March 31, 2025
Biogas produced from organic matter is playing an increasing role in providing green heat and power for homes and industry.
Investors like biogas as it generates high returns and can burnish their green credentials. It serves the same purpose as fossil-fuel natural gas, but is carbon-neutral (or carbon-negative) because it’s produced from organic matter that was part of the natural carbon cycle, so doesn’t add new carbon to the atmosphere.
High-calorific biogas is produced from solid waste from poultry, cattle, pigs and farmed fish, and even fish morts (corpses), then either pumped into the grid, or used to power electricity-producing turbines.
Conversion is achieved either by anaerobic digestion (AD), where microorganisms are broken down to produce a mix of methane and carbon dioxide used to generate heat, electricity, or transport fuels, or by biomass gasification, where semi-dry food waste is transformed by hot substances into energy-rich synthetic gas (‘syngas’) – used to generate heat and power.
Food waste used for biogas includes not just out-of-date produce from supermarket shelves but also fruit and vegetables, cooking oils and fats and slurry from cheese production – even discarded soft drinks.
Infrastructure investors are piling into the sector to fill a gap left by traditional lenders – banks spurn food waste as feedstock as much of it is produced by mistake, so can’t be viewed as a reliable revenue source. Yet mistakes are inevitable, and aggregating them across the economy or over time brings consistency, combined with high returns – a win-win for specialist investors.
It’s unpredictable so it’s shouldn’t work, but the ‘aggregation effect’ is now built into the system, yielding big returns for investors.
In one case, a large shipment of soft drink bottles was rendered unsellable by a typographical error. Pouring out and rebottling tonnes of fizz was impractical and changing thousands of labels uneconomic, so the pallets were loaded up and went to making gas.
Food manufacturers often overproduce to counter the risk of shortage. In the event of unexpected rain, hamburgers and sausages ordered by supermarkets for a weekend of summer BBQs will be diverted straight to AD plants. This provides revenues from biogas production and saves on transport and storage costs.
Both the UK and EU long relied heavily on natural gas, most of it imported, to heat buildings and generate electricity, until Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine dramatically highlighted the risk of reliance on foreign supply. Now it’s not only investors who are looking to biogas as at least a partial replacement.
In 2023, the EU and UK consumed 295 billion cubic metres (‘bcm’) and 63.5bcm of natural gas respectively, a fall of 15.7% and 10.4% in turn on the previous year, due to factors including demand reduction efforts, efficiency improvements, renewables, and securing gas from alternative sources such as biogas.
Comprising about 60% methane and 40% carbon dioxide, biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion – breaking down organic matter in a digester without oxygen. It can be used for heating, electricity and replacing natural gas in vehicles.
Even bigger environmental benefits come when biogas in purified to produce biomethane by removing carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and water. Similar to natural gas, biomethane is used for heat and power in buildings and industry, and as a renewable transport fuel. The gas is produced from methane that would otherwise escape landfills, and burning biomethane converts it to CO2 – a far less potent greenhouse gas.
For the UK and the West, replacing natural gas with biomethane in the gas network would speed grid decarbonisation, stabilise and soon lower cost, and boost energy security and independence.
If you’re involved in any aspect of the biogas or wider renewable energy value chain, you’re welcome to get in touch for a chat. We love energy.
*Allerton Communications: Great ideas. Stand-out stories. Better outcomes.
#biogas #renewableenergy #circulareconomy #business #landfill #energysecurity
March 31, 2025
Biogas produced from organic matter is playing an increasing role in providing green heat and power for homes and industry. Investors like biogas as it generates high returns and can burnish their green credentials. It serves the same purpose as fossil-fuel natural gas, but is carbon-neutral (or carbon-negative) because it’s produced from organic matter that […]
March 24, 2025
Peter Curtain reflects on life outside the city
March 18, 2025
The modernisation of the electricity grid is progressing rapidly and will continue to advance. M&A will play a key role.
February 19, 2025
The Government faces many challenges, from enhancing European security to advancing AI and manufacturing. A crucial aspect of this is effectively communicating its environmental goals.
December 17, 2024
I braved the Christmas shopping and party crowds to join a group of people looking to make energy supply as reliable and efficient as possible.
November 28, 2024
Amid the hullaballoo about #netzero and its effects on the UK economy, I visited a group of low-carbon innovators to see how they’re making energy more sustainable and efficient for future generations.
April 14, 2024
Efforts are being made to tempt pension fund managers back to London equities. That includes a Government push to make pension funds publicly disclose how much they invest in UK businesses compared to those overseas.
