Page 9 - EurOil Week 08 2022

EurOil PERFORMANCE EurOil

Natural gas now more expensive

than cleaner biogas: EBA

EUROPE THE cost of natural gas on European spot mar-
kets has risen to the point that it is 30% more
But EBA says the right expensive than cleaner bio-methane, the Euro-
policies are needed to pean Biogas Association (EBA) claimed on Feb-
exploit the potential of ruary 17.
biogas. Natural gas is currently trading at around €80
($91) per MWh on the spot market, up from €18
a year ago, whereas bio-methane can be pro-
duced for as little as €55, EBA said.
“While governments are struggling to
reduce the impact of soaring energy prices on
citizens’ energy bills, they have a solution within
reach: scaling up the production of sustainable
bio-methane,” EBA said. would replace conventional methane, as
The association said bio-methane would pipelines and other infrastructure could be
likely remain cheaper both in the short and the repurposed for bio-methane with virtually
long term, given that the natural gas market is no modification.
expected to remain tight for some time. It also Beyond decarbonising the gas grid, EBA and
noted that other green gases such as green others point to the potential for bio-methane to
hydrogen were between two and four times clean up heavy-duty and maritime transport.
more expensive. Ships can be tooled today to run on LNG, bio-
Europe could produce as much as 34bn cubic LNG, or a mix of both, and gradually use more
metres per year of bio-methane with the right bio-LNG over time, without having to upgrade
policies in place, EBA said, enough to cover 10% their fuel systems, and the same is true of vehi-
of its gas demand. It added that a further 6 bcm cle transport. These sectors are notably difficult
could be sourced from Ukraine by that point. to electrify, as batteries need high autonomy to
Bio-methane development will also give the cover long distances, but this increases their vol-
EU greater energy self-sufficiency. At present the ume and weight and therefore that of the vehicles
bloc produces only 15% of the gas it consumes, that contain them, undermining their efficiency
sourcing the rest from external suppliers such as and increasing their carbon footprint.
Russia, Norway, Qatar and the US. A truck that would otherwise weigh 40
“A strong sense of urgency is growing to tonnes travelling 1,000 km would have to be
secure investments and ensure the deploy- equipped with a 6.4-tonne battery using the
ment of bio-methane facilities across Europe,” best technology available today, EBA argues,
CBA CEO Harmen Dekker said in a statement. whereas a bio-LNG-fuelled truck would have a
“Additional partnerships, such as the recently much more compact fuel system. There is also
launched Sustainable Bio-methane Initiative, the issue of whether the world has sufficient
showcase the interest from industry users, pro- reserves of cobalt, lithium and other materials
ducers and other major companies within the needed for batteries to keep up with demand.
value chain on the deployment of this renewa- These resources today are mostly produced in
ble gas right now. Fostering the rapid scale-up of countries with weaker environmental regulation
bio-methane means supporting climate change and lower compliance with human rights, such
mitigation, reducing dependency on external as China.
gas supplies and dealing with an unprecedented Then there is heavy industry, for which elec-
natural gas price increase. A clear legislative tricity is not an option. Bio-LNG can be provided
framework will provide certainty for long- to industries that cannot be connected to future
term investments on the roll-out of sustainable hydrogen grids.
bio-methane.” Despite the advantages that EBA points to,
The European Commission last summer there is antipathy towards bio-methane from
released its long-awaited “Fit for 55” pack- some environmental groups. Even though it
age under the European Green Deal, aimed can in theory be carbon neutral or even carbon
at aligning block legislation with its target of negative, opponents point to methane that is
reducing emissions by 55% by 2030. Proponents emitted into the atmosphere across the value
of bio-methane argue it can play a vital role in chain. Methane is far more potent a greenhouse
delivering on this goal, as it is both cost-effective gas than CO2. The counter-argument, however,
and scalable. is that most of this methane would have been
Bio-methane enjoys broad support from emitted anyway, had it not been utilised as an
the natural gas industry, even though it energy source. ™

Week 08 23•February•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9