A national forum on technology innovation and communication for biological natural gas was held May 9-10 in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province.

The forum was held to promote the development of biological natural gas in China.

The forum, initiated by the Biomass Energy Industry Promotion Association, was organized by Beijing Yingherui Environmental Technology Co Ltd and Greenlane China, both leading players in biological natural gas.

About 300 bio energy experts, government officials and enterprise representatives attended the forum, including Ren Dongming, deputy director of the China National Renewable Energy Center, Yu Shihe, deputy president and secretary-general of the China Association for the Promotion of Industrial Development, and Chen Xiaoping, president of the Biomass Energy Industry Promotion Association, a branch of the China Association for the Promotion of Industrial Development.

By the end of 2018, China's capacity for biomass power generation reached 17.81 million kilowatts, and the production capacity for biological natural gas stood at about 57.6 million cubic meters.

The development of biological natural gas in China however has not been fast enough, lacking investors and mature commercial models, Ren said.

It important to incorporate bio energy into China's national strategies on energy, environmental protection, and agriculture, making coordinated plans and policies to promote the healthy development of bio energy, he said.

Ren pointed particularly to the development of  biomass boilers, biological natural gas, and the commercial environment to both gradually reduce the end-use cost of bio energy and increase bio energy usage.

According to Yu, China's potential biological natural gas resources are estimated to be 200 billion cubic meters, and by 2050, the figure will exceed 300 billion, due to an abundance of crop straws, forest waste, and other raw materials.

Promoting the development of bio energy, including biological natural gas, is a priority in China's energy strategy, and is also in line with China's commitment to environmental protection, Yu said.

Forum attendees on May 10 visited Greenland's biological natural gas demonstration project in Dingzhou, Heibei province, which uses cow dung and corn stalks to produce clean and environmentally friendly biological natural gas, and Beijing Yingherui's biogas project in Sanhe, Langfang city, which produces 32,300 cubic meters of biogas daily.