Denmark is already a global leader in biogas production. According to the Danish Biogas Association, biogas now accounts for around 40 per cent of the country’s total gas consumption. “Biogas is a green energy source and plays a key role in the energy transition,” says Bruno Sander Nielsen, Chief Operating Officer of the Danish Biogas Association.

The sector’s strong growth has been driven largely by national support schemes promoting the use of biogas for power generation, industrial processes and heating. Biogas is a methane-rich gas created through the anaerobic digestion of organic residues and waste materials. Biogas plants are generally divided into four categories according to the biomass they process: agricultural plants, sewage treatment plants, industrial plants and landfill plants. Agricultural plants, which primarily use livestock manure, account for more than 90 per cent of Denmark’s total biogas production.

Sustainable use of pig manure and waste from slaughterhouses

Denmark’s pig sector produces around 17.4 million tonnes of manure each year. Of this, just under 4.7 million tonnes, or 27 per cent, is currently processed in biogas plants. By 2024, Danish facilities were already utilising 40 per cent of the country’s total livestock manure, setting a world record. The pig industry now aims to raise that figure significantly, with a target of processing around 60 per cent of pig manure in biogas plants by 2030. 

Alongside manure, Danish plants also use bedding, food waste and slaughterhouse by-products to generate renewable energy. In total, more than 20 million tonnes of biomass are processed annually in Denmark’s biogas sector.

DanePork, for example, slaughters around 40,000 pigs every week. Waste from the slaughterhouse is transported to a biogas facility just 13 km away. Sustainability is also a major priority for Danish Crown, Denmark’s largest slaughterhouse operator. The cooperative group sends all suitable production waste for energy recovery to biogas plants in Denmark and Germany.

Danish biogas powers Germany

Sustainable Bio Solutions (SBS Kliplev) located in Aabenraa, around 30 kilometers north of Flensburg, operates one of the world’s largest biogas plants. The company processes around 980,000 tonnes of biomass each year, producing 41 million cubic metres of methane. More than 80 per cent of the plant’s feedstock consists of cattle and pig manure sourced from nearby farms. SBS Klipley also processes waste from Germany and exports biogas to Germany and other European countries. Part of its production is supplied to the German transport sector where the gas is sold at filling stations as vehicle fuel.