March 19, 2024
Last week a Government scheme to promote heat pumps for homes was delayed by 12 months. Days later, the National Audit Office urged ministers to support the rollout ‘in a way that minimises the long-term costs to both taxpayers and consumers’.
A great privilege for our take on the UK ground-mounted solar market to appear in PV Europe magazine
March 6, 2024
Attending day 1 of Futurebuild 2024 yesterday I was struck by the large numbers and the buzzy vibe. And the crowd was bigger than it looked – the two or three events happening as I arrived were pretty packed. More here: https://bit.ly/49ZTAIv
January 8, 2024
Solar PV is taking off in the UK, and 2024 is shaping up to be the best year yet for the technology. Let’s look at some of the factors driving the transition.
September 18, 2023
As PR advisers working in the green economy, we’re as likely to be asked how to communicate an organisation’s sustainability as what it actually means.
What a brilliant night at Re-Tech Drinks – ‘Bringing together good people in Renewables and Technology the Southwest ‘re-tech’ community’. The event did what it said on the tin.
November 8, 2022
Allerton Communications is growing. We’re seeking a resourceful Digital Communications Executive to serve our low-carbon economy etc clients.
September 6, 2022
A renewable-energy consultant told me of two engineers working in UK industry some years ago who discussed a tricky technical issue that could be addressed in one of two ways.
March 8, 2021
Life and work are changing, and amid the shifting landscape, effective engagement with stakeholders is vital. The past year shows how much we can achieve away from the office. Now, as the economy starts to open up, customers, investors, staff and partners will be moving about as never before, and ultra-reliant on mobile communication.
February 17, 2021
For any company looking to make a difference in the green economy, it’s vital to think about communication. We would say this – we’ve been helping innovators in energy and sustainability to tell their story for more than 12 years.
December 31, 2020
Miracle on 34th Street is considered a must-see film at this time of year. (‘Christmas’ was omitted from the title for the May 1947 release.) The triple-Oscar winner is a seasonal box of delights that once opened, reveals profound truths about public relations – and they apply today. These address leadership, brand authenticity, mental health, […]
Which type of PR should come first in the life of a business – B2B or B2C? Peter Curtain* reports. Attention growth companies – want to get better known? First, start building a network – then, and only then, start addressing consumers.
April 21, 2020
Earth Day, a calendar date observed worldwide on 22 April to show support for environmental protection, is a great reminder of some of the campaigners who’ve alerted us to the urgent need to care for our planet.
April 16, 2020
The past four weeks look set to alter society for years, with huge impact on the economy. Peter Curtain reflects on these changes and offers some thoughts on communication in the post-coronavirus world 1. We’re all global now. A virus that emerged from live-animal markets in the regional Chinese city of Wuhan became big when […]
January 23, 2020
In this Financial Director article, Peter Curtain of Allerton Communications highlights the huge impact concerns about the environment are starting to have both on investment and the wider business world, and suggests how firms can act.
Regulatory news is a vital tool in investor relations. Also important is generating media interest and coverage. It’s great to excel at these channels – but they’re only part of the picture.
July 9, 2019
Allerton Communications, a boutique corporate and financial PR firm specialising in energy, sustainability and growth companies, is expanding.
Allerton's Peter Curtain shares his views on what press regulation proposals mean for PR
March 23, 2016
We’ve been catching up with some advisers on a visit to the Northwest of England and one thing is clear – investors are fighting hard for the best deals. As one professional told us: “There’s massive demand for quality assets among private equity investors. They have full-time teams scouting around the country, talking to potential […]
February 3, 2016
Peter Curtain of Allerton is proud to have joined the People & Communities Technical Committee of Watef, the Water Efficiency Network, and looks forward to making a contribution to this great initiative.
February 1, 2016
Energy Matters - read issue 11 of highly informative magazine on renewables, utilities and more from our client CKD Galbraith here.
January 29, 2016
Allerton Communications has been shortlisted along with our client CKD Galbraith in the industry-leading PR Moment Awards for our work producing Energy Matters. This is a great accolade and we're very proud.
November 30, 2015
Allerton Communications is praised in a key case study by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the prestigious professional and training body, for producing the Energy Matters magazine and e-zine for our client CKD Galbraith.
June 26, 2014
They used to say about banks that the best time to start one was 20 years ago – the point being, lenders make so much money, think what you’ve missed in the meantime. In rather the same way, I often advise companies to start effective communications as soon as they can – think what you can achieve when people understand your business.
May 19, 2014
There’s no shortage of advice on communications but here are 10 rules to help you get your message across to both investors and other important targets.
April 7, 2014
People get excited about stock market flotations because they are (or should be) an opportunity to make money – this applies primarily to new investors of course, but management and the original investors may also be out to cash in some of their holdings.
