The European biomethane sector continues to grow rapidly. According to the latest map from the European Biogas Association (EBA) and Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), biomethane production capacity in Europe reached a record 8.2 billion m³ by the end of the second quarter of 2026, representing a 17% year-over-year increase. Although the number of biomethane stations has increased from 1,678 to 1,975 over the past year, production is still not growing fast enough. Further increase is crucial for meeting the RePowerEU plan, which calls for annual production of 35 billion cubic meters by 2030.
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Biomethane production capacity in European countries has increased by more than 1 billion m³ over the past year, surpassing a new milestone. This significant growth reflects not only the growing political commitment to achieving energy independence but also investors’ strengthening confidence in this sector. With the introduction of appropriate regulatory conditions, estimates suggest that planned investments could deliver an additional 9 billion m³/year of biomethane production capacity by 2030, which would significantly strengthen intra-European energy supplies and contribute to meeting the EU’s decarbonization targets; however, this would still amount to only about half of the target set by the RePowerEU initiative for 2030.
Market growth continues, but the pace is insufficient
The current pace of development still falls short of the potential that biomethane offers in Europe. Furthermore, growth in the sector remains significantly uneven across EU member states. Although biomethane production is expected to increase significantly by 2030 in line with member states’ targets, currently about 95% of Europe’s biomethane production comes from just five countries—France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. Significant untapped potential remains in other European countries.
Source: EBA, GIE
The Czech Republic is also among the emerging markets, where in recent years, 12 new facilities have been added to the previously sole biomethane production plant, EFG Rapotín BPS, and together they produced approximately 17 million m³ of biomethane in 2025.
The development of this low-emission gas in the Czech Republic had long stagnated, mainly due to lower levels of investment in its production, which was linked to an inadequate state support system. A change is now expected to come with the new auction-based operating support system announced by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, which is intended to contribute to greater investment stability in the sector and accelerate the construction of new facilities. This scheme is expected to support the construction of facilities capable of producing up to 350 million cubic meters of biomethane over the next three years.
The significant year-over-year increase in production capacity confirms that biomethane is becoming an important part of Europe’s energy transition and one of the tools for strengthening energy security and reducing dependence on fossil fuels imported from unstable regions. Countries to the west of us already have fully developed and functioning biomethane markets, which is reflected in their production levels. Here in the Czech Republic, even though we at EFG have been involved in biomethane production for nearly 7 years, we are essentially still in the early stages.
However, I believe that the entire sector is poised for a phase of dynamic growth, which will also be stimulated by a new form of government support. The Czech Republic will thus finally begin to realize its considerable potential and catch up with Western European countries in biomethane production,” says Tomáš Voltr, CEO of the Energy financial group.
Achieving the REPowerEU targets will require a significant expansion of capacity
Under the REPowerEU plan, the development of the biomethane sector is closely linked to the European Union’s goal of increasing production to 35 billion m³ by 2030. To this end, over 36 billion euros in private investment has been earmarked to date, which is to be used to increase the continent’s “green gas” capacity by 7.3 billion cubic meters per year by 2030. According to the European Biogas Association, achieving this goal will require the construction of approximately 5,000 new biomethane plants and investments totaling roughly 37 to 80 billion euros.
In the Czech Republic alone, according to estimates by the EFG Group based on the production of biodegradable waste as a feedstock, there is potential for 66 such plants with a total annual production of over 250 million cubic meters of biomethane produced solely from waste. The Action Plan to Support the Development of Biomethane Use aims for a total production of 500 million m³ across roughly 100 biomethane plants by 2030. Currently, 13 such plants are in operation; however, it is expected that the recently launched state support for biomethane production in the form of auctions will serve as an important stabilizing factor and a significant stimulus for the growth of the entire sector.
