This October 2023 BIOMETHAVERSE will turn 1. We can’t say the project’s first steps have been ‘baby’ ones! This first year has been packed with exploration, dialogue, and consolidation of the network of project partners, setting the stage for research to flourish over the coming years.

The 2nd General Assembly (13-15 June 2023) took place in Uppsala to discuss the project’s progress and share relevant updates. Key workplans – such as the project management and data management plans and the communication and dissemination strategy – are already in place. The same is true for the framework to support the implementation of innovative biomethane pathways in our five demo sites. With the delivery of the Implementation Activity Plan (led by EBA), guiding the execution of the demonstration activities, the demo sites can operate under a coherent plan of detailed activities, process flow, milestones, challenges, risks, exploitation perspectives and outlooks on market viability. The latter implementation plan, together with the Evaluation Framework and Data Collection Strategy (led by ENEA), which provides the methodological approach and guidelines to be adopted based on international recommendations for environmental and social life cycle assessments (i.e., ISO, EC ILCD and UNEP guidelines), equipped demo sites with a solid structure to begin operations.

As replicability and market uptake of innovative biomethane production methods are at the heart of the project to maximise the impact of the research carried out, the work on replicability and market penetration was off to an early start. Although these activities will be carried out throughout the entire project, hand in hand with the progress of the demo sites implementation, preliminary work on the scenario and vision building for market penetration, the elaboration of assistance in future planning decisions and the replicability analysis and assessment (which will be carried out following the INSPIRE methodology developed by ISINNOVA), have already begun.

This opening year has also provided multiple occasions for BIOMETHAVERSE (and its technologies) to be presented to different audiences including during the:

  • Bio360 Expo (Nantes);
  • Hellenic Association of Biogas Producers (HABIO) event – Biogas during energy crisis: perspectives and opportunities (Greece);
  • Xi’an Jiaotong University – International Symposium on Thermal Chemical Conversion of Solid Waste and Carbon Reduction (China/online);
  • CIC event – Biomethane from biowaste, an innovative value chain for the circular economy (Rome/online);
  • EU-ISMET 2023 (Wageningen, Netherlands);
  • EUBUCE (Bologna);
  • WARM conference from ESPP (Brussels) – Culturing of microalgae on CO2 from biogas upgrading and digestate;
  • National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) academic course on Environment and development (Greece);
  • ALFA EU-funded research project’s Workshop – Solutions to increase biogas production from livestock waste (online);
  • GBEP Webinar – Co-benefits of biogas and biomethane. Promoting anaerobic digestion for waste management hosted by FAO (online).

If we were to pick the high point of this first year we might choose BIOMETHAVERSE featuring in the Innovative biomethane for REPowerEU Report. We are super proud to have been included among the top European research looking to foster the growth of the biomethane industry, boost energy security and help deliver the EU’s ambitions for a competitive, low-carbon economy.