Press release: Anaerobic Digestion and Gasification can replace natural gas imports
Biomethane is a mature technology that can significantly reduce Europe’s dependency on natural gas” was the main message of the 2nd Conference of the European Biogas Association in the Netherlands. DGs for Energy, Transport and Agriculture confirm that in the next decades there is no way to achieve renewable energy targets without biogas.
According to Antonio Tricas-Aizpun from DG MOVE, in the decades to come the objective is to move away from natural gas towards biomethane supplies. As an important trigger he named agreement of the standard M/475 and adoption on the Directive Clean Power for Transport, which should enable achieving the 5% share of natural gas and biomethane vehicles market in 2020.
“Biogas can be an important pillar of the European energy policy in terms of safety and decarbonisation”, told Dr. Jan Stambasky, EBA’s President. “A combined effort of anaerobic digestion and gasification can deliver sufficient biomethane to replace natural gas imports from Russia. Both technologies produce biomethane, share the same regulatory framework and the same technical infrastructure, therefore a cooperation between the industries will be crucial in the coming years.”
In total 240 participants from 30 countries attended the three day joint event on biogas and gasification in the Dutch region of Alkmaar. The last day was highlighted by the official launch of the Institute for Valorisation and Expertise in Thermochemics Alkmaar (InVesta). “The Institute will offer a unique bundling of pioneering technology and top expertise in the field of green biogas”, stated Jaap Bond, deputy of renewable energy
& climate in the Province of North Holland.
The next Conference of the European Biogas Association is scheduled for 2016. Stambasky summarized: “The high number of participants from outside Europe confirms that we have the best know-how to share and that the industry has an enormous potential to grow in the EU and beyond. This is the route that we want to continue in the coming years.”
Read the EBA Press Release
