Estimates of 2030 and 2050 production biomethane in Europe
(Sustainabilityenvironment.com) – Biomethane in Europe can play more than one role in the energy sector. It can help the Union to advance its decarbonisation project, but it is also able to replace part of the consumption of natural gas, helping security and energy independence. A small contribution if compared to the current gas hunger, but which acquires importance in an advanced scenario of the energy transition. But what are the figures? The answer is Gas for Climate, a consortium created by ten European gas transport companies and two biogas associations. In the new report “Biomethane production potentials in the EU“, the consortium updates its 2030 forecasts starting from the renewed commitment of REPowerEu and the latest technological advances.
The plan presented by the European Commission this spring set a target of 35 billion cubic metres for the sector by the end of the decade. An ambitious target, considering that, currently, in the EU-27, only 3 billion cubic meters of biomethane and 15 billion cubic meters of biogas are produced.
But Gas for Climate dares more. And it predicts that by 2030 the bloc can produce up to 41 billion cubic meters of biomethane and 151 billion cubic meters in 2050. By way of comparison, in 2020 the EU employed about 400 billion cubic metres of fossil gas, of which 155 billion cubic metres were imported from Russia.
Breakdown of the potential
The report estimates the existence of a potential of 38 billion cubic meters of gas obtainable through anaerobic digestion in 2030 for the EU-27, which could rise to 91 billion in 2050. The top 5 producing countries in this field in both 2030 and 2050 consistently include France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain. The main raw materials to reach these values are manure, agricultural residues and crop rotation. The authors also predict a potential for thermal gasification of 9 billion cubic meters for the EU-27 in 2030, which will increase to 60 billion cubic meters in 2050. The top five producers in this case include France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and Italy.