Much of what is needed is already in place

For Bigadan, e-methane is a natural market to explore. We have spent many years producing biogas, and today we capture and liquefy surplus biogenic CO₂ from biogas production at three of our Danish plants for permanent storage and industrial use. With the €19 million in
EU funding, we are now exploring the potential to combine this CO₂ with renewable hydrogen and use it as a feedstock for e-methane, allowing us to produce more renewable fuels from the same biomass.

“This is exactly the kind of opportunity we need to pursue because it matters. We have the biogas, the CO₂ and the infrastructure. Now we have received significant backing from the EU to explore whether we can bring these elements together and produce more renewable gas
from resources we already have,” says Henrik Iversen, CCO at Bigadan. With an expected annual production of approximately 10 million Nm³ of e-methane, the project is aimed at a European market where demand for renewable alternatives to fossil fuels is expected to grow as EU requirements for the transport sector are being implemented. At the same time, increasing European production of e-methane can contribute to greater energy security by increasing domestic gas production and reducing dependence on imported gas.

Europe will need renewable fuels that do not come from a battery
Electrification is an obvious solution wherever electricity can be used directly. But it is more challenging in parts of heavy road transport, shipping and aviation, where factors such as weight, range and space limit the use of batteries.

The EU has therefore introduced requirements to increase the use of renewable fuels, including Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin, or RFNBOs. These fuels are produced using renewable electricity and include e-methane, e-methanol and synthetic aviation fuels such as e-SAF.

Through measures including the RED III Directive and specific regulation for the maritime and aviation sectors, the EU is introducing new equirements aimed at increasing the use of renewable fuels towards 2030 and in the decades that follow.

Production of e-fuels in Europe remains limited, partly because production costs are higher than for their fossil alternatives. EU regulation is therefore intended to help create the demand needed to support production at industrial scale.

For e-methane, there is also an important advantage: the infrastructure already exists. The gas can be injected into the existing gas grid and transported across Europe.

“We do not need to build an entirely new European energy system to bring e-methane tomarket. The gas grid is already there. At the same time, biogas plants provide the biogenic CO₂ we need. It is that combination that makes e-methane particularly interesting to us,” says Henrik Iversen.

Why Nysted?
Denmark has several favorable conditions for e-methane, including significant biogas production, renewable electricity and a well-developed gas grid connected to the rest of Europe. In Nysted, several of these conditions come together in one location.

Bigadan owns the biogas plants, captures biogenic CO₂ and is connected to the European gas grid, while Lolland also has significant renewable electricity production.

This is the combination that Nysted CCUS aims to utilize. The ambition is to integrate Pura Futura’s biological methanation technology directly with the existing biogas plant and explore whether e-methane production can operate reliably and flexibly at full scale.

The exact operating model has not yet been determined. An important part of the project will be to explore how biogas production, e-methane production and the wider energy system can work together, including the potential to adapt production to periods of high renewable electricity generation.

It's not either-or. It's both.
We see e-methane as a complement to CCS and other uses of biogenic CO₂, not a replacement.

We operate nine plants in Denmark, and the right solution does not necessarily have to be the same at every site. CO₂ can be permanently stored, used for industrial purposes or, if the Nysted model proves technically and commercially viable, used to produce e-methane.
“What makes Nysted interesting is not just the individual project. If the model works at full scale, it gives us another way to create value from biogenic CO₂ across our plants. For us, it is not a question of either CCS or e-methane. It can be both,” says Henrik Vestergaard Laursen, CEO of Bigadan.

Nysted will help show whether e-methane can become another way of getting more value from biogenic CO₂ and the infrastructure already in place.

Facts | Nysted CCUS
Project: Nysted CCUS ApS
Ownership: Bigadan 50% / Pura Futura 50%
Location: Nysted Bioenergy, Lolland, Denmark
Technology: Electrolysis and biological methanation
Planned production: Approx. 10 million Nm³ of e-methane annually
Expected investment: Approx. DKK 300 million, based on a preliminary estimate
EU funding: Selected for €19 million, equivalent to approximately DKK 142 million
EU funding status: Selected for Grant Agreement preparation, but funding has not yet been finally awarded
Expected Grant Agreement: Q1 2027
Investment decision: Not yet made
Commercial status: Discussions with potential off-takers are ongoing, but no final offtake agreements have been signed