participation in one of the panels, Mr Samsom, urged the industry to be bolder and speak lauder about the benefits, projects and investments of the sector because Europe needs more sustainable biomethane and larger scale projects by 2030.
The conference also tackled the national perspectives, showcasing subsidiarity, national specificities and diverse resources across Europe. The event also addressed the urgency to mobilise investments and streamline innovation to accelerate the expansion of the sector, providing higher energy independence and boosting the green transition. The applications of biomethane in the decarbonization of transport, buildings, industry, as well as the support to the agroecological transition, were also discussed over the 10 sessions scheduled for this edition.
During the 1st day of the conference, Commissioner Wojciechowski announced the technical launch of the Biomethane Industrial Partnership (BIP), the private-public partnership aimed at supporting the achievement of the target to increase annual production and use of biomethane to 35 billion cubic meters by 2030. Different representatives involved in the BIP explained the setup of the five Task Forces that will steer the work of this partnership in the coming months.
Finally, the EBA Awards 2022 announced during the gala dinner recognized outstanding individuals and projects for supporting the energy transition: Anaergia (Biogas Groundbreaker Award), Katrien Verwimp (Women Leading the way to Climate Neutrality Award) and SmallOps (Top Biogas Young Talent Award).
‘’The 2 days conference was marked by an extraordinary level of commitment from the biogas and biomethane value chain to achieve the REPowerEU target for biomethane (35 bcm a year by 2030) and to do so sustainably. Landing the right policy framework at EU level, remains paramount to support the growth of our sector. Achieving a market design fit for renewable gases, promoting tech-neutral framework to green transport, closing the nutrient loop and fostering healthy soils, ensuring the roll out of biomethane capacity and untapping the potential of sustainable feedstock are necessary steps towards climate neutrality.’’ Highlights Giulia Cancian, EBA’s Secretary General.