In times of declining fossil resources and particularly against the background of climate change, domestic renewable energy carriers are attracting attention. Among the different bio energy carriers, biomethane is a solid pathway for the future.
Larger energy and gas supply companies are increasingly committed to the production of biomethane and the gas conditioning and injection into the natural gas grid. The Wuppertal Institute was commissioned by E.ON Ruhrgas AG to provide competent scientific assistance to projects involved in the production and application of biomethane.
Thus, this project is a continuation of the study "Analysis and assessment of utilization pathways of biomass" (2004, on behalf of BGW/DVGW) and adds to the joint project "Elimination of (...) restraints for the feed-in of biogenous gases into the natural gas grid" on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The following key questions are addressed:

• In what spectrums of specification can the technical process chain of the production and conditioning of biomethane be calculated?
• Under which conditions and for what costs can biomass for biomethane production be available in the future?
• Which role does biomethane play in the current and future policy framework?
• What ecological and energy economical implications are linked with the large-scale implementation of biomethane production plants and the injection into the natural gas grid?
• What are the perspectives of biomethane under various framework conditions?