Our work, commissioned by the Association for Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), utilised BMA’s whole systems planning platform Decisio™ to evaluate the role of biomethane in the UK's decarbonisation strategy.

A whole energy system, multi energy vector approach was taken to evaluate the optimal role of biomethane to support the UK’s decarbonisation goals.

We will detail how AI-assisted modelling enables comprehensive assessment of the whole GB energy system considering cost, carbon and supply chain constraints. By taking a whole systems approach this project challenges traditional scenario analysis and asset investment planning.

The analysis revealed that integrating 100 TWh of biomethane into the energy mix could save up to £298 billion in total system costs by 2050, reducing household energy bills by an average of £415 annually whilst providing reliable energy during peak demand periods. This project demonstrates biomethane's role as a scalable, cost-effective, and dispatchable low carbon energy vector that complements intermittent renewables like wind and solar.

This is relevant to the sewage sludge sector, which is currently the main contributor to biomethane into the grid, to give assurance that gas to grid will play a significant role going forward towards a decarbonised energy system.