05-2026 Newsletter Task 37
Newsletter IEA Bioenergy Task 37: 05/2026
New Developments
Topics:
- Norway injects biogenic CO2 from biogas production into offshore geological storage
- SkyNRG gets environmental approval for US renewable fuels project
- Spinning fluids reactor
- New analytical analysis of sulfur compounds and siloxanes
- First methane pyrolysis plant inaugurated in Zug
- Artificial metabolism turns waste CO2 into useful chemicals
- Lime nitrogen as an additive to manure: Fewer emissions in storage, more biogas
- South Korean researchers demonstrate landfill gas conversion to aviation fuel
- New biogas upgrading process with amino acids
- Shanghai researchers turn food waste into marine-grade green methanol
- Scientists use sunlight and liquid metal to produce clean hydrogen from water
- German researchers develop hydrogen from sunlight
- Hybrid biomethane production through integrated biomass conversion
- Argus launches French biomethane RGGO price assessments
- A new Climate and Avenir successfully complete first bio-LNG bunkering
- Titan Clean Fuels and TURN2X agree e-Methane supply deal
- NorthX Invests $ 0.5M in a B.C.-based industrial decarbonization Technology
Norway injects biogenic CO2 from biogas production into offshore geological storage
The sewage company VEAS operates Norway’s largest wastewater treatment plant, serving around 650-700 thousand people and protecting the Oslofjord through advanced nutrient removal. The facility receives wastewater from the cities of Oslo, Asker and Bærum via a 42-kilometre gravity tunnel system and produces more than 10M m3 of biogas. The case study by Task 37 (Biogas) highlights how Norway’s VEAS wastewater treatment plant is turning essential infrastructure into a model of circular innovation. The project marks the first time anywhere in the world that biogenic CO2 from biogas production has been captured and permanently stored geologically. The liquefied CO2 is transported by road to Northern Lights’ receiving terminal in Øygarden, west of Bergen. From there, the CO2 goes by pipeline to permanent storage 2,600 metres below the seabed.
SkyNRG gets environmental approval for US renewable fuels project
In November, SkyNRG announced in Boeing’s Future of Flight building that the Project Wigeon—a commercial-scale SAF facility planned for Eastern Washington—had secured its key environmental approvals and was moving into engineering. Fifty million gallons of SAF will be produces per year. The facility will use renewable natural gas from landfills, wastewater facilities, agricultural operations, delivered through existing infrastructure and on-site biogas production. RNG is upgraded to SAF through gasification. Once operational in 2028, the fuel can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 85 percent compared to conventional jet fuel—while materially reducing soot and particulate matter.
Spinning fluids reactor
A Spinning Fluids Reactor (SFR) is a sophisticated gas-liquid contactor that that uses centrifugal force to create a large interface between gas and liquid, significantly improving mass transfer and mixing, making it more efficient than conventional reactors and used in chemical process intensification to enable reactions in smaller, more compact devices. Liquid and gas are fed tangentially into the reactor, creating rapid rotation. Centrifugal force presses the liquid against the inner wall of a porous element (inner porous partition – IPP). The SFR increases the contact surface between the landfill gas and an absorption liquid (amine/water mixture) resulting in efficient CO2 removal. By increasing the methane content of a low calorific landfill gas to 40% and above, conventional spark-ignited gas engines can be used.
New analytical analysis of sulfur compounds and siloxanes
Researchers at the PSI’s Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences have developed an analytical method that simultaneously detects the two most critical contaminants in biomethane, i.e. sulfur compounds and siloxanes. Based on results of new measurements by GERG, CEN working groups are developing new, stricter regulations that will soon be valid throughout Europe. Larger biogas plants have the appropriate analytical equipment to comply with the limit values. The newly developed cost-effective solution by PSI that is financially viable also for smaller biogas plants does not need on-site analytical equipment. Biogas samples can be taken using a mobile device that dissolves the gases in a liquid. Even small amounts of contaminants can be detected in this liquid for at least 28 days – enough time to send the samples to an analysis laboratory for measurement. A gas chromatograph first separates the components in the biogas. They are then recorded in sequence using a method called “mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma.” In this process, the sample components are vaporized, broken down into their atomic components, and converted into charged particles. The mass spectrometer then records the isotopes of the individual elements and quantifies them.
