Technology · Bioenergy & climate / Biofuels & bioenergy
Biogas and anaerobic fermentation
Microbial anaerobic digestion of farm residues, energy crops and food waste into biogas, upgraded to grid-injectable biomethane (RNG) — a regional biogas industry distinct from MSW-focused digestion.
1 · What it gives
Biogas and anaerobic fermentation use mixed microbial consortia to break down manure, energy crops and food-industry residues in the absence of oxygen, producing a raw biogas of roughly 55–65% methane plus CO2. Upgrading strips the CO2 to yield biomethane above 95% methane — a drop-in substitute for fossil natural gas. Nature Energy’s Abed plant in Denmark alone will produce about 20 million cubic metres of biomethane per year from 100,000 tonnes of beet pulp, while Clean Energy Fuels’ East Valley Cattle facility in Idaho runs six digesters processing over 5 million gallons of dairy manure into negative-carbon-intensity RNG. Europe operates over 18,000 biogas plants and the global biomethane output is targeted to multiply several-fold under RePowerEU, with anaerobic fermentation as the workhorse conversion route.
The key directions of biogas and anaerobic fermentation are:
- Farm and livestock digestion (Farm & Livestock AD): dairy and poultry manure digested on-site into RNG — Brightmark’s 15 Midwest projects and DQY’s chicken-manure plant.
- Energy-crop and co-substrate digestion (Energy-Crop Co-digestion): beet pulp, maize silage and straw co-digested with manure to raise yield — Nature Energy and PlanET.
- Biogas upgrading (Biogas Upgrading): membrane, water-scrubbing and PSA systems lifting methane to >95% — EnviTec EnviThan with Evonik SEPURAN Green membranes.
- Grid injection and RNG fueling (Grid Injection & RNG Fueling): biomethane fed into the gas grid or compressed for heavy-duty transport — Clean Energy Fuels and Nature Energy.
Sectoral value chain#
[biomass / manure] ──> [anaerobic digester] ──> [raw biogas]
│
(microbial fermentation)
│
▼
[grid / vehicle] <─── [upgrading] <─────┘
Value chain levels#
| Level | Description | Key inputs/outputs |
|---|---|---|
| Feedstock Supply | manure, energy crops and residues | In: manure, beet pulp, straw. Out: biomass slurry. |
| Anaerobic Digester | mixed microbial fermentation | In: slurry, inoculum, heat. Out: raw biogas, digestate. |
| Biogas Upgrading | CO2 and H2S removal to biomethane | In: raw biogas, membranes. Out: biomethane. |
| Grid Injection | pressure boosting and metering into the gas grid | In: biomethane, compressors. Out: grid gas. |
| Digestate Return | nutrient recovery to farmland | In: digestate. Out: bio-fertiliser. |
| Off-take | power, heat, transport or industrial use | In: biomethane, RNG. Out: energy services. |
Cross-cutting technologies of the sector:
- EnviThan membrane upgrading (EnviThan Membrane Upgrading): containerised Evonik SEPURAN Green hollow-fibre membranes.
- Thermophilic co-digestion (Thermophilic Co-digestion): high-rate digestion of mixed manure and crop substrates.
- SATAT CBG model (SATAT CBG Model): India’s compressed-biogas offtake scheme anchoring rural plant economics.
