November 7, 2022. 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 European Biogas Association (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.
Over 350 delegates, including policymakers, academia, industry representatives and civil society organizations, 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.
The conference also tackled the national perspectives, showcasing subsidiarity, national specificities and diverse resources across Europe. The event also addressed the urgency to mobilize 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.
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).
