Biogas Outlook, Trends and Key Players - 2025

Humans, directly or indirectly, contribute to the generation of over 105 billion tonnes of organic waste globally each year, all of which produce methane and other greenhouse gases directly into the atmosphere during their decomposition.

98% of that waste goes untreated and unrecycled, presenting an opportunity to leverage biogas technologies to convert these wastes into clean energy.

However, these technologies are not without their challenges. High capital costs, especially for large-scale biogas plants, a lack of sustainable feedstock availability, policy and regulatory uncertainty, and limited supporting infrastructure are all impacting the commercial viability of biogas.

• Biogas and biomethane are renewable energy technologies produced from the anaerobic digestion process. This process of converting waste to energy promotes circular economies, energy independence, food security and sustainable agriculture.
• However, these technologies are not without their challenges. High capital costs, especially for large-scale biogas plants, a lack of sustainable feedstock availability, policy and regulatory uncertainty, and limited supporting infrastructure are all impacting the commercial viability of biogas.
• The market outlook for biogas shows some growth. According to the World Biogas Association, between 2017 and 2022, the biogas sector experienced a growth rate of 19%. The production was concentrated in the European, American, Chinese and Indian markets, with Europe responsible for around half of this production.
• However, to meet the IEA's 2030 NZE Scenario targets, this pace of growth will need to nearly quadruple. To achieve this target, countries must increase their biogas ambitions and resolve its implementation challenges. Governments and governing bodies must ensure coordinated policy-making across agriculture, waste management, energy and transport to deliver an integrated approach to developing biogas.

Key Highlights

• According to the World Biogas Association, between 2017 and 2022, the biogas sector experienced a growth rate of 19%, reaching 445TWh in 2022.
• In 2018, almost two-thirds of biogas production was demanded to generate electricity and heat. Only 9% was demanded to upgrade to biomethane.
• The potential to generate energy from currently available major feedstocks is around 12,000TWh. According to the WBA, this energy is enough to meet around 6-9% of the world's primary energy consumption.
• According to the IEA, compared with 2017-2022, global biogas production growth is expected to accelerate over the 2023-2028 period, with a CAGR of 5%.
• There are 127 biogas projects under construction, with the majority being held in the planning stage (53).

Scope

• Global biogas and biomethane outlook and trends, breakdown of biogas demand by sector and country, breakdown by biomethane demand by sector, analysis of feedstock energy potential and GHG abatement potential, breakdown of biogas production by country and by feedstock type, overview of biogas plants currently under construction, breakdown of implemented biogas policies by country, analysis of deal activity relating to biogas by quarter and country, breakdown of key players exploring and/or investing in biogas.

Reasons to Buy

• Understand the benefits and challenges of biogas technologies and its development
• Identify the market trends within biogas production and sectoral demand for biogas

Understand the key geographies leading the development of biogas production and the key regions driving biogas demand.

• Identify which companies are exploring and/or investing in developing biogas.
• Learn about the policy developments and funding opportunities that are shaping biogas development.