European renewable gas injections rise 12% amid expansion but fall short of 2030 goals

Renewable gas injections into European transmission systems climbed by 12 per cent over the last two gas years, reaching 43.2 terawatt‑hours, according to ENTSOG’s annual review of renewable gas entries to networks. ENTSOG attributes the rise mainly to new biomethane projects starting operations and to existing plants increasing their output as commissioning and optimisation completed.

France and Germany remain the dominant sources, with ENTSOG reporting roughly 13 TWh and 12 TWh respectively. Together with Denmark, Italy and the Netherlands, those five markets account for about 94 per cent of the EU’s recorded injections. The association’s data shows renewable hydrogen injections were negligible outside Germany and fell from 3 GWh to 1 GWh year on year.

Central and eastern Europe registered notable, if uneven, progress. The Czech Republic saw injections increase fourfold to around 200 GWh after the number of injection‑capable facilities rose from two in 2019 to eleven by 2024 and several biogas sites were upgraded to produce grid‑quality biomethane. Lithuania nearly doubled its volumes following pipeline and connection improvements. Slovakia recorded its first national biomethane injection totalling roughly 75 GWh. ENTSOG noted a Polish 45 MW plant has begun grid injections but, because commissioning occurred after September 2025, its output falls outside the report’s timeframe.

The ENTSOG assessment arrives amid broader industry data indicating strong expansion in facility numbers and capacity but a gap between current progress and the EU’s ambitions. Sia‑Partners’ European Biomethane Benchmark finds more than 1,500 biomethane plants active across Europe at the end of 2024, with aggregate output of about 60 TWh per year and total biogas production potential exceeding 260 TWh per year. The European Biogas Association and GIE’s mapping work update that figure: as of the first quarter of 2025 Europe counted roughly 1,678 biomethane plants, with about 86 per cent connected to the gas grid and installed capacity approaching 70 TWh per year.

Despite rising capacity, several analysts warn growth is not yet on the trajectory required to meet policy goals. The International Energy Agency reports biomethane production rose by around 14 per cent in 2024, with Germany, France, Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands responsible for approximately 93 per cent of EU output. Yet the IEA cautions that achieving the REPowerEU aim of 35 billion cubic metres of biomethane by 2030 will demand a significant acceleration across both established and emerging markets. The European Biogas Association’s Q1 2025 update places installed production capacity at about 7 billion cubic metres annually, up roughly 9 per cent year on year, but also signals a slowdown in the pace of additions despite continued investor interest.

Industry observers highlight two structural challenges. First, growth remains concentrated in a handful of mature markets while nascent producers such as Spain, Poland and Ireland are only beginning to scale up. Second, the sector requires clearer, stable policy frameworks and regulatory measures to translate investor appetite into the sustained project pipeline needed to reach multi‑bcm targets. According to commentary from sector groups, stronger binding targets, long‑term support mechanisms and streamlined permitting are among the levers needed to maintain momentum.

ENTSOG’s leadership warned that current support levels are insufficient to guarantee delivery of the 2030 biomethane objective, urging policy makers to strengthen incentives and remove barriers to grid connection and offtake. The combination of rising plant numbers and growing installed capacity demonstrates the technology’s potential to decarbonise gas use in industry, heating and transport, but the latest figures make clear that scaling from national pilot phases to a pan‑EU supply base remains the critical task for the remainder of the decade.