Biogas

The circular economy has emerged as a key element of the ongoing transition to a more sustainable society. In the circular economy, fossil fuels are replaced with renewable energy sources and waste becomes a key resource that can be reused or upcycled into new products. Skåne’s biogas system is a good example of how the circular economy can function. Waste from the food industry and households is collected and converted into biogas. Skåne is a large producer of biogas, and production is expected to grow as new waste collection systems that enable greater utilization of household waste are implemented in cities. For many years, biogas producers in Skåne have had a stable customer in Skånetrafiken, the regional transportation agency, which aims to be completely fossil fuel free by 2020. Skånetrafiken’s recent decision to transition to electric buses by 2019 will therefore put significant pressure on biogas producers, especially in combination with low-cost competition from foreign producers. This calls for a joint regional effort to develop new uses for biogas.

The Longterm Provision of Locally Produced Biogas in the Skåne Region project aims to identify a sustainable path and a way of working to increase demand for locally and regionally produced biogas.

The first step will map barriers and challenges for different applications of biogas and investigate potential solutions to overcome them.

The following list of potential biogas applications will be investigated:

• Biogas-driven vehicles (eg work machines, agricultural machinery, trains and ferries
• Raw materials for and / or energy carriers in local and / or regional industrial activities
• Biogas-based services and services in public environments (eg biogas lamps, heating systems and grills)

This project is led by RISE.