Biogas: Europe's new bet

The figures are clear on the importance of biogas in meeting decarbonisation targets and reducing dependence on fossil energy sources, the vast majority of which come from markets outside the European Union.

One of the great advantages of biogas (or biomethane - a purified version of biogas, chemically equivalent to natural gas and with the same amount of energy) is its versatility and adaptability to the existing infrastructure: it can be injected into the network and transported like the natural gas we know, and it is compatible with the same equipment, whether domestic or industrial, with obvious economic and development advantages. economic and development advantages.

Data from the European Biogas Association (EBA) confirms that the market is aware of these advantages:

• Current production of around 21 million m 3 (bcm) of biogas (17 bcm) and biomethane (4 bcm) combined is expected to almost double by 2030 and quintuple by 2050;

• By 2050, the potential for biogas production should cover around 40 per cent of gas consumption in the European Union, a figure that could rise to more than 60 per cent in a context of reduced demand for this fuel. The EU currently produces only 15 per cent of the gas it consumes;

• To accompany this growth, it is estimated that there will be 465,000 jobs linked to this industry by 2030 and more than 1.7 million by 2050.

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‍"Renewable energies give us the freedom to choose an energy source that is clean, affordable, reliable and ours"

Frans Timmermans, former Vice-President of the European Commission

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Exponential increase in investment... and return

The targets for biogas are ambitious, but the momentum is evident and the industry is moving quickly towards an effective transition.

According to a 2024 study published by the EBA, the sector is set to receive around €24.5 billion in investment by 2030, most of it relating to the installation of 950 new industrial plants dedicated to biomethane production, which will add to the more than 1,500 that currently exist (32 per cent more than in 2023).

Another EBA report shows that, by 2030, the benefits of the global system of biomethane production in the EU27 + UK could be between 38-78 billion billion per year, rising to 133-283 billion euros in 2050.
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A key for industry

The advantages of biogas cut across many sectors, but industry is among those that can benefit the most from its incorporation. This element can become central to meeting sustainability targets and reducing operating costs by increasing energy self-sufficiency. What's more, for facilities that already use natural gas, there are no network adaptation costs.

According to 2021 data, industry was responsible for more than a quarter of the total energy consumed in the EU, with only 10 per cent of this coming from renewable sources and, in contrast, 33 per cent from natural gas. This is an important window of opportunity for biogas, within a European framework of transition to a low-carbon industry, advocated by major initiatives such as the Green Deal, RePowerEU or, more recently, the Antwerp Declaration.

Even considering the enormous diversity of processes involved and the energy needs of European industry, biogas could be the ‘green’ solution for many of them, especially those that require high temperatures and steam pressure. What's more, the remaining biogas could be commercialised for the public supply network.

Anaerobic digestion (without the use of oxygen) - or ‘biodigestion’ - is, along with thermal gasification, one of the methods used to obtain biogas. According to the EBA, the first process should account for more than 60 per cent of the production of this renewable fuel by 2040, given its versatility and wide range of applications in the most varied contexts. The use of biomass in industrial wastewater treatment systems is a good example, expected to account for a 12% share of biogas production using anaerobic digestion.

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Iberian market with high potential

In 2040, according to the same organisation, Portugal should be in 12th place among biogas-producing countries (taking into account the EU27 and the United Kingdom), while Spain will be in 3rd place, only behind Germany and France. In Spain, investment in the biogas market by 2030 is expected to amount to around 1.5 billion euros, and Portugal is expected to receive an allocation of around 340 million euros. 

It is against this backdrop of the high potential of the Iberian market, where it is planned to invest almost 2 billion euros over the next five years and where there is currently a potential of more than 2,300 installations, that Bondalti Biogas was recently born, a division of Bondalti Water, a company dedicated to the treatment and reuse of water, specifically orientated towards this area.

In line with its strong Iberian vocation, Bondalti Water intends to make this segment a strategic axis of its activity, drawing on decades of experience and know-how in wastewater treatment, a segment in which it is the Iberian leader, as well as its comprehensive supply capacity, including engineering, procurement, construction and technical advice.