AQUIS AD Services — Czechia
Syngas Project Market Due Diligence
Assessment date: 27 July 2026
Principal data period: 2024–2026
Syngas Project priority: 4.4 out of 5 — Priority Market
AQUIS national opportunity
| AQUIS national opportunity | Czechia | Calculation or basis |
| Population | 10.91 million | Current EU country figure |
| Latest operating biogas plants | 540 | Czech Biogas Association, August 2025 |
| AQUIS register baseline | 570 | Existing EU/ETS comparative database |
| Current plants per million residents | 49.5 | 540 ÷ 10.91 |
| AQUIS register plants per million | 52.2 | 570 ÷ 10.91 |
| Germany benchmark | 125.1 plants/million | Fixed AQUIS reference |
| Current capability compared with Germany | 39.6% | 49.5 ÷ 125.1 |
| Register capability compared with Germany | 41.7% | 52.2 ÷ 125.1 |
| National scale compared with Germany | 5.2% | 540 ÷ 10,455 |
| Syngas Project 10% target market | 57 clients | Register baseline × 10% |
| National AQUIS island equivalent | 27.0 islands | AQUIS register calculation |
| 10% AQUIS take-off opportunity | 2.70 islands | 27.0 × 10% |
| Three-island cluster equivalent | 0.90 cluster | 2.70 ÷ 3 |
| Practical first deployment | One complete cluster | Three AQUIS islands |
| CAMPUS opportunity | One initial CAMPUS | One cluster per CAMPUS |
| LRNG equivalent | 67.5 MW continuous | 2.70 × 25 MW |
| 2G ethanol equivalent | 216,000 L/day | 2.70 × 80,000 L/day |
| Direct AQUIS Services clients | 11 | Initial 20% allocation |
| AQUIS EPS clients | 46 | Initial 80% allocation |
| CUMULUS gas-train equivalent | 2.70 trains | One per target island |
| Practical CUMULUS deployment | Three gas trains | One complete cluster |
LRNG and 2G ethanol are alternative uses of the same hydrogen producer gas capacity. They must not be added together.
Data reconciliation
The established AQUIS EU/ETS register uses 570 significant plants. The Czech Biogas Association reports 540 operating plants as of 31 August 2025. The difference may reflect plant closures, register definitions or inactive installations.
The 570-plant figure is retained for the present cross-country AQUIS opportunity calculation. The current 540-plant figure is used to describe the operating market. This should be reconciled during installation-level due diligence.
Executive summary
Czechia represents a potential Syngas Project target of approximately 57 AD clients, equivalent to 2.70 AQUIS take-off islands and 0.90 of a three-island cluster. This supports one complete Czech AQUIS cluster attached to a regional CAMPUS. The target capacity is equivalent to either 67.5 MW of continuous LRNG or 216,000 litres/day of 2G ethanol, subject to feedstock characterisation and project engineering.
Czechia has approximately 49.5 currently operating plants per million residents, compared with Germany’s benchmark of 125.1. Its current AD deployment density is therefore approximately 39.6% of Germany’s. Using the AQUIS register baseline, the comparison rises to 41.7%. Czechia has a much denser and more mature AD market than Poland, although its national plant count remains only about 5.2% of Germany’s.
The Czech market developed around subsidised agricultural CHP. It now has 540 operating biogas plants, 379 MW of electrical capacity and approximately 2.6 TWh/year of electricity production. Around 410 plants are agricultural and approximately 130 are associated with wastewater or landfill gas. The market’s next development phase is conversion from CHP to biomethane, particularly as established FIT and FIP support periods expire between 2028 and 2032. Czech Biogas Association, Czech Energy Regulatory Office biomethane briefing
Czechia already has 13 biomethane stations: 11 injecting into the gas grid and two operating off-grid. Production reached approximately 177 GWh in 2025, against installed annual capacity of about 290 GWh. The market is therefore established but still operating materially below its potential.
The immediate AQUIS opportunity is to work with ageing agricultural CHP plants converting to waste-based biomethane. The direct-services opportunity is strongest at plants accepting food waste, packaged waste, industrial residues and sewage sludge. AQUIS EPS can address the larger population of smaller agricultural installations.
