A carbon negative green gas solution, which captures both methane and CO2 while increasing green fuel production by at least 70%, could revolutionise the renewable natural gas sector. Pan-European biomethane platform, CycleØ, today announced its acquisition of Biogasclean, a leading global supplier of biogas treatment systems, and one of the few companies worldwide pioneering biological e-fuel production.
The acquisition is a significant milestone for the biomethane sector: enabling more efficient and fully circular green gas solutions by capturing the naturally occurring CO2 contained in biogas and converting it into e-methane—a sustainable, synthetic gas derived from green hydrogen, which can be stored or used as an alternative to fossil natural gas.
The ability to capture naturally occurring CO2 and convert it into e-methane increases the efficiency of biomethane sites, further reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing green gas production by ~70%. This approach transforms greenhouse gas emissions into a resource to help solve the climate crisis.
By integrating Biogasclean’s proven methanation technology that’s commercially available today, CycleØ’s end-to-end approach will be crucial for achieving global decarbonisation targets. The company’s plants capture emissions from a range of organic waste products, like manure from cattle farms and the agri-food sector. It then converts them into green fuels.
If scaled across Europe, green gases, such as biomethane and e-fuels, could play a vital role in driving energy independence, security, and decarbonisation. According to the European Biogas Association, biomethane production could reach 151 BCM by 2050, replacing up to 40 per cent of the EU’s total fossil natural gas consumption. This scenario could keep more than 1 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. That is equivalent to the emissions of over 133 million homes.
Laurence Molke, CEO, CycleØ, said, “Our acquisition of Biogasclean represents a giant leap for green gas production and use, further proving its vital role in accelerating the energy transition and achieving net zero. We are delighted to welcome Biogasclean’s talented and experienced team to our Group and look forward to deploying their patented biocatalyst technologies to produce more carbon-negative fuels for energy and heat, as well as the hard-to-electrify heavy duty transport, maritime, and industrial sectors”.
Capturing methane and carbon emissions offers a powerful solution for both climate change and public health. With farmers currently protesting across Europe to fight low prices and high costs, cheap imports and EU climate regulations, this new approach could also help to provide farmers and rural communities with additional income and support them in tackling carbon emissions.
CycleØ develops, builds, owns, and operates renewable natural gas (RNG) projects in Europe and Latin America. The company’s end-to-end approach ensures that its small-to-medium sized projects are quick-to-deploy, have a low capital expenditure, and deliver carbon-negative biomethane, which can be utilised in the gas grid or to decarbonise the transport and maritime sectors. The company currently has sites in planning and operation in Spain, Italy and Ireland, with ambitions to build, own and operate at least 50 plants across Europe by 2028.
Biogasclean is a global player in the biological desulphurisation field, with five offices in three continents, and over 350 projects operating or underway in 40 countries. The company’s trailblazing biological methanation technology is proven at scale as an integral part of the world’s first plant to commercially produce e-methane via electrolysis and biological methanation. Located in Sønderborg on Als in Denmark, these facilities inject 33 GWh of sustainable e-methane into the gas grid annually.
Niels Holst Jensen, CEO of Biogasclean, said, “We stand at a pivotal moment, and the window to avoid the worst effects of climate change is getting narrower by the day. The combination of CycleØ and Biogasclean is uniquely positioned to reduce methane emissions and capture CO2 from the atmosphere, at scale.”
Ara Partners, a private equity and infrastructure investment firm at the forefront of industrial decarbonisation, provided additional capital to facilitate the transaction.