Компания BIPROGY получила заказ на пилотный проект по сертификации синтетического метана в Японии

BIPROGY wins Japan synthetic methane certificate pilot KEY POINTS - BIPROGY wins a METI-backed pilot for synthetic methane and biogas clean fuel certificates - Project tests certification, issuance, transfer and retirement for environmental value in Japan and overseas - Pilot runs from August 2026 to March 2027 as Japan targets 1% renewable gas equivalent by fiscal 2030 BIPROGY has been selected to run a Japanese government pilot project aimed at building a certificate system for the environmental value of synthetic methane and biogas, the company said on August 27. The project, commissioned by the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, will run from August 2026 to March 2027 under a fiscal 2026 program to develop environmental value certification systems and related frameworks. The demonstration will test how a proposed clean fuel certificate system could work in practice, including certification of environmental value and the issuance, transfer and retirement of certificates for synthetic methane and biogas. BIPROGY will serve as the main operator, handling project setup and management, evaluating results and making recommendations for full-scale implementation based in part on a review of overseas systems. The pilot will examine multiple use cases involving synthetic methane and biogas produced both in Japan and abroad. It will be carried out with support from the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, which will study medium- to long-term system operation; the Japan Gas Appliances Inspection Association, which will support review and certification work as well as rule-making; Mitsubishi Research Institute, which will provide advisory support; and Klammer, which will assist with project management. Japan has been looking for ways to decarbonize city gas, which remains important for heat demand in households, commercial buildings and industry. Heat use such as space heating, hot water and industrial heating accounts for about 60% of energy consumption in Japan's industrial, household and commercial sectors, according to the release. Synthetic methane and biogas are drawing attention because they can use existing city-gas pipelines and combustion equipment. Synthetic methane is produced by combining hydrogen and carbon dioxide through methanation, while biogas is recovered from biomass-based sources such as livestock waste, food waste and sewage treatment facilities. Japanese city-gas operators are targeting the injection of synthetic methane or biogas equivalent to 1% of gas retail supply volume into city-gas pipelines by fiscal 2030 under the Act on Sophisticated Methods of Energy Supply Structures. The release said wider adoption has been hindered by production costs that are higher than for natural gas and by the lack of a public mechanism to objectively certify and trade the fuels' environmental value, including carbon dioxide reduction effects. BIPROGY has provided IT services to electric power and gas companies and has also worked in environmental value markets, including non-fossil fuel certificates used in Japan's power sector. It aims to use knowledge from the pilot to help commercialize and expand systems that certify and distribute environmental value across electricity, fuels and gas, the company said. © Copyright 2026 IBTimes JP. All rights reserved.