Astra Zeneca - Future Biogas: first anniversary of unsubsidised biomethane plant with carbon capture

In February 2025, Future Biogas and AstraZeneca commissioned the UK’s first unsubsidised biomethane plant at Gonerby Moor in Lincolnshire. One year on, Future Biogas CEO Philipp Lukas explains how the project shows biomethane can scale in the UK without government subsidy – and that the commercial case for green gas has never been stronger.

Moor Bioenergy was built on a simple premise: that the right partnership model could make biomethane commercially viable without relying on taxpayer support. After twelve months of continuous operation, we have a year of evidence to prove it.

Since it opened last year, Moor has injected almost 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable biomethane into the gas grid, avoiding approximately 17,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (CO₂e) that would otherwise have come from fossil gas. This represents almost 100% of total UK gas consumption for its exclusive offtaker, AstraZeneca, which has a long-term agreement for Moor to provide the gas it uses to generate clean heat for its R&D and manufacturing operations across the UK.

Beyond energy generation, Moor Bioenergy has established itself as a key contributor to the local rural economy in Lincolnshire. anaerobic digestion produces biomethane which can be used as a direct drop-in replacement for fossil natural gas. The gas is produced from trillions of tiny microbes as they break down organic matter in oxygen-free tanks. The plant at Gonerby sources feedstock exclusively from regenerative energy crops, grown on a rotational basis within a 15-mile radius of the plant. Farmers benefit from five-year contracts that give local farmers financial security and provide them with diversification opportunities and the ability to plan their crop rotations up to a decade in advance. The anaerobic digestion also results in ‘digestate’ that is returned to farmers as a powerful, organic, soil-improver and fertiliser, replacing costly and carbon intensive traditional fertilisers which are typically manufactured or mined overseas. All feedstock is certified by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) scheme, ensuring traceability and adherence to strict environmental criteria.

As the flagship plant for Future Biogas’ Project Carbon Harvest initiative, Moor Bioenergy also incorporates carbon capture technology. The biogenic CO₂ (the same gas we breathe out, and one of the leading contributors to anthropogenic climate change) is separated during the upgrading of raw biogas into biomethane. This is the same CO₂ that was absorbed (breathed in) from the atmosphere by the crops as they grew forming a complete cycle. What makes this plant different though is that this CO₂ is being captured and used for commercial applications such as beverage carbonisation – putting the bubbles in fizzy drinks.

As the UK forges ahead with developing carbon storage facilities such as Endurance and HyNet, the CO₂ from Moor is expected to be directed to geological sequestration, permanently removing it from the atmosphere. This is essential to Project Carbon Harvest: the objective of which is to move our biomethane plants beyond just renewable energy to verifiable, permanent carbon dioxide removal, i.e. removing more CO₂ from the atmosphere than the whole process produces effectively providing much needed energy with net-negative emissions.

The unsubsidised model: how it works

The success of Moor Bioenergy rests on the key relationship with AstraZeneca, and a commercial model that differs fundamentally from traditional approaches to renewable energy deployment. To understand why, first consider the UK’s existing biomethane capacity, which was largely built with government support: first via the Renewable Heat Incentive, and subsequently the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS).

These mechanisms have been essential in establishing the biogas industry in the UK, but they come with limitations: finite budgets, complex eligibility criteria – and the possibility that subsidies may be reduced or halted. Indeed, the current Green Gas Support Scheme closes to new applications in 4 years, and it's not yet clear what, will replace it.

With Moor, we set out on a different path. The plant’s commercial foundation is a 15-year offtake agreement with AstraZeneca, reflecting the pharmaceutical company's commitment to achieving 100% renewable energy for its operations. This long-term certainty, combined with equivalent agreements with feedstock growers and the commercialisation of captured CO₂, creates the commercial stability needed for the facility to operate without public subsidy, and with ultimate integrity.

The integrity of the model depends on 100% additionality. Rather than relying on renewable gas certificates, which do little to stimulate new supply, AstraZeneca’s partnership directly enabled the construction of a new plant. That means every molecule of biomethane from Moor Bioenergy adds real, additional renewable energy to the UK system.

This matters for corporate buyers who face increasing scrutiny of their decarbonisation claims. As companies face growing pressure from investors, regulators and customers to demonstrate meaningful climate action, the distinction between certificate trading and genuine investment in new capacity becomes critical.

