BIOSURF Project Biomethane Trade Group Discussion Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

Biomethane trade The functions of cross-border trade: a) balancing supply and demand on regional and European level (beyond national borders) b) enabling production at places/regions with the highest comparable advantage Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

Challenges of biomethane trade Value of biomethane: physical (in use) value + intrinsic („bio”) value Intrinsic value: „green”, renewable, sustainable The physical flow does not carry the intrinsic value Condition for sustainable biomethane production: intrinsic value must be realised on the market at level needed to secure cost recovery Conditions for biomethane export/import: The „bio” quality must be certified in the producing country The „bio” qualification from the producing country must be acknowledged in the consuming country The mass-balancing requirement must be met Double-counting must be excluded Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

Questions for discussion 1. Is cross-border biomethane trade needed for enabling 100% load of the existing biomethane producing capacities? 2. What should be first: trade system or production? 3. Which countries could be the main importers? 4. Which countries would be the main exporters? 5. Who is interested in developing the cross-border biomethane trade? 6. Where do we see the volume potential for cross-border biomethane trade? 7. What are the key regulatory/administrative preconditions for cross-border biomethane movements? 8. Which are objectives of the BIOSURF project regarding biomethane trade? Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

Key preconditions for cross-border biomethane movements 1. Solving mass-balancing on European level; 2. International cooperation among the national biomethane registries; 3. Equal access to support systems for domestic and imported biomethane; 4. Biomethane to be compared to the European mix of fuels for every application (instead of comparing to natural gas only). 5. Involvement of natural gas industry companies and their customers. Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

BIOSURF WP3 – Key objectives 1. Support the establishment of National biomethane registries in European biomethane producing countries 2. Connection/cooperation/harmonization among national registries - compatibility of individual registries to be addressed at early stage 3. Common criteria/attributes applied by all participating registries for mutual acceptance of Guarantees of Origin 4. Proposal directed at the EU Commission for declaring the interlinked EEA natural gas network as a single, closed mass balance unit 5. European Biomethane Certificate trading scheme 6. Support biomethane standardization Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

National biomethane registries Independent, neutral, professional organisations Established through government actions or voluntary cooperation of market players Track, confirm and document the biomethane transactions along the contractual chain Administrative support in meeting regulative requirements Independent audit controls Assisting trade development through building market confidence Guarantees of Origin Guarantees of Sustainability BUT: the issued documents are not trade-able certificates Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

Biomethane registries AT: Biomethan Register Austria CH: VSG (Federation of Swiss Gas Industry) DE: Biogasregister DK: Energinet FI: Gasum R: Gaz Réseau Distribution NL: Vertogas UK: Green Gas Certification Scheme Biomethane Certification Scheme Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

International coordination The cooperation is aimed at creating compatibility among the individual registries with regard to cross-border transactions; A transparent, reliable and efficient system of information transfer across the national borders will be established; Common criteria/attributes accepted and applied by all participating registries will be worked out for mutual acceptance of GoO’s; The ”European Biomethane Guarantee of Origin” will contain all information needed for qualifying the imported biomethane as „green” – but will not be traded independently from the physical product; The collaboration will be based on mutually acceptance of the principal requirements both for mass balancing and exclusion of double counting. Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

Thank You for your attention! Dr. Attila Kovacs European Biogas Association Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

Back-up files Biomethane Trade Vienna, 27/Feb/2015

The arts of biomethane trade Vienna, 27/Feb/2015