Opportunities for Biomethane as a Transport Fuel in Scotland

Research commissioned by Scottish Enterprise and Transport Scotland explored opportunities for the supply and use of biomethane as a vehicle fuel, with an emphasis on the heavy goods vehicle and agricultural sectors.

The work was carried out by two specialist organisations working in partnership: NNFCC, focusing on the biomethane supply side to assess the potential scale of Scottish biomethane supply, and Zemo Partnership, assessing the opportunities for emissions reduction, segment application, and overall vehicle demand.

The research highlighted potential emissions reductions of around 80-87% from waste feedstocks and 200-240% from manure, compared to diesel. The higher figures from using manure as a feedstock are due to the additional elimination of fugitive methane emissions from manure decomposition. High mileage fleets can realise significant savings, mainly from the fuel duty rates which are set at 24.7p/kg for methane vs. 57.95p/L for road diesel. Zemo estimate payback in fuel savings can be as short as 18 months for a truck covering 100,000 miles a year.

NNFCC and Zemo conclude that Scotland has the capability to be effectively self-sufficient in meeting a potential 1.5 TWh demand for biomethane for road and agricultural sectors by 2030-2034, given the likely supply and demand-side capacities projected.