GPSJ - SPRING 2025 - Flipbook - Page 18
GPSJ
ECO & SUSTAINABILITY
Everyone’s focused on CO2 when methane
is the UK’s fastest climate opportunity
By Gilles Mayer, Director of Public Affairs, International Development and Corporate
Communication at Bennamann
While climate headlines continue
to focus on carbon dioxide, there’s
another greenhouse gas doing
far more damage in the short
term: methane. With a warming
potential more than 80 times
greater than CO₂ over a 20-year
period, methane represents
both a signi昀椀cant threat and an
extraordinary opportunity for
immediate climate action.
The overlooked climate
solution
The UK’s climate strategy has
largely centred on carbon dioxide
reduction. Methane emissions,
particularly from agriculture,
o昀昀er an additional path to
meaningful climate impact that
could supercharge the UK’s
journey to net zero emissions.
Unlike long-term CO₂ reductions
that may take decades to show
results, methane’s relatively short
atmospheric lifetime of about
12 years means that reducing
emissions today delivers climate
bene昀椀ts almost immediately. Over
a 20-year period, methane is
about 84–87 times more powerful
than CO₂ at trapping heat in the
atmosphere and so the impact of
reducing methane emissions is
critically important.
Agricultural methane represents
a substantial untapped resource.
Only 4% of the UK’s agricultural
slurry is currently processed for
energy, leaving a potential £500
million opportunity unrealised. This
oversight isn’t just an economic
missed opportunity; it’s a climate
one too.
Anaerobic digestion (AD)
systems have been progressively
adopted across the UK,
comprising digesters where
organic matter is broken down by
bacteria to produce biogas. These
plants have traditionally been
designed primarily for electricity
18
generation.
However, we at Bennamann
have pioneered solutions to
maximise on the available gas
through innovative technology
that’s already being deployed
across the UK, so that AD can
produce more renewable energy
on top of electricity.
Technological breakthrough
Bennamann has developed
compact, skid-mounted biogas
upgrading systems that can
process smaller volumes of
excess or additional biogas. These
units, similar in size to a 12-foot
shipping container, are designed
to upgrade biogas to high-purity
biomethane.
Bennamann’s Biocycle™
process can take biogas
containing 50-70% biomethane
and upgrade it to as high as 99%
biomethane. This technology
is particularly noteworthy for its
scalability and ease of integration
into existing AD infrastructure,
requiring minimal additional
investment from plant operators.
AD plants already produce
renewable energy in the form of
electricity. Our technology adds
value by upgrading a portion
of their biogas to high-purity
biomethane, creating new revenue
streams while delivering signi昀椀cant
climate bene昀椀ts.
Beyond emissions reduction
The bene昀椀ts extend far beyond
simply reducing methane
emissions:
• Economic resilience for farmers:
By creating new revenue
streams from what was
previously a waste management
challenge, these systems help
diversify farm income.
• Reduced reliance on fossil fuels:
The biomethane produced can
be used as a renewable
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL SPRING 2025
transport fuel, potentially
powering vehicles such as
heavy goods vehicles, buses
and agricultural machinery.
• Remote energy storage:
Thanks to Bennamann’s
Biocycle™ technology, o昀昀-grid
energy access can become
a reality for rural communities.
Farms, construction
businesses and local authorities
can take advantage of this by
installing o昀昀-grid EV charging
stations, opening up
the potential of EV to
rural communities without
needing access to the grid.
• Enhanced soil health: The
digestate produced as a byproduct of AD is a nutrient-rich
bio-fertiliser.
• Energy security: Locallyproduced biomethane reduces
dependence on imported
energy and creates resilience
within local energy systems.
Several recent policy
developments make this the
perfect moment to accelerate
methane capture from
agriculture.
In the UK, the Renewable
Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO)
provides Renewable Transport
Fuel Certi昀椀cates (RTFCs) for
biomethane production. Notably,
biomethane produced from true
waste products like food waste or
animal slurry quali昀椀es for double
the RTFC value compared to
purpose-grown energy crops.
This is because biomethane
turns existing waste products
into energy, avoiding land use
change and supporting a circular
economy.
With new permitting rules from
the Environment Agency and
clear backing from the House of
Lords for methane-focused action,
the regulatory environment is
increasingly supportive.
Looking ahead, several trends
are likely to shape the future of AD
technology:
1. Integration with other
renewables: AD plants could
play a crucial role in balancing
the intermittency of solar and
wind power, providing a stable,
on-demand source of renewable
energy.
2. Creation of an o昀昀-grid
system: Through biomethane
we can create an o昀昀-grid EV
network on farms that ensures
rural communities, local authorities
and construction sites across the
country can bene昀椀t from the green
energy revolution.
3. Carbon capture: Combining
AD with carbon capture
technologies could create
negative-emission systems, where
CO2 is not just reduced but
actively removed from the
atmosphere.
From quick win to systemic
change
While addressing agricultural
methane o昀昀ers immediate climate
bene昀椀ts, the longer-term potential
is even more compelling. The
journey is already underway from
individual farm AD installations
to a nationwide opportunity that
could transform rural economies
while signi昀椀cantly reducing the
UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The technology exists. The
economic case is compelling. The
policy framework is emerging.
The only question that remains
is whether we’ll seize this
opportunity to make agricultural
methane our fastest climate win.
To 昀椀nd out more about
Bennamann e-mail us at
enquiries@bennamann.com or
call us on 0800 009 2963.
