IEA’s first Outlook for Biogases and Biomethane sees major opportunities

In France, as policy makers look for opportunities to simultaneously bolster energy security and economic competitiveness, biogases – locally produced, low-emissions fuels created from organic waste – are seeing fresh momentum, according to a new IEA special report.

The Outlook for Biogases and Biomethane, finds that over 50 new policies have been introduced to support biogases since 2020 as countries increasingly recognise their benefits. Biogas can be used directly as heat by households and industry and to produce electricity, while biomethane – which is an upgraded form of biogas – has many advantages as a drop-in substitute for natural gas.

The technologies and supply chains required to produce biogases are mature and well known, and they score highly on energy security metrics, the report finds. Biogas and biomethane are produced close to where they are consumed, most of the materials needed tend to be sourced nationally, and they can help provide employment and income for rural communities. Additionally, biogases are dispatchable sources of power, which can help balance supply and demand, and biomethane can be used without any major modifications to existing gas infrastructure.

To understand the full potential for biogases globally, the IEA conducted a first-of-its-kind spatial analysis of over 5 million locations worldwide. It found that biogas production could reach the equivalent of nearly 1 trillion cubic metres of natural gas each year from feedstocks that can be considered sustainable – such as wastes and residues that can be processed with existing technologies and do not compete with food systems, for instance. This volume corresponds to a quarter of the world’s annual demand for natural gas today.

However, biogas and biomethane still play a relatively minor role in the global energy mix. While human activities generate billions of tons of organic waste annually, less than 5% of potential sustainable feedstock is currently being used for biogas and biomethane production.