Methanol Institute (MI) and SEA-LNG deeply concerned by EU’s shift in biomethane rules

In Belgium, the Methanol Institute (MI) and SEA-LNG, key representatives of the methanol and liquefied natural gas (LNG) industries respectively, express their deep concerns following the recent announcement by the European Commission impacting the trade of biomethane and biomethane-based biofuels such as biomethanol. The Commission has noted the intention to exclude the automatic certification of biomethane and biomethanol-based fuels produced through mass balance chain of custody in third-party countries outside the EU gas grids within the Union Database (UDB), an IT system to trace the sustainability and origin of renewable fuels placed into service in the European market. This exclusion will severely limit the use of these critical fuels in decarbonizing intra-European and international maritime transport even if these fuels were produced in accordance with EU regulations under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED).