Record: 7 billion cubic metres of biogas

Figures issued by the International Energy Agency show that 2022 was an absolute record year for biogas production, particularly in the USA and Europe!

Source: International Energy Agency (IEA)

According to the latest gas market report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), European gas demand saw the sharpest decline in its history in 2022. The experts expect global demand to remain largely unchanged in 2023. And while natural gas prices are still high by historical standards, they have at least dropped somewhat in recent months. However, this may change again in 2023 if demand for LNG increases in Asia, especially in China.

“The past year was exceptional for the global gas markets. Prices are now returning to tolerable levels, especially in Europe, where a mild winter and a decline in demand have contributed to a cooling of the markets,” said Keisuke Sadamori, Director of Energy Markets & Security at the IEA. “China is the big unknown in 2023. If global demand for LNG returns to pre-crisis levels, it will only intensify competition in global markets and inevitably push prices up again.”

Like here in Nevada, Iowa, the first production facility of German bioenergy specialist Verbio in the United States, more and more biogas is being produced in the USA. Source: Verbio

On the other hand, it is pleasing to note that the latest IEA report shows 2022 to have been a record year for biogas production. Last year, the global supply of biogas increased by almost one billion cubic metres, or around 16%, now totalling seven billion cubic metres. This enormous growth is primarily due to increased production in Europe, but also in the USA. America has been the world’s biggest producer of biogas since 2019, with output increasing by an impressive 20% last year to a total of two billion cubic metres – almost 30% of global production.

The density of filling stations for the countless CNG trucks is also constantly increasing. Here, people are filling up at the recently opened Chevron pump in Visalia, California. Source: Valley Pacific

This dispels any preconceived prejudices that Americans opt solely for blissfully purring but fuel-hungry V8 engines, heavy-duty pick-ups, and millions of diesel-powered trucks cruising along endless highways. More and more CNG vehicles are now in use in the USA, especially in truck and bus fleets. There are currently more than 250 biomethane plants in operation in America, with some 220 more under construction or planned. The largest source of raw materials is municipal waste, accounting for 70%, while another 20% comes from agriculture. Processing in this area in particular was massively improved in 2022, thereby boosting biogas production. An estimated 90% of biogas is used in the US as fuel for CNG vehicles, while the remaining 10% is used primarily for power generation. This is unlikely to change, as the Renewable Natural Gas Incentive Act of 2022 introduced in Congress in December 2022 provides for a ten-year tax credit of one US dollar per gallon for sellers of renewable gas used for transportation.

Small Denmark is one of the largest biogas producers in Europe, behind Germany and France, thanks in part to large biogas plants like this one in Korskro. Source: Nature Energy

In Europe, too, biomethane production increased by 500 million cubic metres (around 15%) and now amounts to nearly four billion cubic metres. This growth was mainly driven by Denmark and France, with France recording an increase in production of 65% compared to 2021. With an output of 0.65 billion cubic metres from some 450 biogas plants, the Grande Nation is now the second-largest biogas producer in Europe after Germany and ahead of Denmark.

There are now 41 plants in Switzerland that produce biogas and feed it into the gas grid. Four new plants were connected to the grid in 2022 alone, including the first industrial plant for the production of biomethane from green hydrogen and CO₂ at Regiowerk Limeco in Dietikon ZH. In addition, there are hundreds of smaller-scale biogas plants that use the biogas they produce directly on site. (jas, 14 March 2023)

The Wyss family has been producing electricity and heat in Switzerland with its biogas plant since 2005. Source: CNG-Mobility.ch