First methane pyrolysis plant inaugurated in Zug
The Association for the Decarbonization of Industry (VZDI) and its partners inaugurated a unique methane pyrolysis plant on the V-ZUG (a household appliance manufacturer) production site. The plant is the result of a collaboration between 16 leading companies and Empa, supported by the canton of Zug, Switzerland. It was realized with investments of over CHF 8 million and marks a significant step toward Swiss industry’s net-zero targets for 2050. Methane pyrolysis is a technology in which methane (CH4), the main component of biogas, is broken down in a microwave-generated plasma. The products are hydrogen (H2) and solid carbon (C(s)). This allows methane to be used for energy without its carbon content being released into the atmosphere as CO2. The resulting (solid) carbon can be used as a raw material, such as carbon black, in the manufacture of tires, batteries, or adhesives and sealants. Another option is to integrate this carbon into concrete or asphalt as a CO2 sink. The inaugurated industrial pilot plant will save around 240 tons of CO2 annually and supply 22 tons of hydrogen. The hydrogen from the pilot plant will be used directly as a climate-friendly energy source in V-ZUG’s enameling furnace, replacing fossil natural gas.
More (in German)
Artificial metabolism turns waste CO2 into useful chemicals
In Illinois, Northwestern University and Stanford University synthetic biologists have created a new artificial metabolism that transforms waste carbon dioxide (CO2) into useful biological building blocks. In the new study, the team engineered a biological system that can convert formate — a simple liquid molecule easily made from CO2 — into acetyl-CoA, a universal metabolite used by all living cells. As a proof of concept, the engineers then used the same system to convert acetyl-CoA into malate, a commercially valuable chemical used in foods, cosmetics and biodegradable plastics. Unlike natural metabolic routes, the new system is entirely synthetic and operates outside of living cells.
Lime nitrogen as an additive to manure: Fewer emissions in storage, more biogas
A calcium cyanamide-based additive can significantly reduce climate-relevant emissions from manure storage, improve nitrogen efficiency, and subsequently increase methane yields in biogas plants according to technical scale results achieved by the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) and Alzchem Trostberg GmbH. They further developed the additive, which is already used in other processes, and systematically investigated its application in biogas production. At summer temperatures, they demonstrated an almost complete reduction in methane emissions thanks to the additive: Cattle or pig manure emitted up to 97 percent less methane than conventionally stored manure. In winter and with digestate, the reduction was smaller or required higher additions of calcium cyanamide, but was still significant. Similar results were achieved in realistic trials in a 1,000-liter scale. Positive effects are also possible on the fermentation of farm manure at higher temperatures, with lower additive dosage. With sufficiently long storage of 14 days or more, methane yields increase compared to untreated stored manure by up to 11 percent. If these conditions are not met, however, the biogas process may be inhibited and methane yields may decline.
More (in German)
South Korean researchers demonstrate landfill gas conversion to aviation fuel
In South Korea, a research team at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), in collaboration with EN2CORE Technology Co., Ltd., has successfully demonstrated an integrated process that converts landfill gas generated from organic waste—such as food waste—into aviation fuel. Currently, the refining industry mainly produces SAF from used cooking oil. However, UCO is limited in supply and is also used for other applications such as biodiesel. In contrast, landfill gas generated from food waste is abundant and inexpensive. This study represents the first domestic demonstration of aviation fuel production using landfill gas as the primary feedstock. Two major challenges had to be overcome: purifying the gas to obtain suitable intermediates and improving the efficiency of converting gaseous intermediates into liquid fuels. The research team addressed these challenges by developing an integrated process encompassing landfill gas pretreatment, syngas production, and catalytic conversion of syngas into liquid fuels in a size of 100kg SAF per day.
