Brazil’s biomethane industry is gaining momentum as pioneering production projects converge with a new regulatory framework designed to expand the market and attract investment.
One of the sector’s landmark initiatives is located at the Dois Arcos sanitary landfill in São Pedro da Aldeia, Rio de Janeiro state. Operational since 2014, the facility became the first landfill in Brazil authorized to commercialize biomethane, receiving regulatory approval in 2017 from ANP, the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels. Initially designed to produce around 16,000 cubic meters of biomethane per day, the plant has increased capacity to 18,480 m³/day through operational efficiency gains.
The landfill receives roughly 900 tons of municipal waste per day from eight municipalities, generating biogas through the anaerobic decomposition of organic material. The gas is captured through a network of more than 300 wells, about half of which remain active. Technicians continuously monitor methane concentrations and pressure levels to maximize gas recovery.
A key innovation at the site is its hybrid system, which allows biogas to be directed either to biomethane upgrading or to electricity generation. Higher-quality methane streams are routed to the biomethane plant, while lower-grade gas is used to produce power.
Beyond production, Brazil is also developing a regulatory ecosystem to support the biomethane market. Certification company, the Instituto Totum, founded in 2004, operates as a third-party agent providing verification, validation and certification services in various sectors, including biomethane.
A major regulatory milestone is the Fuel of the Future Law, whose discussions began in 2024 and which aims to expand biomethane use through the creation of the Biomethane Origin Guarantee Certificate (CGOB). The certificate separates the physical biomethane molecule from its environmental attribute, allowing producers to sell the fuel locally while trading the environmental credit independently. This mechanism is seen as particularly important in Brazil, where transporting biomethane over long distances can be logistically challenging.
The CGOB differs from the existing Gasc certification program, which primarily serves the voluntary market for biogas and biomethane. While Gasc uses a simpler purchasing process and measures gas in calorific value (millions of BTUs), CGOB focuses on biomethane that meets national fuel standards and measures volumes in cubic meters. The new system also requires buyers to participate directly in the registration and retirement of certificates, reflecting its more regulated structure.
Industry participants expect the new framework to stimulate investment and encourage biomethane production across the country. As the market expands, certification firms such as Toton are preparing to operate within the new system, ensuring transparency and preventing double counting between certification schemes while offering producers greater flexibility in how they commercialize their biomethane and associated environmental attributes.
The biomethane sector in Brazil is now poised for significant growth, driven by new policies aimed at increasing the share of renewable natural gas in the energy matrix.
Although biomethane has been blended in places like Ceará into the gas network since 2018, the current production from 11 plants (840,000 m³/day) is minimal compared to Brazil's natural gas demand, which is 61 million m³/day.
The main consumers include thermoelectric power plants, industrial users, and residential networks. The sector is expected to experience significant growth after 2026, when the Future Fuel Act will require gas distributors to blend biomethane with natural gas, starting at 1% this year and reaching 10% by 2035, with the goal of reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Thus, under Brazil’s new regulatory framework, demand for biomethane is expected to rise sharply. Petrobras alone may require around 700,000 cubic meters of biomethane per day to comfortably meet its mandated blending quota, an amount that is nearly equal to the country’s current total biomethane production capacity.
Other distributors are also increasing their use of the renewable gas. São Paulo-based distributor Comgás already injects about 71,000 cubic meters of biomethane per day into its network, primarily supplied by a project in the city of Piracicaba. The company is now pursuing additional supply agreements as it prepares to expand biomethane use under the new regulations.
