Biomethane imports should be automatically included in the Union Database

Eurogas and seven other industry organisations call on the European Commission to immediately and fully include biomethane and biomethane-based imports in the Union Database.

Excluding the certification of these fuels would directly hinder imports and exports of biomethane to the EU, particularly from the US, UK and Ukraine. It will also impact biomethane-based fuels such as biomethanol, for which plants rely on biomethane injected to the gas grid, preferring this over other modes of transport which may have economic, environmental and technical downsides. Indeed, this decision could also impact other fuels like hydrogen.

The use of biomethane should be encouraged, and leveraging existing transport infrastructure should not penalise end-users. Following such an approach would impact the attractiveness of the EU for the import of these fuels, as well as EU exports, to third countries. Overall, beyond representing a trade barrier, it will also hinder the achievement of EU energy and climate ambitions as both biomethane and biomethane-based fuels like biomethanol are critical components of the EU energy strategy.