2 · What it replaces 6 · matched by industry
3 · How to implement 6 steps
- 1Feedstock intakeFeedstock & raw materialsManure, beet pulp, maize silage or straw are received, weighed and blended into a biomass slurry at the Nature Energy Abed plant (100,000 t/year of beet pulp) or East Valley Cattle (5M+ gallons of manure).Who can do this step matched automaticallyAnaergia Canada23,500 ton per year industrial scale“Process variable feedstocks like digestate and dewatered manure biosolids”500,000 tons pilot scale“2026-05-05 [Taisugar signs MOU with US nonprofit on biofuel - Taipei Times — Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar) signs an MOU with US nonprofit USGBC to develop biofuels (ethanol-blended …”Sea6 Energy Indiaindustrial scale“Sea6 Energy (founded 2010, headquartered in Bangalore, India) develops mechanized tropical seaweed farming and converts cultivated seaweed biomass into carbon-negative, sustainable …”
- 2Anaerobic digestionBiogas, compost & waste valorisationThe slurry is fermented by mixed methanogenic consortia in heated digesters over 20–40 days, yielding raw biogas at 55–65% methane and a nutrient-rich digestate.Who can do this step matched automaticallyAnaergia Canada23,500 ton per year industrial scale“With a proven track record of delivering world-leading projects on four continents, Anaergia is uniquely positioned to provide end-to-end solutions for extracting organics from …”163,050 tonnes“China Everbright Environment Group Limited (257.HK) is a flagship China Everbright Group industrial company focused on solid waste (waste-to-energy and synergistic treatment), …”500,000 tons pilot scale“It refines sugar (including refined white sugar, golden brown sugar, fine granulated sugar and invert sugar syrup), produces bio-based chemicals/biotech outputs (alcohol, …”
- 3Biogas upgradingBiogas, compost & waste valorisationRaw biogas passes through EnviThan membrane units (Evonik SEPURAN Green) or water-scrubbing to remove CO2 and H2S, producing biomethane above 95% methane.Who can do this step matched automaticallyAnaergia Canada23,500 ton per year industrial scale“With a proven track record of delivering world-leading projects on four continents, Anaergia is uniquely positioned to provide end-to-end solutions for extracting organics from …”163,050 tonnes“China Everbright Environment Group Limited (257.HK) is a flagship China Everbright Group industrial company focused on solid waste (waste-to-energy and synergistic treatment), …”500,000 tons pilot scale“It refines sugar (including refined white sugar, golden brown sugar, fine granulated sugar and invert sugar syrup), produces bio-based chemicals/biotech outputs (alcohol, …”
- 4Grid injectionBiomethane is compressed, odorised and metered into the local gas grid — Nature Energy’s Abed plant delivers ~20 million m³/year, and EnviTec’s Hærup unit feeds the Danish grid at 935 Nm³/h.
- 5Digestate returnBiogas, compost & waste valorisationThe separated digestate is returned to farmland as a low-odour bio-fertiliser, closing the nutrient loop and displacing synthetic fertiliser.Who can do this step matched automaticallyAnaergia Canada23,500 ton per year industrial scale“With a proven track record of delivering world-leading projects on four continents, Anaergia is uniquely positioned to provide end-to-end solutions for extracting organics from …”163,050 tonnes“China Everbright Environment Group Limited (257.HK) is a flagship China Everbright Group industrial company focused on solid waste (waste-to-energy and synergistic treatment), …”500,000 tons pilot scale“It refines sugar (including refined white sugar, golden brown sugar, fine granulated sugar and invert sugar syrup), produces bio-based chemicals/biotech outputs (alcohol, …”
- 6Off-take and meteringBiomethane is delivered to gas-grid, CNG/LNG transport or industrial offtakers under RED III, RFS or LCFS crediting, with the negative-CI RNG marketed at a premium to fleets.
4 · Who delivers
Matched suppliers (matched automatically)
| Nature Energy | Denmark | Producer | active |
| EnviTec Biogas | Germany | Services / consulting | active |
| DVO Inc. | United States | Producer | active |
Listed suppliers
EnviTec Biogas · Nature Energy
In the services and supply catalogue 4 · paid service
Engineering, EPC & validation · Feedstock & biomass · Contract manufacturing (CMO/CDMO/toll) · Upstream — fermentation & cell culture
Leading companies and institutes (from the brief)
| Company / Institute | Country | Key products / platforms | Tech features | Status 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nature Energy | 🇩🇰 Denmark | Abed biomethane plant | ~20M m³/year, beet pulp feed | commercial |
| EnviTec Biogas | 🇩🇪 Germany | EnviThan upgrading | 935 Nm³/h, SEPURAN membranes | commercial |
| PlanET Biogas | 🇩🇪 Germany | agricultural AD plants | 12 TPD CBG Palnadu (India) | commercial |
| Brightmark | 🇺🇸 USA | RNG project portfolio | Chevron JV, 15 Midwest projects | commercial |
| Clean Energy Fuels | 🇺🇸 USA | RNG fueling network | dairy RNG, negative-CI | commercial |
| Beijing DQY Agriculture | 🇨🇳 China | chicken-manure biogas | egg-and-biogas integration | commercial |
5 · Rules & route to market
Route into Russia / EAEU: SERV · — (operator: Rosprirodnadzor, Rostechnadzor)
none for the service; operator permits (integrated environmental permit ~1 month)
Information, not legal advice — confirm the procedure for your product. (2026-10-06)
none for the service; operator permits (integrated environmental permit ~1 month)
Information, not legal advice — confirm the procedure for your product. (2026-10-06)
United States
The US leads dairy-manure RNG, driven by the Renewable Fuel Standard and LCFS credits.
dairy RNG, Chevron JV, LCFS-driven offtake#
- Brightmark RNG Holdings: Chevron–Brightmark joint venture, first gas at 10 Midwest projects expanding to 15 across Iowa, Michigan, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Ohio.
- Clean Energy Fuels: East Valley Cattle (Jerome, Idaho) — eighth dairy RNG facility, six digesters processing over 5 million gallons of manure into negative-carbon-intensity RNG.
