Experts Tell EU: The Tech Is Ready, Fix the Rules

EU experts urge digital grid mapping and harmonized gas standards to unlock biomethane injection across Europe by August 2026

15 Apr 2026

Europe has over two million kilometres of gas distribution lines and a renewable fuel it cannot efficiently move through them. That paradox sat at the centre of the Grid Ready Forum, held in Brussels on 8 April 2026, where sixty experts convened by the European Biogas Association produced a set of recommendations that are technically straightforward and politically awkward.

Two problems dominate. First, grid operators lack the digital tools to model their own networks. Without mapping software that identifies reverse-flow capacity, biomethane producers have little way of knowing where injection is feasible, and operators have little incentive to find out. Second, oxygen limits in gas quality standards vary so sharply across member states that cross-border transfers are frequently blocked on technical grounds alone. A molecule of biomethane that meets standards in one country may be unwelcome in a neighbouring pipeline.

The cost argument for fixing both problems is not complicated. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe, integrating 1,000 TWh of biomethane into the continent's network would require roughly 2.5 billion euros per year in grid investment, forty times less than projected annual electricity grid spending through 2040. The infrastructure, largely built for fossil gas, is already there.

For producers located far from pipelines, compressed biomethane transported by road to centralised injection points offers a workable interim solution. Forum participants urged that grid operators, rather than producers, absorb most of those connection costs. Without that, remote facilities remain cut off from the wider market regardless of what technology exists.

The regulatory timeline adds urgency. The EU Gas Package requires member states to establish a universal right of grid injection for renewable gas producers by 5 August 2026. Several are expected to miss it. Harmen Dekker, CEO of the European Biogas Association, was direct: "Europe already has the infrastructure and expertise, what is needed now is decisive action from governments to remove barriers and harmonise the rules."

The EU's target of 35 billion cubic metres of biomethane production by 2030 would require a near-sixfold increase from current levels. With the compliance deadline weeks away and national transposition lagging, the gap between the continent's stated ambitions and its administrative delivery remains the one obstacle no mapping tool can resolve.