Biogas From Corn Stover Fed into the National Gas Grid

Almost 100% pure, plant fiber-based biomethane will be fed into the Hungarian natural gas network in cooperation between E.ON Hungária Group and Pannonia Bio Plc., E.ON told MTI on Monday.

According to the information, Pannonia Bio buys more than one million tons of feed corn annually and three hundred thousand tons of barley almost entirely from Hungarian farmers since 2023, from which it produces various protein feed and food ingredients, as well as bioethanol. The company's plant in Dunaföldvár produces biomethane as an intermediate product from the fiber selected during grain processing, which is fed into the domestic natural gas grid in a joint development with E.ON Hungária Group.

In preparation for the feed-in, the energy company has constructed an underground steel pipeline to connect the Pannonia Bio gas outlet point to the existing E.ON pipeline. The gas network connection point is also a metering and filtering station, which allows the biogas produced at the plant to be fed into the gas distribution network in a controlled and clean condition.

According to E.ON, this is the largest biogas feed-in plant in the country. The development is also important from an energy and environmental sustainability point of view, as the energy comes from a green source, residual plant fiber, and is used immediately on site, with no need for further transportation. The biogas can be used by the plant itself, but the surplus can also be distributed to people in the area through the gas pipeline.

The development could expand similar partnerships, as biogas can be produced from almost any agricultural product, and the biomethane purity, a critical issue, can be guaranteed through E.ON's involvement. Biogas producers can join the natural gas system under the same conditions as natural gas producers, but the biogas they want to feed into the system must meet strict quality standards, E.ON said.