New biogas upgrading process with amino acids
The University of Stuttgart has developed a new method for processing raw biogas into biomethane and tested its practicability together with the Bioenergy Farm Weitenau. The robust and technically easy-to-implement approach is potentially also suitable for small biogas plants. The process, called Triple A technology, represents a modified chemical gas scrubbing in which amino acid salts are used as solvents to remove CO2 from the raw biogas. Amino acid salts are practically non-volatile, thus eliminating the residual risk of emissions that exists with amine scrubbing. In the project, the approach was first tested in the laboratory scale followed by a mobile container test facility using synthetic and genuine raw biogas. Under these test conditions, the process achieved a maximum CO2 separation efficiency of 92.3 percent. The methane produced already had a high purity of 93.8 percent, even though it did not yet meet the quality requirements for feeding into the natural gas grid. With 0.9 to 1.3 percent, methane slip was lower than with other biogas upgrading processes. The degradation of the washing solution proved to be a challenge in continuous operation. There is still room for optimization of the process.
More (in German)
Shanghai researchers turn food waste into marine-grade green methanol
Researchers at East China University of Science and Technology have completed a pilot project in Shanghai that converts food waste biogas into marine-grade green methanol, capturing nearly all of the carbon in the process. Led by Professor Chen De, the system is engineered around biogas’s typical 70 percent methane and 30 percent carbon dioxide composition, converting both streams into methanol rather than venting carbon dioxide. The pilot run produced fuel meeting international maritime standards and secured certification under the ISCC sustainability framework. The process can convert roughly eight metric tons of wet waste into one metric ton of green methanol.
Scientists use sunlight and liquid metal to produce clean hydrogen from water
The University of Sydney reported that researchers have created a process using liquid metals, powered by sunlight, that can produce clean hydrogen from both freshwater and seawater. The method allows researchers to ‘harvest’ hydrogen molecules from water while also avoiding many of the limits in current hydrogen production methods, according to the university. At the technology’s heart is gallium, a metal with a low melting point, meaning it needs less energy to transition from a solid into a liquid. The team produced hydrogen with a maximum efficiency of 12.9 percent, and is currently working to improve the efficiency for commercialization. Particles of gallium are suspended in either seawater or freshwater and activated under sunlight or artificial light. The gallium reacts with the water to become gallium oxyhydroxide and releases hydrogen. The gallium oxyhydroxide can be reduced back into gallium and reused for future hydrogen production. Gallium in liquid state is a fascinating element. At room temperature it looks like solid metal, but when heated to body temperature it transforms into liquid metallic puddles.
German researchers develop hydrogen from sunlight
In Germany, green hydrogen is one of the most important pillars of the energy transition. It is produced from sunlight using photocatalytic processes. There are now a variety of technologies for converting and storing solar energy into chemical energy. But now, for the first time, a material has been successfully developed by searchers of the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena that can store the energy from sunlight for several days and then release it in the form of hydrogen “at the push of a button.” A water-soluble, redox-active co-polymer is used as a material for temporary energy or electron storage. Co-polymers are macromolecules that consist of different organic building blocks. They form a stable framework and have been equipped with functional units that have certain chemical-physical properties – in this case a reinforced redox activity. The system developed by the researchers from Ulm University and Jena achieves a charging efficiency of over 80 per cent and maintains this state for several days. By adding an acid and a hydrogen evolution catalyst, the electrons stored in the polymer are combined with protons – this process produces hydrogen “on demand”. The efficiency is astonishingly high at 72 per cent. Another great advantage is that this process also takes place in the dark, i.e. regardless of whether the sun is shining.
Hybrid biomethane production through integrated biomass conversion
The HYFUELUP project, funded by the European Union and the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research, and Innovation, demonstrates an integrated thermochemical process for producing renewable methane from dried fermentation residues and lignocellulosic waste streams from agriculture and forestry. The aim is to establish a scalable, economically viable alternative to conventional biogas production with a high level of technological maturity (TRL 7 for the entire plant). At the heart of the project is the demonstration plant in Tondela, Portugal, where a complete process chain is being set up on the basis of an existing 5 MW fluidized bed gasifier: biomass gasification, gas purification, catalytic methanation, and biomethane liquefaction. HYFUELUP specifically uses biogenic residues that have previously only been used for energy in a limited way. In 2017, around 4.1 million tons of sewage sludge digestate were produced in the EU and 56.3 million tons of lignocellulosic waste were registered, of which 17% was used neither as material nor for energy.
