Established in 2010, it owns two AD plants with one further AD plant in construction, and operates 10 AD plants mainly on behalf of institutional investors under medium- to long-term contracts, converting energy crop feedstocks into biogas.

Biogas can be used to generate renewable electricity or be upgraded into biomethane and injected into the UK’s national gas network. There is growing demand for domestically produced biomethane which, as a direct substitute for fossil natural gas, plays an essential role in decarbonising some of the UK’s gas dependent sectors such as heat, transport and manufacturing.

Progress on material topics

Decarbonisation

Future Biogas is developing a new generation of unsubsidised AD plants and plans to sell the resulting biomethane under long-term offtake agreements to its offtake partners. In September 2023, Future Biogas entered into a 15-year partnership with AstraZeneca to establish the UK’s first unsubsidised industrialscale supply of biomethane gas. Future Biogas will supply several of AstraZeneca’s sites with up to 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year. Such a partnership provides a blueprint for wider commercial adoption of renewable gas in the UK. The collaboration with AstraZeneca, set to begin in early 2025, is expected to result in a significant reduction of GHG emissions of approximately 20,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.

Future Biogas is optimising the carbon intensity of its biomethane production. This pioneering effort includes reducing methane slip and facilitating the accumulation of soil organic carbon in soils, alongside a range of other measures targeting emissions from both crop production and on-site activities at the AD facility.

Sustainable farming

Future Biogas is actively engaging with the farmers it purchases feedstock from to support them in the transition to more regenerative land management practices. The co-production of food and energy can offer multiple environmental benefits – increasing crop yields, reducing the demand for plant protection products (pesticides), enriching biodiversity, and improving soil health, while decarbonising food and energy systems. In addition, the anaerobic digestion of the crops for the production of biogas has a by-product, known as digestate, which is used as a carbon and nutrient-rich bio-fertiliser displacing the need for artificial fertilisers, and replenishing soils with organic matter which is essential for healthy soil and its ability to act as a carbon sink.

ten23 expects to meet its initial emissions reduction target one year ahead of plan and has an ambition to set further emissions reduction targets in line with the SBTi criteria during 2024.

In October 2023, Future Biogas established an agricultural advisory board made up of leading academics and industry experts to provide the business with independent farming, scientific and market expertise focusing on a broad range of subjects including sustainable farming, scientific research and policy. This will ensure a wide spectrum of perspectives and specialisms are considered in the scrutiny applied to Future Biogas’ subsidy-free projects.