Pioneering UK biomethane site hosts European Parliament delegation
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MEPs from the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy visit Moor Bioenergy to share learning on biomethane between the UK and EU
Future Biogas, the UK’s leading developer and operator of anaerobic digestion (AD) plants, recently welcomed a delegation of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to its Moor Bioenergy site. The visit was led by the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), and Future Biogas was the only biomethane company the delegation visited.
The group included: MEPs Mr Francesco Torselli and Ms Diana Iovanovici Şoşoacă and Ms Lina Galvez, who chaired the delegation. It also included policy advisers from the political groups, staff of the ITRE secretariat, and the European Parliament Liaison Office in the UK.
Philipp Lukas, CEO of Future Biogas, said: “It was a privilege to welcome the European Parliament’s ITRE delegation to Moor Bioenergy, following February’s visit from a high-level Irish delegation. The UK and the EU are working to solve the same challenges: strengthening energy security, decarbonising hard-to-abate industries, and building resilient rural economies. Biomethane is a proven solution to all three, and there is real value in sharing cross-border experiences. These visits demonstrate a growing exchange between UK and European policymakers and industry. We look forward to strengthening this cooperation, while boosting understanding of and confidence in the biogas sector.”
Moor Bioenergy, near Grantham in Lincolnshire, is the UK’s first unsubsidised bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) facility. Each year it, generates over 100 GWh of biomethane under an exclusive 15-year offtake agreement with AstraZeneca, fulfilling their entire British gas demand with homegrown renewable gas. The plant also captures approximately 14,000 tonnes of biogenic CO₂ per year for use in food and beverage production. Combined with equivalent agreements with feedstock growers, Moor Bioenergy support sustainable, British farming and industry – via a self-reliant business model, not Government subsidies.
Biomethane sits within the ITRE’s remit on energy security, gas markets and industrial competitiveness, making Moor Bioenergy’s subsidy-free, grid-connected model a practical reference point for the EU’s own ambition to scale up renewable gas.
Lina Galvez, Chair of the ITRE Delegation, added: “Visiting Moor Bioenergy gave our committee a first-hand look at how biomethane can be produced at industrial scale even without subsidy, while supporting farmers and local communities. As both the EU and the UK work to strengthen energy security by reducing reliance on imported fossil gas and its derivatives, such as fertiliser, there is a great deal we can learn from each other’s experience.”
The MEPs’ visit comes as biomethane moves to the centre of energy strategies across Europe. The EU has set its ambition to scale its biogas production ten-fold – to 35 billion cubic metres annually – by 2030 (see REPowerEU), in a bid to bolster energy security and decarbonise industry. In Denmark, around 45% of gas supply came from domestic biomethane in 2024, with 100% possible by 2030. Meanwhile France is targeting 15% of gas consumption from biomethane by 2030.
UK-produced biomethane has already been exported to Europe through existing gas interconnectors; linking the UK gas network with Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, and therefore allowing biomethane to be traded between the UK across the EU.
However, the UK and EU take different approaches to the sector’s carbon accounting. In the EU, grid-injected biomethane is treated as zero-emission under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), whereas the UK ETS currently treats it like fossil gas. With both sides working towards linking their carbon markets, the delegation’s first-hand view of a subsidy-free UK plant is a useful point of comparison for policymakers. Further announcements on linking Emissions Trading Schemes are expected in November.
As the UK and EU both look to cut reliance on imported fossil gas and fertiliser, local biomethane production offers a proven, scalable alternative that strengthens energy security, supports rural communities and helps lower the emissions of hard-to-decarbonise industries. Future Biogas is continuing to develop anaerobic digestion plants across the UK that are expected to support decarbonising difficult to abate sectors as well as provide more energy security for the decades to come.
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About Moor Bioenergy
Since it opened in February 2025, Moor Bioenergy has injected over 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable biomethane into the gas grid, avoiding approximately 18,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO₂e) that would otherwise have come from fossil gas. This represents around 20% of total global gas consumption for AstraZeneca and demonstrates genuine additionality: rather than purchasing existing renewable gas certificates, AstraZeneca’s partnership directly enabled new production capacity.
Beyond energy generation, Moor Bioenergy is a key contributor to the local rural economy. The plant sources feedstock exclusively from regenerative energy crops, grown on a rotational basis within a 15-mile radius, under five-year contracts that give local farmers financial security and provide them with diversification opportunities. The residue or ‘digestate’ from the plant is returned to farmers as a soil-improver, replacing costly and carbon-intensive traditional fertilisers which are typically manufactured or mined overseas.
About Future Biogas
Future Biogas is a UK leader in the development and operation of anaerobic digestion (AD) plants that produce clean, sustainable biomethane. By converting locally sourced homegrown energy crops into renewable gases, Future Biogas supports local farmers, a circular economy and the transition to a low-carbon future. With a focus on innovation, sustainability, and rural partnerships, Future Biogas enables organisations to reduce emissions, enhance energy security, and meet net-zero goals through reliable, scalable, and environmentally responsible biogas solutions that can displace fossil fuels today without the need to replace expensive equipment today.
Future Biogas operates 11 industrial-scale biogas plants in the UK. Biogas can either be used to generate green electricity or upgraded into biomethane and injected into the UK’s national gas network. Future Biogas is owned by 3i Infrastructure and RWE Energy Transition Investments.