A shifting policy landscape

Moor Bioenergy’s first year of operation has coincided with a shift in biomethane’s place within UK energy policy that suggests the wider biomethane sector may be approaching a turning point. In July 2025, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) published its Future Energy Scenarios, the first under NESO’s new remit as an independent body overseeing the whole energy system. In this, the Holistic Transition pathway – the only one that achieves the UK’s Nationally Determined Contributions for 2030 and 2035 under the Paris Agreement – calls for 64 TWh of biomethane production by 2050. This is more than double the government’s previous estimates, and represents more than a tenfold increase from the production levels of today.

Research from Alder BioInsights published in September 2025, estimated that the UK’s biomethane production capacity could increase as high as 120TWh a year by 2050, and identified that sustainable feedstock would be integral to delivering at this scale. The research suggests that the constraint on growth is policy ambition, rather than the availability of resources.

The Green Gas Taskforce, launched in April 2025 as a collaboration between the UK’s largest biomethane producers, all five British gas networks and key industry associations, has helped build the evidence base for these conclusions. Its October 2025 report on the economics of biomethane found that scaling up green gas production could reduce the cost of achieving net zero by roughly £150-£220 billion.

But against this backdrop of growing recognition, there’s one significant policy anomaly. Under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), biomethane supplied directly to ETS installations receives a zero emissions factor. However, identical biomethane injected into the gas grid – which is how most biomethane reaches end users – receives no such recognition. For corporate buyers subject to the ETS, purchasing grid-injected biomethane delivers no reduction in their reported emissions under the scheme.

This stands in contrast to the equivalent scheme in the European Union, under which sustainably sourced biogas may be “zero-rated” even when use occurs at a different installation from the one where it was produced. This disparity places UK biomethane producers at a competitive disadvantage relative to their European counterparts. More importantly for the UK’s net zero journey, it also removes a significant commercial incentive for corporate buyers to invest in green gas.

The government has now indicated that it’s working with the ETS Authority to consider whether the scheme could account for grid-injected biomethane, with a consultation on the future biomethane policy framework expected by the end of the 2025/26 financial year. For the sector, clarity on this question has become urgent given the Green Gas Support Scheme closure. Without a clear successor framework, investment decisions are already being delayed.

The forward path

NESO’s scenarios make clear that there is no credible pathway to net zero that does not involve substantial scaling of biomethane production. The technology is proven and, as Moor Bioenergy demonstrates, the commercial model can work without subsidy.

The comparison with other low-carbon gas alternatives is instructive. While hydrogen has long been positioned as the solution for decarbonising gas demand, production at scale still appears far off and expensive by comparison. Adaptation of both the grid and of combustion equipment would be required. By contrast, biomethane is available now on a drop-in basis; compatible with existing infrastructure, and capable of delivering verified emissions reductions today.

International comparisons underscore the point. In Denmark, over 40% of gas supply already comes from domestic biomethane, with the country on course to reach 100% by 2030. France is targeting 16% biomethane in its distribution network by 2030. In the UK today, biomethane makes up approximately 1% of the gas grid. The technology is not experimental; it’s becoming fundamental to energy transition strategies across Europe.

Moor Bioenergy was always intended as the first of many bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) plants we would develop, and the pipeline is growing. We have multiple new biomethane with BECCS plants in various stages of planning, and this year we’re exploring the retrofit of BECCS technology to three other existing plants in our portfolio, accelerating our transition to carbon-negative operations.

Each new BECCS plant has the potential to capture thousands of tonnes of biogenic CO₂ per year for permanent geological storage, actively removing carbon from the atmosphere. But realising this vision at scale requires policy certainty. While a clear successor mechanism to the GGSS would be welcome, the industry most needs grid-injected biomethane to be treated as zero-emission under the UK ETS. This, more than anything, would preserve biomethane’s momentum, enabling it to continue scaling towards its potential.

But current capacity is limited and with planning permissions being slow, the ability for supply to keep up with demand could be in jeopardy. We’re also in conversations with other large organisations including data centres who have ambitious decarbonisation targets and are looking to emulate AstraZeneca’s success. And one thing is clear. These companies are looking for high-integrity and additional options that will future-proof their decarbonisation plans and offer long-term pricing certainty.

The fundamentals are in place. Biomethane offers a proven, scalable, homegrown renewable gas that strengthens energy security, supports rural communities, and delivers verifiable decarbonisation for hard-to-abate industries. A year of operation at Moor Bioenergy has demonstrated that the commercial model works. What the sector needs now is policy that matches the opportunity.