Leading the way in renewable energy is nothing new for Minnesota, which for decades has been a pioneer in biofuels like ethanol, biodiesel, and, most recently, sustainable aviation fuel. The state is now poised to help lead the way in biogas.
Biogas is a renewable fuel composed primarily of methane and carbon dioxide, which is typically produced through the anaerobic digestion of organic waste, such as sewage and animal manure. As a large agricultural production and food processing state, Minnesota also has the potential to utilize food waste, processing coproducts, livestock manure, and even crop residue to produce biogas.
The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute will focus on the future of biogas production and utilization in the state at the 2025 Minnesota Renewable Energy Roundtable event, which will be held on December 17, 2025, at The Machine Shop in Minneapolis.
“An alignment of factors has brought us to an inflection point. We’re seeing much faster growth and also an increasing number of people who are interested in biogas, especially from the business side,” says Luca Zullo, Ph.D., AURI senior director of science and technology. “Minnesota is uniquely positioned, like it was for the ethanol and biodiesel industries, because of its large agricultural and food processing sectors.”
That combination of factors spurred interest in a Renewable Energy Roundtable event to further develop the biogas industry by connecting key stakeholders, including policy makers, public administrators, lenders, municipal leaders, and industrial practitioners. Information gathered from the Renewable Energy Roundtable will be incorporated into a biogas industry roadmap that AURI will release in 2026.
Consider the Source
Animal manure is typically one of the first feedstocks people consider for anaerobic digestion. While manure is plentiful and easy to source and therefore a first target for anaerobic projects, many other feedstocks, often with higher energy potential, exist. Minnesota has an abundance of these feedstocks available throughout the state.
“We have all the conventional feedstocks that come from agriculture, beyond manure,” Zullo says. “Minnesota also has a very large food and agricultural commodity processing industry that generates a variety of other co-products and residuals that are suitable for this application.”
“Manure represents less than 10% of the available potential feedstock,” says Brad Matuska, AURI business development director for biomass feedstocks. “Organic waste streams from the food sector and even the organic fraction of municipal solid waste represent large and underdeveloped resources. Furthermore, if we want the industry to reach its full potential, we can further expand our reach and consider crop residues such as corn stover.”
Zullo emphasizes that urban areas in particular offer a tremendous amount of waste that is not currently being exploited. Municipal solid waste plus food waste from catering and retail food operations in cities can be efficiently combined and used to produce biogas.
“Those sources could substantially alter the trajectory of Minnesota’s biogas sector,” Zullo adds.
“There’s a lot of momentum,” says Matuska. “Minnesota is uniquely positioned because we’re a feedstock haven. We have all kinds of feedstocks that could potentially be sources for anaerobic digestion. We see strong growth opportunities in the offtake market, both for the renewable gas directly produced and for the digestate coproduct.”
Digestate is the solid material left after anaerobic digestion has been completed. The digestate is typically applied to the soil as fertilizer or soil amendment. Minnesota farmers have a large demand for fertilizer, which the digestate could help fill. In fact, widespread use of digestate could reduce the consumption of synthetic fertilizers with considerable potential economic and environmental benefits.
Building the Industry
Matuska says Minnesota already has a relatively small but well-established anaerobic digestion sector, including municipal systems integrated with public wastewater treatment facilities. Biogas production is also a part of the renewable energy mix for the city of St. Cloud, a renewable energy leader for the state. The city’s wastewater treatment plant uses anaerobic digestion to reduce its external energy needs.
Some dairy operations also utilize the technology to produce biogas while taking advantage of more efficient manure management approaches. The application allows operations to capture and produce both biogas and digestate as a fertilizer versus applying only manure as part of their nutrient management plan.
“You can start making a real dent in energy production by utilizing food waste and creating better waste management practices,” Matuska says. “The last time I checked, nobody’s against sending less waste to landfills.”
Matuska says there are some federal incentives to help support biogas development, as well as state incentives, including the Natural Gas Innovation Act.
The utilization of coproducts for energy production could become an additional revenue source or cost reduction.
“All of a sudden, food processors have something that traditionally was an environmental burden and economic cost becoming a potential asset,” Matuska explains. “If you’re making giant volumes of products from processing peas or sweet corn or chickens, all of a sudden your concerns associated with that coproduct decrease because now biogas facilities want it.”
The 2025 Renewable Energy Roundtable will feature panel discussions from industry leaders and presentations from leading industry experts, including Michael Schuppenhauer, Ph.D., of mcr Energy LLC, Heather Dziedzic of the American Biogas Council, and Lorenzo Rosa, Ph.D., of Carnegie Science.
“AURI is working to connect some of the dots to figure out a way to grow a robust industry,” Matuska says. “Determining the best path forward for Minnesota will require a mix of economic and policy drivers. With energy demand rising, the key question is: where will our future energy come from? Biogas is an important asset in our varied decarbonized energy future.”
Matuska says the event will also feature an initial reveal of key recommendations that AURI is putting forward as a biogas roadmap to facilitate the industry’s growth.
“We need to develop biogas in a smart way and in a way in which we understand what the true risks and rewards are,” Matuska says. “I don’t think it works for every single application, but for some it makes a ton of sense.”
Building Minnesota’s Biogas Future
December 17, 2025
The Machine Shop
300 2nd St. SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
This year’s Minnesota Renewable Energy Roundtable will explore ways to secure Minnesota’s biogas future and preview a biogas roadmap that AURI will publish in 2026.
The event will dive into the interconnected systems that drive biogas and renewable natural gas, from manure to landfills, crop residues, food waste, wastewater, natural gas pipelines, and more.
Biogas offers solutions to issues concerning waste disposal, clean energy, and fertilizer needs.
Minnesota’s geographic, environmental, and economic dynamics make it uniquely positioned to benefit from a robust biogas industry and be a key driver of biogas production in the U.S.
The Minnesota Renewable Energy Roundtable will feature national leaders in America’s energy progress, including Dr. Michael Schuppenhauer of mcr Energy LLC, Heather Dziedzic of the American Biogas Council, and Dr. Lorenzo Rosa of Carnegie Science.
The event will include discussions on policies that broadly support revenue-generating infrastructure, reduce the cost of municipal waste handling, lower environmental impacts, and improve community resiliency. It also offers an opportunity to meet other professionals interested in shaping the future of biogas in Minnesota.
For more information and to register,
scan the QR Code or visit
https://auri.swoogo.com/MNRER25