Biogas, biomethane to replace natural gas imports – President of MHP Eco Energy

KYIV. Sept 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The key goal of the state is to reduce the import of energy and its further substitution due to the use of biogas and biomethane in Ukraine, President of PrJSC MHP Eco Energy Oleksndr Dombrovsky has said.

"Our own energy, including biogas, biomethane, bioenergy, must replace what we import, for which we pay with the currency that we throw out of the country’s economy every year," Dombrovsky said during a roundtable talk as part of Green Deal project entitled "Ukrainian biomethane: how to dispose potential of bio-energetics" held at Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

According to him, over 30 years of independence, Ukraine has spent funds equivalent to 1% GDP on the import of natural gas.

Dombrovsky said that biogas and biomethane are "very promising energy resources" for import substitution.

"But there should be no unprofessionalism and populism here, because the technology is very sophisticated," he said.

Board Chairman of the Bioenergy Association of Ukraine (UABio) Heorhiy Heletukha, in turn, reported on the positive dynamics in the construction of biogas plants (an increase from 51 years ago to 56 to date). However, he said that a breakthrough from biogas should not be expected.

At the same time, according to him, Ukraine could export biogas-biomethane purified from a significant amount of CO2 to Europe, given that there is a demand for such gas there. He said that now, domestic consumption can be beneficial only to Ukrainian metallurgical companies.

"Our metallurgists are those who can buy biomethane in Ukraine at a higher price than the price of natural gas. The European CO2 tax [Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, CBAM] on imported products is on its way… Perhaps it will be more profitable for them to decarbonize here so as not to pay tax on CO2 emissions in Europe," Heletukha said.

However, Deputy Head of the Regional Gas Company hydrogen project Ihor Hotsyk said that the pressure in the gas system of Ukraine, according to the plan of the system’s functioning, cannot be increased in the opposite direction to supply gas to the gas transmission system (GTS), which accordingly calls into question the possibility of exporting biomethane to Europe.

"We work with low and medium pressure, when there is a gradual decrease in pressure [when gas is supplied] from the main networks to the gas distribution networks. In the opposite direction, the pressure cannot be increased, because there is a master plan of the system, which provides for a decrease in pressure specifically for distribution systems… The current plan of the system does not provide for the possibility of pumping natural gas or biomethane from the gas distribution networks to the GTS," Hotsyk said.

Oleksiy Riabchyn, advisor to CEO of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy on the development of low-carbon business and the European Green Deal, said that the prospect of selling biomethane to Europe was being studied inside Naftogaz. This issue is being discussed with representatives of Gas Transmission Ststem Operator of Ukraine (GTSOU) LLC, as there is a demand for it, he said.

"Our trading department receives a request from our foreign colleagues: can you do this [export biomethane], we would buy it from you. How does business work?" Riabchyn said.

Heletukha, in turn, said that the physical possibility of injecting biomethane into the GTS may appear if there is a compressor, with the help of which it will be possible to connect the biomethane plant to the GTS, but he said that there are very few such points for connection.

"There are more points for connecting to the gas distribution networks, so they will mainly be connected to the gas distribution networks," the board chairman of the UABio said.