First ERGaR – GIE – CEDEC biomethane workshop held successfully in Brussels.

BRUSSELS, 12 April 2017 – the European Renewable Gas Registry (ERGaR) in joint cooperation with Gas infrastructure Europe (GIE) and the European Federation of Local Energy Companies (CEDEC) hosted in Brussels a workshop dedicated to biomethane in the natural gas network on 5 April 2017. The event was the first opportunity to introduce ERGaR to stakeholders operating in the field, as well as to present the results of initial months of joint effort while anticipating the next steps of the association.

Over 80 people attended the event, representing the companies members of the three associations along with players of the gas sector. Malene Hein Nybroe on behalf of GIE and Jan Stambasky, Vice President of ERGaR welcomed the participants illustrating the different pathways leading to the production of biomethane and the growing importance for coordination with the gas grids. A Europe-wide distribution system is the precondition for the full deployment of biomethane potential as a fuel in the transportation sector, explained Andrea Gerini, new Secretary General of NGVA Europe. The session continued with the intervention of Bernd Keupker from the European Commission – DG ENER who highlighted the role of renewable gases in the Commission’s proposal for the future Renewable Energy Directive, backing the relevance of European Guarantees of Origin as a tool to mass balancing biomethane within the European gas network, as presented later by Jeppe Bjerg, President of ERGaR.

Following a networking lunch, participants learnt more about the link between the ERGaR system and the transfer of sustainability characteristics of biomethane thanks to the presentation of Attila Kovacs, ERGaR Secretary General, along with the internal functioning of the association, introduced by Martina Conton, ERGaR Assistant Secretary General. Mikkel Kynde from NGF NE, ERGaR’s most recent member, highlighted from a producer prospective how a tool for the cross-border transfer of Guarantee of Origin can be a game changer for the biomethane market in the years ahead.

In the last session, EBA Senior Advisor Arthur Wellinger updated the audience on standardisation for biomethane grid injection and its essential role to enable the cross-border development of the biomethane market. The workshop concluded with Wouter Vanhoudt, Director for Europe at Hinicio, illustrating how the mechanism of a European biomethane registry could be extended to other renewable gases like hydrogen.

The workshop was made possible thanks to the support of the Horizon2020 BIOSURF project (BIOmethane as SUstainable Renewable Fuel).

All the presentations of the day can be downloaded here.

 

Find more about ERGaR www.ergar.org

Find more about GIE www.gie.eu

Find more about CEDEC www.cedec.com

Find more about BIOSURF www.biosurf.eu

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