Syngas Project assigns Czechia a priority of 4.4 out of 5. The principal strengths are the established plant population, expiring CHP support, substantial new biomethane assistance, existing CNG and Bio-LNG infrastructure and direct proximity to Poland. The principal limitations are dependence on agricultural crops at many existing plants and the cost and complexity of conversion to waste-based feedstocks.
National AD market register
| National indicator | Verified value | Data year | DD status |
| Population | 10.91 million | Current | Reported |
| Operating biogas plants | 540 | August 2025 | Reported |
| AQUIS comparative baseline | 570 | 2023–2025 | Existing database |
| Agricultural biogas plants | Approximately 410 | 2025 | Reported |
| Wastewater and landfill plants | Approximately 130 | 2025 | Reported aggregate |
| Installed electrical capacity | 379 MW | 2025 | Reported |
| Biogas electricity production | Approximately 2,560 GWh/year | 2025 | Reported |
| Raw biogas production | Approximately 1.2 billion m³/year | 2025 | Reported |
| Biomethane-equivalent potential from existing biogas | Approximately 7 TWh/year | 2025 | Technical equivalent |
| Operating biomethane stations | 13 | 2025 | Reported |
| Grid-injecting biomethane stations | 11 | 2025 | Reported |
| Off-grid biomethane stations | 2 | 2025 | Reported |
| Installed biomethane capacity | 28 million m³/year | 2025 | Reported |
| Installed biomethane energy capacity | Approximately 290 GWh/year | 2025 | Reported |
| Actual biomethane production | 17 million m³/year | 2025 | Reported |
| Actual biomethane energy production | Approximately 177 GWh/year | 2025 | Reported |
| National wet-digestate production | NR | — | No consolidated figure verified |
| Plants per million population | 49.5 current; 52.2 register | 2025 | Calculated |
Czechia’s current biomethane production represents only about 2.5% of the estimated 7 TWh biomethane-equivalent energy in its existing biogas production. This is not a prediction that all plants will convert, but it demonstrates the scale of the conversion opportunity.
Position compared with Germany
| Deployment indicator | Czechia | Germany | Czechia relative to Germany |
| Operating plants | 540 | 10,455 | 5.2% |
| AQUIS register plants | 570 | 10,455 | 5.5% |
| Population | 10.91m | 83.60m | 13.1% |
| Current plants per million | 49.5 | 125.1 | 39.6% |
| Register plants per million | 52.2 | 125.1 | 41.7% |
| Biomethane stations | 13 | Approximately 270 | Developing market |
| Dominant historic route | CHP | CHP and biomethane | Conversion phase |
Czechia is not as densely deployed as Germany, but it is considerably closer to Germany’s operating model than most Central European countries.
The next Czech market phase is unlikely to come primarily from building hundreds of additional crop-based CHP plants. Growth will come from:
- Converting suitable CHP plants to biomethane.
- Shifting from dedicated crops towards residues and wastes.
- Improving utilisation of surplus heat.
- Connecting more plants to gas distribution networks.
- Supplying BioCNG and Bio-LNG to transport.
- Modernising food-waste and wastewater installations.
AQUIS commercial opportunity
| Syngas Project business line | Initial Czech opportunity | Target basis | Revenue character |
| AQUIS Take-Off | One three-island cluster | 2.70 island opportunity | Infrastructure and equipment |
| AQUIS Services | 11 larger or complex clients | 20% planning allocation | Direct recurring services |
| AQUIS EPS | 46 distributed clients | 80% planning allocation | Filters, testing and return logistics |
| CUMULUS | Three practical gas trains | One complete cluster | Equipment and recurring services |
| LRNG/CRNG | 67.5 MW equivalent | Alternative fuel pathway | Fuel and offtake |
| 2G ethanol | 216,000 L/day | Alternative acetogenic pathway | SAF and chemicals |
The client allocation should be refined using the Czech plant register. Waste-processing, wastewater and multi-source plants should generally be evaluated for direct AQUIS Services. Stable single-source agricultural plants are stronger AQUIS EPS candidates.
Market structure and expansion
Agricultural CHP fleet
Approximately 410 of Czechia’s 540 operating plants are agricultural. The fleet expanded rapidly between 2005 and 2013 under electricity FIT and FIP support. Most established plants received 20-year support periods, with a large proportion expiring between 2028 and 2032.
