AstraZeneca: Biomethane Energy for UK Healthcare Operations

When AstraZeneca and Future Biogas commissioned the UK's first unsubsidised biomethane plant in February 2025, the project marked a significant moment for renewable energy infrastructure. As of February 2026, the Moor Bioenergy facility demonstrates how strategic corporate partnerships could enable biomethane to scale across industries without relying on taxpayer support, potentially strengthening the country's green energy capabilities.

The plant's first year of operation suggests that biomethane could become a commercially viable energy source when the right partnerships are established, offering a blueprint for other organisations looking to decarbonise their operations through direct investment in new renewable capacity.

Future Biogas's biomethane plant delivers renewable energy

Future Biogas's biomethane plant is located at Gonerby Moor in Lincolnshire. Since opening in February 2025, it has added almost 100 GWh of renewable biomethane into the gas grid, which has avoided around 17,000 tonnes of CO₂e. This represents almost 100% of total UK gas consumption for AstraZeneca, the plant's exclusive offtaker.

The companies have signed a long-term agreement for Moor to provide the gas that AstraZeneca uses to generate clean heat for its research and development (R&D) and manufacturing operations. The facility also incorporates carbon capture technology into its operations, with biogenic CO₂ separated in the process of upgrading raw biogas into biomethane.

The captured carbon can then be used for commercial applications including beverage carbonisation. This dual-purpose approach maximises the facility's environmental and commercial value.

The plant's performance in its first year demonstrates the technical viability of large-scale biomethane production. The consistent output has provided AstraZeneca with a reliable renewable energy source for its operations.

Philipp Lukas, Founder and CEO of Future Biogas, explains the facility's carbon removal ambitions.

"As the UK forges ahead with developing carbon storage facilities such as Endurance and HyNet, the CO₂ from Moor is expected to be directed to geological sequestration, permanently removing it from the atmosphere," he says.

"This is essential to Project Carbon Harvest: the objective of which is to move our biomethane plants beyond just renewable energy to verifiable, permanent carbon dioxide removal, i.e. removing more CO₂ from the atmosphere than the whole process produces effectively providing much-needed energy with net-negative emissions."

The carbon capture technology at Moor Bioenergy represents a significant advancement in biomethane production. By separating biogenic CO₂ during the upgrading process, the facility creates opportunities for both commercial use and permanent sequestration.

Future Biogas has designed the plant with future carbon storage infrastructure in mind. As geological sequestration facilities become operational across the UK, Moor Bioenergy will be positioned to contribute to permanent carbon removal at scale.

How corporate partnerships enable growth

According to Future Biogas, the success of Moor Bioenergy relies on the key relationship with AstraZeneca. The plant is based on the commercial foundation of a 15-year offtake agreement with the pharmaceutical company, supporting its commitment to achieving 100% renewable energy for its operations.

This agreement, alongside similar arrangements with feedstock growers and the commercialisation of captured CO₂, gives the facility commercial stability so that it can operate without being subsidised by the public. AstraZeneca's partnership enabled the construction of a new plant, rather than relying on renewable gas certificates, which means that the new biomethane created at Moor Bioenergy is directly added into the renewable energy grid in the UK.

For corporations like AstraZeneca, this approach could help verify their decarbonisation claims by making a measurable impact through investing in new renewable energy capacity rather than purchasing certificates from existing sources. The model demonstrates how large energy users can take direct action to increase renewable capacity.

Moor Bioenergy was planned to be the first of many bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) plants that Future Biogas would develop. The company has multiple new biomethane with BECCS plants in various stages of planning and development, as well as exploring the potential of retrofitting BECCS technology into its existing plants.

Each new BECCS plant in its portfolio has the potential to capture thousands of tonnes of biogenic CO₂ per year. However, Philipp says regulations need to be updated to enable scaling.

"Realising this vision at scale requires policy certainty," he explains.

"While a clear successor mechanism to the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) would be welcome, the industry most needs grid-injected biomethane to be treated as zero-emission under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS). This, more than anything, would preserve biomethane's momentum, enabling it to continue scaling towards its potential."

According to Future Biogas, the company is in conversations with other large organisations like AstraZeneca, in order to emulate the success of the Moor Bioenergy project. Like the partnership with AstraZeneca, it is aiming to help companies future-proof their decarbonisation plans while offering long-term pricing certainty.