EIB Highlights Investment Pathways for Bioenergy

Josep Oriol, sector engineer at the European Investment Bank (EIB), will present at the 2026 International Biogas Congress & Expo on financing opportunities for biogas and biomethane projects. He will explain the different channels developers can use to access funding based on project scale and structure, highlighting EIB’s experience, eligibility criteria, and market insights. Oriol’s background is in industrial engineering with a focus on water and economics. Before joining EIB, he worked on water and wastewater systems, business development, and ran several anaerobic digestion plants. At EIB, he appraises and monitors biogas projects and supports the European Investment Fund (EIF) on venture capital and guarantees. EIB typically avoids direct project finance due to its complexity, instead deploying capital through equity fund managers who invest in diversified portfolios or via corporate loans to SPVs under larger companies. Projects are mostly local, and biomethane can be purchased where guarantees of origin exist. Bioenergy offers opportunities to cut hard-to-abate emissions, particularly in thermal processes, and EIB supports large-ticket investments that diversify across feedstock, countries, and regulatory risks. Intermediate finance through commercial banks allows aggregation of smaller projects from farmers or SMEs. Over the past six years, EIB has mobilized around EUR 5 billion, contributing to REPowerEU targets. Challenges include inconsistent national regulations, permitting, sustainability verification, and social acceptance, which requires early community engagement. Oriol emphasizes the Congress as a platform for visibility, capturing market insights, and discussing both European and developing-country opportunities in bioenergy’s role in decarbonization, rural development, and energy resilience.