Biogas and biomethane: Overview
From village cookstoves to city gas grids
What this tab covers What the chemical is, how big its market is, what it is used for (with shares, volumes, why it wins and what could replace it), and its chain from raw material to end user. Ends with three things to remember.Biogas is the 50-65% methane gas microbes make when digesting wet organic matter without air. Burned on site it makes power and heat; cleaned of CO2 and H2S it becomes biomethane for gas grids or compressed bio-CNG (CBG in India). World output is roughly 40-50 bcm-equivalent a year, under 5% of the IEA's sustainable potential of nearly 1 trillion m3 (2025). Europe makes 22 bcm, 5.2 bcm of it biomethane. India has about 219 SATAT CBG plants against a 5,000 target, and a blending obligation rising from 1% (2025-26) to 5% (2028-29). Manure biomethane can be carbon-negative.
Volume about 40-50 bcm-equivalent of biogas and biomethane a year (about 29-36 Mt of methane, indicative); Europe 22 bcm (2024), of which biomethane 5.2 bcm Market value about $20-25 billion a year (indicative, basis: about 45 bcm x about 10.5 MWh per 1,000 m3 x $40-50/MWh) Growth Europe 22 bcm in 2024 against 21.7 bcm in 2023; India's CBG sales grew from about 19-20 kt (2023-24) to about 31.4 kt (2024-25); IEA projects India's biogas to reach about 0.8 bcm by 2030 European Biogas Association Statistical Report 2025, via Renewable Energy Magazine, 10 Dec 2025; IEA Outlook for Biogas and Biomethane (May 2025), via World Biogas Association and BioCycle (potential and share used, derived volume); Renewable Watch, 19 Dec 2025 (SATAT portal, IBA, GAIL data)Key uses
| Use | Share | Annual volume | Why this commodity | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity and combined heat and power at the digester | 60% | about 27 bcm-equivalentbasis | Gas engines on farms, sewage works and landfills were the original business model under feed-in tariffs (Germany, Italy, UK). No upgrading or grid connection is needed. indicative | Solar and wind power Upgrading to biomethane for higher-value uses |
| Household and community cooking and heating (small digesters) | 18% | about 8 bcm-equivalentbasis | Tens of millions of family digesters in China and India replace firewood and dung cakes; India's GOBARdhan programme has 1,118 functional plants (Dec 2025). Renewable Watch, 19 Dec 2025 (SATAT portal, IBA, GAIL data); share indicative | LPG Electric cooking |
| Grid biomethane for buildings and industry | 14% | about 6 bcmbasis | Upgraded biomethane is interchangeable with natural gas; at least 86% of Europe's 1,620 biomethane plants are grid-connected (EBA 2025). European Biogas Association Statistical Report 2025, via Renewable Energy Magazine, 10 Dec 2025 | Natural gas Heat pumps Hydrogen |
| Transport fuel (bio-CNG, bio-LNG, CBG) | 8% | about 3.5 bcmbasis | Credits make transport the most valuable outlet: RNG was 98% of California's on-road natural gas vehicle fuel in 2025. In India, CBG is sold through CNG stations and city gas networks. Transport Project, RNG in California 2025 (Jun 2026, CARB LCFS data); share indicative | Diesel Electric trucks HVO |
From raw material to user
- Feedstock Manure, food and municipal organic waste, sewage sludge, crop residues (paddy straw), press mud from sugar mills, energy crops (maize silage, Napier grass). The IEA puts manure potential alone at about 280 bcm a year.
- Anaerobic digestion Bacteria digest feed for 20-60 days at about 35-55°C, giving biogas of about 50-65% methane (indicative).
- Upgrading Water scrubbing, membranes, pressure-swing adsorption or amine wash remove CO2 and H2S to give over 90% methane (indicative); Europe's average biomethane plant is 483 m3 per hour (EBA).
- Injection or compression Biomethane enters gas grids, or is compressed to 200-250 bar for cascades and CNG stations (indicative).
- Digestate The digested slurry is a fertiliser: Europe produced 25 Mt (dry matter) in 2024, enough to replace about 17% of EU nitrogen fertiliser (EBA).
Made from (commodity table)
Su SugarMk Milk & dairyThree things to know
- Less than 5% of the IEA's sustainable biogas potential of nearly 1 trillion m3 a year is used (IEA, May 2025).
- India's CBG blending obligation is 1% in 2025-26, 3% in 2026-27, 4% in 2027-28 and 5% from 2028-29; 1% alone needs about 0.35 MMSCMD or 2.6-3 lakh t a year (BioEnergy Times, Aug 2026).
- California's in-state bio-CNG averaged -198 g CO2e/MJ in 2025 against 100 g for diesel, because manure digesters capture methane that would otherwise escape (CARB data via Transport Project, Jun 2026).