This creates an identifiable investment window. Operators must decide whether to:
- Continue merchant CHP.
- Secure a valuable heat user.
- Convert to biomethane.
- Change from dedicated energy crops to qualifying residues and wastes.
- Consolidate or close.
- Introduce additional resource-recovery services.
For Syngas Project, this is more valuable than an undifferentiated list of operating plants. It creates a time-based conversion pipeline.
Biomethane expansion
| Biomethane indicator | Current position | Development position |
| Operating stations | 13 | Target of at least 100 by 2029 |
| Grid-injecting plants | 11 | Medium- and high-pressure connections planned |
| Off-grid plants | 2 | BioCNG and local supply |
| Actual production | 177 GWh/year | National 2030 ambition around 5 TWh |
| Installed capacity | 290 GWh/year | Substantial conversion pipeline |
| Existing-biogas equivalent | Approximately 7 TWh/year | Long-term conversion ceiling, not forecast |
In April 2026, the European Commission approved a €3.7 billion Czech support scheme for new and converted sustainable biomethane plants. European Commission
This considerably improves the investment environment, but projects will still require feedstock compliance, grid access, permitting and bankable operating contracts.
Current and emerging gas destinations
| Energy route | Current Czech position | Growth direction | AQUIS/CUMULUS relevance |
| CHP electricity | Dominant established route | Support expiry drives restructuring | High |
| CHP heat | Significant underused heat | Better local heat use required | High |
| Gas-grid injection | 11 operating stations | Rapid expansion planned | Very high |
| Local industrial gas | Developing | Attractive near industrial users | High |
| Public-transport BioCNG | Large CNG-compatible fleet | Direct biomethane substitution | High |
| Road-freight CRNG | Established CNG infrastructure | Moderate growth | Medium-high |
| Road-freight Bio-LNG | Commercial supply already launched | Strong logistics potential | High |
| Marine Bio-LNG | No domestic seaport | Indirect export opportunity only | Low domestically |
| 2G ethanol and SAF | Not currently material | Syngas Project alternative pathway | Longer-term |
CHP
Czech biogas produces approximately 2.56 TWh of electricity annually. CHP remains technically useful, particularly where heat is fully consumed. However, the Energy Regulatory Office reports that a large part of available heat is wasted.
Plants without a bankable heat user face greater exposure when historic electricity support expires. These installations are likely candidates for biomethane conversion, AQUIS take-off or consolidation.
Local gas-grid injection
Eleven biomethane plants currently inject into the gas grid. Czech connection arrangements have evolved: distribution operators are required to acquire certain connecting pipelines and supporting injection assets, with the degree of cost socialisation determined for each project. This is more favourable than a structure in which the producer bears every connection cost, although project-level confirmation remains essential.
Public transport and BioCNG
Czechia has approximately:
| Gas-transport indicator | Market position |
| CNG buses | Approximately 1,300 |
| Share of national bus fleet | More than 6% |
| Public CNG stations | Approximately 200 |
| Innogy CNG network historically tested for biomethane | 63 stations |
The existing fleet and refuelling network mean renewable gas can be introduced without waiting for an entirely new vehicle platform. The national market already has experience distributing Rapotín biomethane through the gas network for CNG use.
Road freight and Bio-LNG
Czechia has an expanding LNG and Bio-LNG freight network:
- GasNet/LNG CZ identifies six Czech truck-fuelling sites.
- Eurowag operates two Czech LNG stations and offers Bio-LNG.
- Shell introduced 100% Bio-LNG at Svatá Kateřina and Dobšice in 2025.
- Existing Czech LNG vehicles and international freight corridors provide an initial customer base.
Shell Bio-LNG launch, Czech LNG station network, Eurowag
Czechia’s location between Germany, Poland, Austria and Slovakia makes Bio-LNG relevant to international freight, not only domestic haulage.
Marine fuel
Czechia is landlocked and therefore has no direct national marine-bunkering market. Marine Bio-LNG should not be included as a domestic opportunity.
AQUIS-derived LRNG could nevertheless enter wider European marine-fuel supply chains through rail or road export, but this would require a separate logistics and offtake assessment.