Argus launches French biomethane RGGO price assessments
Argus has launched the world’s first weekly price assessments for French renewable gas guarantees of origin (RGGOs). The new prices expand on Argus’ coverage of global energy attribute certificates and renewable fuels as production and consumption of these products continue to rise. French RGGOs detail the source and timing of biomethane injected into the domestic gas transmission grid. Certificates can be combined with a proof of sustainability and used by a range of consumers to document the use of biomethane across supply chains and, depending on specifications, to offset payments in the EU emissions trading system (ETS). Argus assessments are for subsidised, grid-injected biomethane and cover a range of other criteria, including feedstock, additional certification and EU ETS eligibility. The French RGGO prices are published weekly.
A new Climate and Avenir successfully complete first bio-LNG bunkering
In Texas, Anew Climate and Avenir announced the successful completion of their first joint liquefied biomethane (Bio-LNG) bunkering operation at the LNG terminal in the Port of Klaipeda, Lithuania. During the operation, Anew supplied certified waste-based Bio-LNG to an Avenir vessel, which transported the product to Sweden for use by vessels operated by Destination Gotland, a Swedish ferry operator, supporting the decarbonization of passenger marine transport. This milestone marks Anew’s first Bio-LNG bunkering project in Europe and follows a series of successful Bio-LNG bunkering operations in North America, advancing the development of global Bio-LNG supply chains. Avenir deployed the Avenir Ascension for the operation. The 7,500 cbm vessel forms part of Avenir’s fully owned and operated fleet of five modern LNG bunker and supply vessels, with two additional vessels under construction. Operating across Northwest Europe, the Avenir Ascension performs more than 200 operations annually, supplying LNG and Bio-LNG to marine and industrial customers, primarily in the Baltic region.
Titan Clean Fuels and TURN2X agree e-Methane supply deal
In the Netherlands, Titan Clean Fuels has signed an off-take agreement with green energy supplier TURN2X to deliver e-Methane to the maritime industry from 2028 onwards. Titan operates seven bunker vessels and is able to deliver in around 52 ports today, so the new e-Methane agreement can help to significantly scale up green fuel supply, the Dutch firm said. TURN2X’s modular and load-flexible production plant in Miajadas, Spain, converts renewable energy and biogenic CO2 into ISCC-certified e-Methane. This green fuel is then fed into the grid and transported to major European ports, where Titan bunkers it to ship operators, helping them deliver on decarbonization, the firm added.
NorthX Invests $ 0.5M in a B.C.-based industrial decarbonization Technology
By the end of 2025, NorthX Climate Tech (NorthX), a non-profit investor and catalyst for climate hard tech innovation, announced $0.5 million in non-dilutive investments in Vertogen Technologies, a British Columbia company. BC continues to expand its renewable-gas capacity, but the long time required to convert organic waste into biogas emains a key challenge. Vertogen’s Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Accelerator shortens this process by up to 90 percent, with the potential to cut typical production times from more than 20 days to less than two. Conventional AD is a slow process that limits throughput and requires large capital-intensive facilities that still produce significant residual waste. The system is often failing due to ‘acidification’. Past attempts to accelerate the process by separating the biological stages have consistently proven too complex and costly. Implementing RNG Accelerator technology may overcome these barriers. It produces high concentrations of volatile fatty acids — primarily acetate — in just one to two days. This acetate-rich mixture is then fully converted into biogas in under six hours, with fewer waste residuals. The analytics engine enables the system to automatically adjust feed rates in response to changing feedstock characteristics, maintaining optimal acetate production to ensure consistent, maximized methane yields.