Pure DC completes Europe's first cross-border biomethane deal for data center

Pure Data Centres Group on June 2 said it had completed Europe’s first large-scale cross-border biomethane purchase for a data center, transferring 9GWh of certified German biomethane to the Irish gas network over a seven-day period. The company said the volume was a 9,000-fold increase on its March proof of concept, a scale-up it presented as proof that gas-connected data centers can be decarbonized at operational volume.

The structure of the deal matters as much as the gas itself. Pure DC said the biomethane was mass-balanced from Germany into Ireland through established interconnectors, with the renewable attribute tracked end to end through the GNI Renewable Gas Registry. In other words, the physical molecule moved through the network while the environmental claim followed the certificate trail, a model that lets the buyer contract for renewable gas without requiring a dedicated pipeline of molecules from one plant to one site.

Pure DC said the 9GWh consignment was produced in 2025 at certified facilities in Germany using waste and residue feedstocks. It described the biomethane as unsubsidized, independently certified under the ISCC scheme and compliant with Renewable Energy Directive II and III. The company also said the cargo carried a carbon intensity of less than 12 gCO2/MJ, a level it said sits within the threshold for zero-rated treatment under the EU ETS, subject to EPA monitoring plan approval.

Maria Jose Rivas Duarte, Pure DC’s director of sustainability, said the transaction supported Ireland’s Climate Action Plan and aligned with the Large Energy User policy, under which data centers must meet at least 80 percent of annual energy demand with additional renewable electricity. She said the deal showed cross-border biomethane could be procured, mass balanced and registered at volume through existing infrastructure, which she said could open the door to broader data-center sector adoption and other industrial buyers looking for a route to decarbonize natural gas.

For the market, the key question is whether this type of purchase expands biomethane supply or simply reallocates a limited pool of certified attributes to a higher-value buyer. Pure DC framed the move as a transitional measure on the way to net zero by 2040, but the transaction also shows how data-center demand is beginning to compete with other industrial users for scarce qualifying feedstock, certificates and registry capacity.