The SmartBio project investigated how flexible biogas plants can participate in a market‑based Smart Market to manage grid congestion in Germany. The study built a detailed market model that simulates the interaction between biogas facilities and the electricity system under different dispatch signals. Two main signals were examined: “reduce power balance” (down‑regulation of biogas output during congestion) and “increase power balance” (up‑regulation). For the first signal the model predicts an average increase of about 4 % in annual market revenues for the participating biogas plants, with the highest individual gains reaching 44 %. For the second signal the average revenue uplift is smaller, around 0.9 %, but individual plants can still achieve up to 6 % additional income. These results demonstrate that biogas plants can provide valuable balancing services and generate significant extra revenue, especially when they are dispatched to reduce output during peak congestion periods.

The analysis also quantified the system‑wide benefits. By integrating flexible biogas into the Smart Market, the need for curtailment of renewable energy plants in Schleswig‑Holstein and Bavaria is reduced. In Bavaria, the model shows that appropriately managed biogas can serve as a low‑carbon alternative to conventional redispatch power plants, thereby lowering the required investment in new dispatch units and cutting associated CO₂ emissions. The Smart Market design adds a market‑based element to the existing Redispatch 2.0 framework, which is currently cost‑based and does not meet the European Union’s market‑based requirements (EBM‑VO 2019). By doing so, the Smart Market can help reduce the estimated 1.4 billion € annual costs of redispatch that were recorded in 2020.

The project was carried out from 1 February 2018 to 15 December 2021 under the auspices of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) through the Federal Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR). The project leader was Prof. Dr.-Ing. Uwe Holzhammer from the Technical University of Ingolstadt. The two main partners were the Technical University of Ingolstadt, Institute for New Energy Systems, and Stadtwerke Rosenheim GmbH & Co. KG. The project was funded under the BMEL grant numbers 22405116 (part 1) and 22407317 (part 2). Throughout the project, the partners coordinated work packages, developed individual time‑ and budget plans, and conducted three workshops that facilitated regular exchanges with representatives from the energy industry and the biogas sector. The SmartBio findings were also integrated into the FNR‑supported OptiBioSy project (grant 22405016) and the TRANSBIO transfer project, which compile results from SmartBio and other post‑EEG initiatives to provide policy makers, researchers, and plant operators with actionable insights into the future role of biogas in Germany’s energy system.