Strategically important installations
| Installation | Location | Scale or throughput | Gas destination | Strategic relevance |
| EFG Rapotín | Olomouc Region | Approximately 30,000 t/year waste | Grid and BioCNG | First Czech grid-injecting biomethane plant |
| EFG Vyškov | South Moravia | 30,000 t/year; 650 m³/h biogas | Grid injection, electricity and heat | Major food-waste conversion facility |
| Litomyšl biomethane plant | Pardubice Region | 1.7m m³/year biomethane; up to 360 Nm³/h raw biogas | Grid and nearby CNG station | First agricultural biomethane installation |
| Prague Central WWTP | Prague | Approximately 15m Nm³/year sewage biogas | CHP and internal energy | Major wastewater AD opportunity |
| Other grid-injecting plants | Multiple regions | 11 connections nationally | Distribution grid | Growing conversion portfolio |
| Off-grid biomethane plants | Two identified nationally | Site-specific | BioCNG/local use | Virtual-pipeline and transport potential |
EFG Vyškov
Vyškov expanded from approximately 12,000–14,000 tonnes/year to 30,000 tonnes/year. Its biogas capacity increased from 160 to 650 m³/hour. It accepts expired packaged food, catering waste, household biowaste and industrial organic residues, making it a particularly relevant AQUIS Services reference. EFG Vyškov
Litomyšl
Litomyšl produces approximately 1.7 million m³/year of biomethane from agricultural waste. The plant injects into the gas grid and has access to a nearby CNG station. Litomyšl project
Prague wastewater treatment
Prague’s central wastewater treatment system produces approximately 15 million Nm³/year of sewage biogas. Its scale makes it relevant to AQUIS sludge conditioning, PFAS and microplastic testing, siloxane management and CUMULUS gas filtration.
Feedstock and digestate structure
| Feedstock category | Market importance | AQUIS relevance |
| Dedicated agricultural crops | Historically high | Lower contaminant variability but subsidy exposure |
| Manure and slurry | High | Nutrient and water management |
| Agricultural residues | Increasing | Strong conversion opportunity |
| Food and catering waste | Increasing | Direct AQUIS Services |
| Packaged supermarket waste | Emerging at modernised plants | Separation and contaminant control |
| Industrial organic residues | Medium | Site-specific testing |
| Sewage sludge | Material metropolitan stream | PFAS, microplastic and siloxane management |
| Landfill gas | Included in around 130 non-agricultural sites | CUMULUS opportunity; not digestate |
A consolidated national wet-digestate figure was not verified and should remain NR. It should not be estimated simply by multiplying an assumed average across 540 diverse installations.
Contaminant and treatment opportunity
| Issue | Czech evidence | AQUIS response | DD position |
| Mixed food-waste digestate | Increasing at converted facilities | Conditioning and separation | High relevance |
| Microplastics | Czech analytical capability established | Aggregation and filtration | Site testing required |
| Nanoplastics | Not routinely quantified | Aggregation and capture development | Data gap |
| PFAS | Detected in sludge from 43 Czech WWTPs | Testing, capture and controlled management | Verified national concern |
| Siloxanes | Relevant to sewage gas | CUMULUS filtration | High at WWTPs |
| Nutrient loading | Material at agricultural plants | Nutrient capture | High |
| Energy-crop dependence | Large historic exposure | Shift towards residues | Commercial risk |
| Residual carbon | Present in digestate | Take-off and HPG recovery | Testing required |
A Czech study screened sludge from 43 wastewater treatment plants and detected PFAS contamination. Approximately 30% of Czech sewage sludge has historically been reused in agriculture. PFAS sludge study
This evidence justifies a testing and management opportunity. It does not justify treating all Czech sludge as hazardous or claiming validated PFAS destruction without project-specific testing.
CUMULUS opportunity
| CUMULUS measure | Initial Czech opportunity |
| Target gas-train equivalents | 2.70 |
| Practical first-cluster gas trains | 3 |
| Initial recurring gas-service contracts | 3 |
| External biomethane prospects | 13 existing stations plus conversion pipeline |
| Principal gas concerns | Sulfur, water, particulates, siloxanes and site-specific contaminants |
| Principal destinations | Grid, BioCNG, Bio-LNG and industrial gas |
| Market advantage | Existing gas and transport infrastructure |
CUMULUS has a wider external market in Czechia than in Poland because biomethane upgrading and grid injection are already established across multiple plants.
