Details
Bioenergy provides about 9% of the world's primary energy supply and almost 60% of all renewable energy (according to the World Bioenergy Association, WBA), and in the EU — more than half of renewable energy consumption (Bioenergy Europe). True, more than 80% of the world's volume is solid biomass, and much of it is still burned in the old way: like firewood and charcoal.
About 2 billion people, or a quarter of humanity, are still cooking on open fires (IEA). This segment will gradually decrease, while modern bioenergy will grow: automated boilers, cogeneration, biofuels.
Context
Irena calls sustainable bioenergy an “indispensable complement” to electrification. The IEA estimates that the market for low-carbon fuels will grow from about $215 billion to $390 billion in 2035, and about 60% of the increase will come from the already familiar biomethane, bioethanol, and biodiesel.
According to Irena, even with the current policy, its consumption will increase from 29 exajoules (EJ) in 2023 to 52 EJ in 2050, and in decarbonization scenarios it will more than double (Fig. For reference: 1 EJ is about as much energy as 28 billion m³ of natural gas.
What's next
Europe is the world leader: in 2024, 22 billion m³ of biogas and biomethane were produced here, of which 5.2 billion m³ of biomethane were produced at 1,620 biomethane plants (data from the European Biogas Association, EBA). However, the EU's REPowerEU target of 35 billion m³ of biomethane in 2030 is at risk: the IEA estimates that cumulative biogas and biomethane production in the EU will only reach about 26 billion m³. For Ukraine, this is a direct signal: there will be a shortage in the European biomethane market.