Net-Zero Industry Act adopted. Biogas and biomethane among the strategic technologies

On 27 May 2024 the EU Council approved the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) – Regulation (EU) 2024/1735, which is meant to strengthen EU production of the technologies needed for the energy transition. The procedure ended on the same day on which the Council also adopted the methane regulation. For the biogas industry it is relevant that biogas and biomethane technologies are among the technologies covered by the act.

How the procedure went

The provisional agreement between Parliament and the Council was reached on 6 February 2024, Parliament voted on 25 April 2024, and the Council completed the process on 27 May 2024. After signing, the regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will enter into force the day after publication.

What the NZIA changes

The act is not a financial instrument but a set of regulatory tools:

• accelerated permitting procedures for projects producing net-zero technologies, with priority for strategic projects,
• quality and resilience criteria in renewable energy auctions and in public procurement (not only price),
• a benchmark target – EU manufacturing capacity is to cover about 40% of annual demand for strategic technologies by 2030,
• criteria for strategic projects and support in access to financing.

The strategic technologies include, among others, photovoltaics, wind, batteries, heat pumps, electrolysers, CO₂ capture and storage and – most important for this website – sustainable biogas and biomethane technologies.

Significance for the industry in Poland

Poland has strong manufacturers of equipment for biogas plants and suppliers of containerised cogeneration modules, although upgrading technology (membranes, PSA, scrubbers) comes mainly from other countries. The NZIA strengthens the argument for building a European value chain: it makes it easier to obtain permitting priority for manufacturing projects and rewards resilience criteria in renewable energy auctions. For investors, it also means a potential preference for "EU-made" equipment in public procurement and support programmes.

Caution is needed, however: the regulation sets the framework, and specific rules (e.g. non-price criteria in auctions) require implementing acts and national implementation.

What next

The NZIA is one element of the EU's broader competitiveness strategy. Designers of Polish support programmes (e.g. NFOŚiGW) and auction organisers should follow the Commission's guidelines on resilience criteria.

What to look out for

Including biogas and biomethane among the strategic technologies does not mean automatic subsidies. It means access to priority procedures and their inclusion in industrial policies. The specific benefits depend on national programmes and on whether a project is recognised as strategic.