The ALFA Final Event & Policy Roundtable in Brussels on 25 September 2025 marked the grand finale of a three year long effort by six countries to make livestock-based biogas a practical, investable and socially supported part of Europe’s clean-energy mix. The programme was designed to move deliberately from tools and case evidence to replication and policy. The objective was clear: to turn what works on farms into policy roadmaps that can scale across Member States.
The implementation of the ALFA project was marked with a close cooperation among farmers, agriculture cooperatives, biogas producers, policy makers, and innovation advisors. The main outcomes achieved thanks to all of them were showcased at the final conference: practical tools, real-world cases as well as policy briefs.
Regional hubs: Direct and tailor-made support
The key players of the initiative are the ALFA’s 6 regional hubs (Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Slovakia, Spain). They created the local backbone for the biogas market uptake. Working in local languages with trusted intermediaries, the hubs:
In numbers, the hubs supported 53 cases across 10 countries. They managed to organise 13 webinars and seminars for 463 participants with satisfaction above 90 %. Moreover, the hubs implemented twelve awareness campaigns that increased acceptance by more than 40 % in target communities.
These are not abstract metrics: they indicate a replicable, place-based model that builds durable capacity where projects actually happen.
An early check for farmers on biogas potential
ALFA’s most visible contribution is a farm-facing Decision Support Tool (DST). It lets advisors and producers perform an early, structured check of biogas potential before commissioning costly studies. Accessible via the ALFA Engagement Platform, the DST is available in nine languages. It guides users through farm description and biomass inputs using 2 methods:
The outcome is a potential estimate including context-specific recommendations, environmental and social pointers, as well as a printable summary.
ALFA Atlas Map – Documented success cases on biogas across Europe
Where the DST answers “Is there something here and what should we look at first?”, ALFA’s Atlas Map replies “Who has already done something similar and how did they make it work?”. The Atlas compiles documented success cases from the hubs’ territories and lets practitioners filter by feedstock, scale and business model.
A practical guide to scaling biogas locally
The ALFA Replication Guide is the “how-to” manual that stitches all of this into a structured implementation plan for new regions. It explains how to set up a local hub, run targeted support rounds, and integrate the DST, Atlas and technical services into a consistent deployment process. Used properly, it reduces time, cost and risk, improves project quality and public acceptance, and moves more livestock farms to investment-ready status. s. Download the guide here.
Examples of real-world operations
Two project awardees shared their journeys during the final event. They showed how biogas delivers clean energy, new revenue, and local resilience – and how ALFA’s tools can make getting started easier.
A DAIRY FARMER FROM ITALY
A staged growth plan turned a dairy farm into a small clean-energy hub. After installing a solar plant and five milking robots, the farm added a 74 kW biogas unit for self-consumption and now plans to expand to sell power. What made it viable was predictable tariffs and a clear pathway to invest. What still slows down progress are high upfront costs, complex permitting, grid connection fees, and heavy certification for larger plants. The farmer’s message to policymakers was simple and actionable: recognise digestate as fertiliser, streamline grid connections, and keep stable, fair conditions so farms can invest with confidence.
A BIOGAS PLANT IN POPRAD-MATEJOVCE (SLOVAKIA)
Combined heat and power plant produces about 12,000 m³/day of raw biogas from a weighed feedstock mix and multi-stage digestion. It supplies 50 – 80 % of its heat to a nearby district network. Success hinged on proximity to heat users and pipelines, reliable feedstock logistics, and stable customers. The first phase required roughly €1.5 million and achieved a ~7-year payback with bank loans and incentives. Next steps are already mapped: higher efficiency, more manure and residues instead of crops, and biomethane production at a sister site in Huncovce.
From practice to policy
The policy messages that crystallised in Brussels are specific, farm-relevant and sequenced.
Policy briefs are available for a download here.
Connecting micro-evidence to macro-trends
Europe needs storable, circular energy sources that work with local residues and manure. Those that can complement variable renewables and deliver co-benefits in methane abatement and nutrient recycling. The ALFA Final Event showed, with concrete tools and cases, that livestock-based biogas can meet that need when development is de-risked for farmers and policy is designed from the ground up.
For researchers, programme managers and regional authorities, the task now is simple: deploy what already works. Use the tools, copy the proven cases, and follow the hubs model, sooner rather than later. That is the promise of the Brussels roadmaps.
Don’t reinvent. Scale.
Learn more about the ALFA initiative and find all its useful tools at one place:
https://alfa-res.eu/
