Biogas

Investing through the value-chain, from production to consumer

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We're applying traditional energy expertise to sustainable solutions

Anticipating a growing market share for biogas as a sustainable alternative to natural gas, we're investing in opportunities to harness what would otherwise be a wasted and harmful gas for multiple uses.

Methane - a by product of landfill sites and animal waste - is a greenhouse gas over 25 times more potent than CO₂.

Reducing:

CH4

CO₂

NOx

Vitol is involved in a range of initiatives throughout the value chain

Biogas is a flexible alternative fuel in hard-to-abate transport sectors like heavy trucking and shipping, and it has the added benefit that - dependent on feedstock - it can also remove gases that would otherwise have contributed to GHG emissions.

In the US we're building gas collection facilities on landfill sites, generating power from landfill gas straight into the grid.

In Europe we're investing in biogas digesters creating a reliable and high-quality supply of biomethane to supply our growing network of BioLNG and BioCNG trucking and bunkering stations across the UK and Europe.

Involved in projects producing:

BioLNG
BioCNG
Renewable Natural Gas / Landfill Gas

“We are at our core an energy trader, matching producers and end users”

Guillaume Quiviger

Investment manager for biofuels

Interview with Guillaume Quiviger, Investment manager for biofuels

What do you enjoy about being involved in biofuels?

Biofuels is a fast-growing market, and operating in these earlier stages mean that you have the opportunity to help shape that market so that it works efficiently and sustainably.

You’re in a position to effect change and influence the commercial and regulatory frameworks so that the market works for all participants.

What is the role of biofuels in the energy space? And what is Vitol's role in that market?

There is a resurgence of biomass as a source of energy (previously the mainstay of the energy mix before the industrial revolution) and it now accounts for 5% in developed countries, with fast growing mandates in liquid fuels. It’s exciting to take an old energy back to market and apply Vitol expertise, like risk management and logistics.

The growth of bio is exciting and we want to be a part of it, whether that’s bringing reliable and cost-effective bioenergy to the road transport industry, or capturing waste gas from landfill and putting it back into the grid.

How will the biofuels market evolve in the context of the energy transition?

There will be a significant scaling up. Biomass derived fuels will represent the lions share of the renewable energy mix going into transport for at least 20 years, before other low-carbon technologies like hydrogen and electricity displace therm.

Evolving biofuels markets are being driven by increasing regulatory mandates and are becoming deeper, allowing for instruments like price discovery and price risk management to be deployed. This in turn further supports the growth and stability of these markets. This interaction between market depth and stability is a positive feedback loop, and we interact with regulators so that their desire to create highly tailored, national regulatory frameworks does not hamper market developments or efficiency.

Any exciting nearish term developments?

The fast-growing road mandates and the emergence of biofuel mandates in new sectors such as marine and aviation contributes to a vast expansion of the bio demand pool. Biofuels use in stationary applications (power generation, heat generation) in the industrial sector is now an acceptable way to reduce regulated emissions. On the biomethane side, we’re focused on growing our production and distribution channels across multiple geographies to be in a position to meet these new types demand.

A lot of that biomass will be produced by the farming sector, creating a need for new collaboration models to address feedstock demand growth.

Vitol has a growing asset base, does this create opportunities for your business?

Whilst we’re investing in upstream assets, we are at our core an energy trader, matching producers and end users. Our job, and where our expertise lies, is in risk managing these flows, continuing to build our presence in these markets and working with bioenergy producers to bring their bioenergy products to market and ensure our customers have the low carbon energy they need, when they need it.

Case Study

ViGo Bioenergy

Vitol acquired ViGo Bioenergy, a market leader in Germany for the supply of LNG and BioLNG to the heavy goods vehicles (HGV) sector, in September 2021.

Since then it has expanded it's footprint into the UK, Netherlands and Belgium increasing to more then 46 stations, including 3 inland waterway bunkering stations.

ViGo has also expanded into the production of biogas and biomethane with the acquisition of a pipeline of biomethane digesters in the Baltic states, to enable it to supply its own BioLNG to customers.

The company is in the process of converting 100% of the LNG it supplies to ultra-low GHG BioLNG, primarily derived from animal waste such as naturally decomposing manure. BioLNG is the most viable solution to decarbonise the haulage sector, where electrification possibilities are limited due to the range and payload requirements needed to operate vehicles profitably.