Syngas Project priority assessment
| Priority factor | Weight | Score | Weighted result |
| National AD market scale | 20% | 4.0 | 0.80 |
| AQUIS take-off and fuel capacity | 20% | 4.5 | 0.90 |
| AQUIS Services and EPS client base | 15% | 4.5 | 0.68 |
| Market growth and policy support | 15% | 5.0 | 0.75 |
| Digestate and contaminant-management need | 10% | 4.0 | 0.40 |
| Grid, public-transport and freight opportunity | 10% | 4.5 | 0.45 |
| Geographic, logistics and partner fit | 10% | 4.5 | 0.45 |
| Overall priority | 100% | 4.4/5 |
Priority classification: Priority market
Czechia ranks slightly above Poland because it combines:
- A higher plant density.
- Thirteen operating biomethane stations.
- Existing grid injection.
- Established CNG public transport.
- Commercial Bio-LNG availability.
- A large CHP conversion pipeline.
- Expiring operating support.
- A €3.7 billion biomethane support scheme.
- Direct access from Poland.
Poland remains the primary domestic deployment market for Syngas Project, while Czechia presents an unusually strong neighbouring-market opportunity.
Lender and investor risk position
| Risk | Exposure | Impact | Mitigation |
| Expiring CHP support | High | High | Early conversion screening |
| Dependence on energy crops | Medium-high | High | Verified waste and residue transition |
| Feedstock competition | Medium | Medium-high | Regional catchment assessment |
| Grid connection cost | Medium | High | Project-specific DSO agreement |
| Digestate outlets | Medium | High | AQUIS treatment and take-off |
| PFAS and microplastic regulation | Emerging | High | Testing and traceability |
| Heat underutilisation | High at some CHP plants | Medium-high | Verify heat users |
| Conversion capital cost | High | High | State-aid and phased deployment |
| Biomethane support compliance | Medium | High | Feedstock certification |
| Data difference: 540 versus 570 plants | Medium | Medium | Reconcile installation register |
| Technology integration | Medium | High | Demonstration before replication |
Final Syngas Project decision table
| Decision indicator | Czechia result |
| Market classification | Mature CHP market entering biomethane conversion |
| Current operating plants | 540 |
| AQUIS comparative baseline | 570 |
| Current plants per million | 49.5 |
| Current capability compared with Germany | 39.6% |
| Register capability compared with Germany | 41.7% |
| National scale compared with Germany | 5.2% |
| Operating biomethane stations | 13 |
| Grid-injecting stations | 11 |
| Syngas Project target clients | 57 |
| AQUIS target islands | 2.70 |
| Cluster equivalent | 0.90 |
| Practical deployment | One complete three-island cluster |
| Initial CAMPUS opportunity | One |
| LRNG equivalent | 67.5 MW continuous |
| Alternative 2G ethanol equivalent | 216,000 L/day |
| Direct AQUIS Services clients | 11 |
| AQUIS EPS clients | 46 |
| Practical CUMULUS gas trains | 3 |
| Priority score | 4.4/5 |
| Priority classification | Priority market |
| Data confidence | High, subject to plant-count reconciliation |
| Recommended entry route | CHP conversion screening plus EPS and direct services |
| Immediate next action | Reconcile the 540/570 plant registers and identify support-expiry dates |
Due-diligence conclusion
Czechia should be treated as a priority neighbouring market. Its opportunity is not primarily the construction of conventional crop-fed CHP plants. It is the conversion and modernisation of an established fleet approaching the end of its original support period.
The strongest AQUIS entry route is to identify waste-processing, wastewater and multi-source plants for direct services while establishing an EPS offer for smaller agricultural installations.
One Czech three-island AQUIS cluster is supported by the initial 10% target. It represents either 75 MW of installed LRNG capability at full three-island deployment or 240,000 litres/day of installed ethanol capability. The strict 10% market equivalent remains 67.5 MW or 216,000 litres/day.
CUMULUS should be included from the outset because Czechia already possesses a real grid-injection, BioCNG and Bio-LNG market.