Given that biomethane is seen as a sustainable and green replacement for natural gas and fugitive methane emissions have a global warming potential twenty-seven times that of carbon dioxide, this study could have serious implications for the uptake of renewable natural gas.

The study, published in One Earth, utilised Monte Carlo simulations and drew on data from various European biogas producers. The authors acknowledge a wide range of uncertainty in the results given the large differences in the way biomethane facilities are maintained and operated; further effort is required with regard to emissions monitoring and mitigation strategies.

The threshold for emissions for biomass fuels (including biomethane) based on the RED II comparator is 34.8 g CO2eq/MJ. While the mean values from the study (excluding digestate emissions) were well under this (around 19 gCO2eq), the upper range for total non-digestate emissions was 64-74 gCO2eq/MJ, which is twice the 

The breakdown of emissions along the supply chain is given below:

Biomethane supply chain emissions breakdown

Furthermore, digestate emissions were also found to be significant - as much as the rest of the supply chain in some cases. While these emissions are typically associated with digestate products (fertiliser) rather than the biomethane product, they are an important consideration in the holistic net-zero conversation.

Effect on the biomethane certificate market

The certification schemes for biomethane production, notably ISCC and REDcert, perform auditing on the supply chain for biomethane up to and including plant operation. Importantly, this results in the calculation of credible carbon intensity (CO2 equivalent released per MWh) which helps reduce the uncertainty associated with emissions from biomethane supply chains.

This is particularly important for higher-end applications of biomethane (transport, electricity generation). For Dutch and Danish biomethane, we already see a significant premium for ISCC/REDcert products over their non-certified counterpart (

). Should supply chain emissions come further into focus, we might expect this premium to increase further.

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A recent (17 June 2022) study by the Sustainable Gas Institute, Imperial College London, has suggested that methane leaks along the biogas/biomethane supply chain may be twice as much as previously estimated.

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Under-reporting of supply chain emissions from biomethane and effect on certificate demand

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