- RFS and LCFS: federal Renewable Fuel Standard and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard price the negative-CI RNG that anchors project economics.
European Union
The EU leads biomethane scale and technology, anchored by Danish producers and German plant builders.
Nature Energy, EnviTec, PlanET, RED III#
- Nature Energy (Denmark): the Abed plant on Lolland — ~20 million m³/year of biomethane from 100,000 t/year of beet pulp supplied by Nordic Sugar.
- EnviTec Biogas (Germany): EnviThan upgrading with Evonik SEPURAN Green membranes, 14th Danish project at Hærup feeding the local gas grid.
- PlanET Biogas (Germany): agricultural AD plants exported globally, including India’s SATAT CBG facility in Palnadu, Andhra Pradesh.
China
China runs the world’s largest household and industrial biogas base, scaled around livestock and rural waste.
livestock biogas, rural programs, organic fertiliser loop#
- Beijing DQY Agriculture: one of China’s largest chicken-manure biogas plants, coupling egg production with on-site anaerobic fermentation and organic-fertiliser return.
- Rural biogas program: Ministry of Agriculture household and village digesters, plus growing industrial-scale livestock-biogas projects.
- Digestate-to-fertiliser loop: the sector couples biogas with organic-fertiliser output, though biomethane grid injection remains less developed than in Europe.
6 · Money: tenders & grants
| Grant | Enhancing farmer's profitability and resilience through innovations for diversified crops and value chains European Commission · EU | Sep 23, 2027 342 days |
| Grant | Powering Affordable Reliable Technology (PART) Energy Program Rural Utilities Service · United States | rolling |
| Grant | Research and Development (RAD) Directed Energy (RD) University Assistance Instruments Air Force -- Research Lab · United States | Jul 18, 2029 1006 days |
| Grant | SEEDING CRITICAL ADVANCES FOR LEADING ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES WITH UNTAPPED POTENTIAL (SCALEUP) READY Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy · United States | Sep 29, 2029 1079 days |
| Grant | The Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI Office of Science · United States | Dec 17, 2026 62 days |
7 · Tech stack & innovations
The stack couples microbiology, gas separation and grid logistics into a renewable-gas supply chain.
- Thermophilic anaerobic digestion (Thermophilic AD):
- mixed methanogenic consortia run at 50–55 °C for high-rate manure and co-substrate conversion.
- East Valley Cattle’s six-digester array processes over 5 million gallons of dairy manure.
- Membrane-based upgrading (Membrane Upgrading):
- Evonik SEPURAN Green hollow-fibre membranes in EnviTec’s EnviThan container lift methane above 95%.
- 935 Nm³/h upgrading capacity per Hærup unit feeding the Danish gas grid.
- Grid injection and RNG fueling (Grid Injection & RNG Fueling):
- pressure boosting and metering for gas-grid entry, plus compression to CNG/LNG for transport.
- Clean Energy Fuels routes negative-CI RNG into the interstate pipeline for national fleet use.
Where this appears 39 sources
Appears in 39 distinct sources across 24 regions, 2007–2026.
- policy documents 37
- reports 2
Regions: Australia · Benin · Czech Republic · Denmark · Developing countries · Estonia · Ethiopia · France · Germany · Ghana · Global · Hungary · India · Ireland · Italy · Japan · Lithuania · Malawi · Mali · New Zealand · OECD · Poland · Rwanda · Tanzania
- 2021: 33
- 2022: 0
- 2023: 99
- 2024: 33
- 2025: 33
- 2026: 11
- 2027: 0
Matched themes 18
Anaerobic digestion Anaerobic digestion for biogas production Anaerobic digestion tech Biogaasi tootmine Biogas Biogas Production Biogas Technology Biogas plants Biogas production from macroalgae Biogas systems Biogaz Bioplyn Methane Fermentation Méthanisation Valorisation des déchets organiques en biogaz et en compost bioplynové stanice production de biogaz जैव-सीएनजी
Themes from forum programmes, policy documents and reports are mapped to technologies automatically and then reviewed; counts are distinct sources, not mentions, and are not a ranking. data sources and method → · Trending, not yet covered →
Sources 6 · 0 independent · 6 producer sites
Producers' own sites 6
- Nature energy producer checked 2026-07-09 · link not kept
- Envitec biogas producer checked 2026-06-29 · link not kept
- Planet biogas producer checked 2026-06-16 · link not kept
- Brightmark producer checked 2026-06-11 · link not kept
- Clean energy fuels producer checked 2026-06-12 · link not kept
- Beijing dqy agriculture producer checked 2026-07-10 · link not kept