The role of biogas for a secure gas supply in Germany

17/05/2022

The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the impending natural gas embargo are increasingly raising the question of whether and to what extent biogas can replace Russian natural gas. Calls are also being made for a major expansion in the production of biogas, which associations believe could replace up to 80% of Russian natural gas.

Against this background, the DBFZ categorises the current and future contributions of biogas and biomethane to gas-based energy generation in a current position paper. Instead of expanding gas production, which would only be possible on a relevant scale by accepting conflicts with sustainability goals, the focus should be on rapidly converting the substrate basis for biogas production. In future, energy crops that compete with food production must increasingly be replaced by biogenic residues and cultivated biomass without additional land requirements (such as catch crops or biomass from the maintenance of nature conservation areas). To enable biogas to replace natural gas in even more applications, the upgrading to biomethane, the flexibilisation of electricity generation from biogas and heat extraction in the context of electricity generation from biogas and biomethane should be further expanded.

Read position paper (in German)