For centuries, natural gas has been one of humanity’s main energy sources. The gas sector is still heavily reliant on natural gas production; however, as natural gas fields contain only a finite quantity of gas, its continued extraction is leading to the resource’s depletion. Furthermore, natural gas production has become a subject of debate, with many considering continued utilisation incompatible with the achievement of international and European climate goals. The need for alternative gases that are less damaging to the environment is becoming increasingly evident. Biomethane has shown itself to be a reliable alternative to natural gas, and if sourced and manufactured responsibly results in no new CO2 emissions. Another alternative, hydrogen, can, through the process of methanisation, be converted into synthetic natural gas (SNG). This chapter discusses the legal aspects of the production and use of biomethane, hydrogen and SNG.
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Power to methane provides a solution to a couple of two problems: unbalanced production and demand of wind plus solar power electricity and the low methane content of biogas by storing electricity via hydrogen into methane gas using carbon dioxide from biogas and methanogenic bacteria. The four-year project is performed by a consortium of three research institutes and five companies. In WP1 the-state-of- the-art of scientific knowledge on P2M technology is reviewed and evaluated.