IMPACT OF THE BIOMETHANE INDUSTRY ON THE RESTRUCTURING OF THE GAS MARKET OF UKRAINE AND THE EU

Abstract

The article analyzes the installed capacity of biogas and biomethane production in 2023-2024 in Ukraine and the EU; forecasts indicators of biomethane production in Ukraine and the EU, estimated investment needs, export potential of biomethane from Ukraine to the EU in the perspective of 2050. Trends in the development of the biofuel market in the EU and Ukraine, the processes of including biomethane in the EU natural gas market model and the role of biomethane in changing the market structure in the context of decarbonization are determined. The legal basis for the development of the biomethane industry is studied. It is concluded that the deployment of biomethane in Europe is uneven, the biomethane market is in its infancy as of early 2025, and guarantees of origin and sustainability criteria are considered as key mechanisms to support the biomethane industry. The importance of increasing biogas and biomethane production in accordance with the REPowerEU plan is substantiated, which will allow replacing fossil natural gas reserves in the EU in the context of moving away from Russian hydrocarbons and diversification policy. It has been determined that producers of biomethane or other types of gas from alternative sources have been granted the status of a gas production enterprise, and therefore the right to access gas transportation and distribution systems, gas storage facilities, LNG facilities, and to connect to gas transportation and distribution systems. The main barriers to the development of the biomethane industry in Ukraine are systematized. The process of including biomethane in the EU natural gas market model is analyzed using the example of Denmark. The main areas of activity at each of the five stages of the development of the biomethane industry and the inclusion of biomethane in the natural gas market model are systematized, highlighting 6 structural parameters - infrastructure, market, green cost, regulation, subsidy schemes and economic activity. The article substantiates the conclusion that biomethane has great potential to replace natural gas, and Ukraine, as a country with a powerful agro-industrial complex, has all the conditions for the development of this industry.