Shell has finished an 18-month upgrade of its Aarhus biogas facility in Denmark, lifting capacity to process 700,000 tonnes of waste a year and produce around 20 million cubic metres of biomethane annually.
The upgraded plant can now feed biomethane directly into the Danish gas grid, with storage capability in place to help maintain supply during periods of lower renewable output.
Shell Low Carbon Solutions said the project's main benefits are supplying low-carbon gas for hard-to-electrify sectors and returning nutrients to agriculture, cutting demand for synthetic fertiliser. The company noted that biogas has the advantage of running through existing gas infrastructure, allowing it to deliver benefits immediately while the wider energy system decarbonises.
The Aarhus site dates back to the 1990s, when it operated as Baanlev, and has now been modernised to handle higher volumes of waste and residue streams from agriculture, households and the food sector.
Denmark remains one of Europe's most active biogas markets. Elsewhere in the country, gas systems manufacturer Bigadan is preparing to bring biogenic CO2 capture online at its BioEnergi plant in Kalundborg, while biomethane producer BioCirc has despatched its first truckload of captured biogenic CO2 from a carbon capture and storage facility in Vesthimmerland.
Across the wider region, the European Biogas Association reports that Europe's biomethane sector added more than 1 billion cubic metres of new annual production capacity over the past year, taking total capacity past 8 billion cubic metres for the first time — a 17% rise on 2025.
Shell’s Aarhus biogas plant completes 18-month upgrade
