Clarification, 24 September 2026: Wording on biogenic origin, avoided emissions and carbon storage has been clarified. The original publication date has been retained.
When discussing the climate impacts of biogas, it is important to distinguish fossil carbon from biogenic carbon. The carbon dioxide generated during biogas production is biogenic: it comes from biomass that has absorbed carbon from the atmosphere as part of the natural carbon cycle. Biogenic origin alone does not establish the net climate impact of producing and using carbon dioxide. The impact must be assessed across the production and use chain under consideration.
When biogenic carbon dioxide is captured and used, for example as an industrial raw material, carbon originating from the atmosphere can be bound again for long-term use, potentially achieving a carbon-negative effect.
Auris’s Biogas Business Manager Jani Hautaluoma examines how the biogas sector can respond to growing demand for biogenic carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide makes up 30–50% of raw biogas
Biogas production generates biogenic carbon dioxide. Raw biogas consists of 30–50% carbon dioxide, with the remainder being biomethane. Biogenic carbon dioxide can be used in the same applications as conventional carbon dioxide. Greenhouse cultivation and the food industry, among others, have been major users of carbon dioxide to date.
However, the market is now developing rapidly. Alongside traditional applications, new uses are emerging in areas such as the concrete industry, and future synthetic fuel projects will significantly shape market demand if they go ahead.
With global energy policy also putting pressure on the price of carbon dioxide largely derived from fossil energy feedstocks, the conditions are coming together for growth in the biogenic carbon dioxide market.
Assessing the climate impacts of biogas
When carbon dioxide is captured from a biogas plant’s process, it accounts for more than 90% of the captured gas. In flue gases from an industrial facility or power plant, the carbon dioxide content is typically around 15%.
A diverse and developing biogas production ecosystem, together with a stable feedstock base, ensures the production of biogenic carbon dioxide. Most future growth in biogas will come from agricultural feedstocks such as manure.
When assessing the climate impacts of manure-based biomethane, avoided methane emissions from manure must be distinguished from carbon dioxide removal and storage. Carbon dioxide capture alone does not make a biogas plant a carbon sink: the net impact depends on the production chain, baseline scenario, use of the captured carbon and storage duration.
In greenhouse cultivation, biogenic carbon dioxide can replace fossil carbon dioxide. Its use in a greenhouse does not, however, establish permanent carbon storage or carbon-negative cultivation.
Demand for GHG biogas is growing in Europe
GHG biogas means biogas whose greenhouse gas emissions have been calculated, reported or certified in accordance with a recognised standard. As demand for this biogas grows in both domestic and European GHG markets, the role of biogenic carbon dioxide capture is also growing. This requires investment in infrastructure and updates to legislation so that renewable gases can be traded freely without legislative restrictions.
Markets for biogenic carbon dioxide are developing rapidly alongside biogas markets. For the food industry, using biogenic carbon dioxide is an effective way to reduce products’ carbon dioxide emissions. In concrete manufacturing, carbon dioxide reduces the need for cement, cutting both emissions and production costs. At the same time, the biogenic carbon dioxide is stored permanently.
There is growing demand for and supply of biogenic carbon dioxide. Infrastructure development enables the markets to grow. When the customers of greenhouse growers, food manufacturers and fuel producers are willing to pay for lower carbon emissions, these producers will start using biogenic carbon dioxide as a raw material. For this to happen, the supply of biogenic carbon dioxide must be secure, prices moderate and markets open.
Manure-based production prevents methane from manure from entering the atmosphere, helping to mitigate climate change. Carbon-negative biogas is increasingly needed, particularly in the process industry, as marine fuel and in heavy transport, especially in Central Europe, where growing volumes of Finnish gas are also being supplied.
Getting markets moving with time-limited funding
Meeting growing demand requires infrastructure investment. The gas network expansion planned by transmission system operator Gasgrid, regional gas networks, grid injection stations, biogas liquefaction plants, coastal terminal expansions and new biogas production plants will respond to this demand.
To get the markets moving, the development of both GHG markets and biogenic carbon dioxide markets will require national and EU funding in the coming years. Particularly in countries such as Finland, where the gas pipeline network does not extend everywhere, public funding is needed to develop both the network and other infrastructure. The transition is estimated to last until the early 2030s, after which the market could operate without subsidies.
Our solutions to market demand
As we announced in April, a decision has been made to implement a biogenic carbon dioxide capture process at our Mäntsälä plant. The planned capture system will be integrated directly into our process.
Once we have gained sufficient experience of the technology’s performance and payback, we will offer the solution as a service to all Finnish biogas plants. At our future Säkylä plant, biogenic carbon dioxide capture will already be an integral part of the process.
Another forthcoming service is intended for biogas plants that produce electricity and heat from raw biogas. We are developing an Upgrade as a Service solution for them, in which we refine the gas into valuable products such as biomethane and bio-CO2.
As biogas production grows to several terawatt-hours a year by the 2030s, in line with published plans, the production of biogenic carbon dioxide will grow alongside it. It is an excellent raw material for domestic industry and is also likely to be a sought-after product in export markets.
Written by Jani Hautaluoma, Biogas Business Manager at Auris