Significant changes in the development and integration of biomethane registries are currently taking place in Europe. These registries, which issue Guarantees of Origins (GoOs), are essential to certify the renewable nature of biomethane and contribute to the decarbonization of gas supplies in Europe. Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, for example, have been demonstrating secure transactions through qualified registries for years. Dynamic pan-European trade requires a standardized transaction and verification system for all commercial trade with specific characteristics – similar to the electricity market. In contrast to guarantees of origin for electricity, however, there is currently no harmonized system for biomethane certificates, although there are increasing efforts to harmonize these systems across borders.
The ERGaR (European Renewable Gas Registry) organization supports international biomethane trade by providing a more standardized system for transferring guarantees of origin. The Danish Energinet G-Rex, the German Energy Agency (dena), the British GGCS, the Dutch VertiCer, the Austrian AGCS and the Lithuanian Amber Grid are among the members participating in the ERGaR system. This system ensures that the transferred certificates are based on biomethane that has been fed into the grid and are recognized across European borders. Another organization, the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB), which has members from over 30 countries, focuses on cross-border certification, particularly of electricity.
As a result, GoOs from biomethane can currently be easily transferred from Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to dena’s German biomethane register for example, which remains the best-known European biomethane register. In countries where a biomethane register is not yet available, integration can be carried out using these standards or, alternatively, sustainability certificates (PoS) from other established voluntary schemes can be used to comply with market regulations (Transport, EU ETS, etc.) as well as voluntary obligations.
The Union Database (UDB) mandated by the EU under RED II will go-live by 21st November 2024 for liquid and gaseous renewable fuels. All market players will be required to register their RED-certified biomethane GOs in the UDB. The initial focus will be on the transport sector. The aim is to ensure transparency, prevent double-marketing of GOs and streamline cross-border verification. Many stakeholders report that they are still unclear about the implementation in November and details about the readiness of the system remain vague, so industry players are waiting for further clarity.
For more information contact sales@biogemexpress.com