Making sense of renewable fuel and Renewable Natural Gas complexity: Six strategic insights from the ION and Comtech Advisory whitepaper

As global decarbonization efforts intensify, renewable fuels and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) are no longer emerging technologies — they’re becoming central pillars of the energy transition. But with this momentum comes complexity. Regulatory fragmentation, certificate trading, carbon intensity (CI) tracking, and the need for combined tracking and logistics are transforming how energy firms operate — and how they compete.

In collaboration with Commodity Technology Advisory (ComTech), ION recently released a whitepaper exploring these dynamics and how ION CTRM solutions are rising to the challenge. in this blog, we highlight six strategic insights from the report that show where the market is heading and how ION is helping clients lead the way.

1. RNG isn’t just an optional add-on, it’s important to a decarbonized energy system

Biogas and resulting RNG combines the best of both worlds: it integrates into existing gas infrastructure while offering flexible dispatchability that intermittent renewables like wind and solar can’t match. This unique duality makes RNG important for decarbonizing sectors that can’t easily be electrified — like heavy transport and some industrial processes — while enhancing system reliability. It supports grid stability if utilized in power generation, uses existing infrastructure for storage and distribution, and reduces geopolitical dependence on fossil fuel imports. With the global RNG market expected to exceed $86 billion by 2030, this is no longer a niche space — it’s a competitive imperative.

2. Compliance is no longer just about checking boxes, it’s about optimizing complexity

As adoption grows, so does regulatory complexity. RNG and renewable fuels are now subject to a web of regional certificate schemes:

• Europe: Guarantees of Origin (GO) and Proof of Sustainability (POS)
• United States: Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) under the EPA’s RFS, and LCFS credits in California and other states

In practice, these certificates are far from interchangeable — each has unique rules for issuance, linkage to physical volumes, expiration, and retirement. For instance, EU POS certificates must remain linked to the volume of RNG, while the US RINs can be separated and traded independently. The variation across jurisdictions turns certificate management into a regulatory minefield — especially for firms operating across regions.

Traditional systems can’t keep up. The new normal is dynamic, data-driven, combines traditional and renewable commodity activities, and can handle regional specifics.

3. CTRM solutions must evolve from transactional platforms to strategic control towers

Legacy ETRM systems were designed for linear commodity flows: capture the trade, monitor the risk, and report the P&L. But renewable fuels and gas introduce multi-layered complexity that requires systems to handle multi-modal logistics (like truck vs. pipeline deliveries), production or batch-level metadata (origin, feedstock, CI), and timely environmental compliance reporting. The whitepaper underscores that without significant capability upgrades, firms risk non-compliance, miss revenue opportunities, and create operational inefficiencies.

What’s needed is a platform that consolidates commercial and compliance activities into a unified, decision-ready environment.

4. ION is delivering cross-platform innovations to meet the challenge

To address these evolving needs, ION is actively enhancing all major solutions in its portfolio — including Openlink, Allegro, RightAngle, Aspect, and TriplePoint — with modules designed specifically for renewable fuels/gas and related sustainability management.

Key capabilities include:

• Environmental Certificates modules: Support certificate trade life cycle, enables automated CI tracking, allocation, valuation, and registry reconciliation.
• Integrated portfolio evaluation: Supports consolidated mark-to-market and P&L reporting across physical and certificate portfolios.
• Renewable and Regulatory Link Pro (RRL): A high-performance integration tool that connects ION CTRMs to registries like the EU’s Union Database ensuring seamless data exchange.

These enhancements are not theoretical. They’re live and already driving value across ION’s global customer base.

5. This isn’t theoretical, deployments are happening now

Multiple ION clients in North America and Europe have already implemented these tools in live environments, some managing both traditional and renewable fuels within the same platforms. From RNG sourcing and certificate allocation to multi-jurisdictional compliance, these early adopters are gaining operational agility today, not tomorrow. This firsthand experience is shaping ION’s development roadmap and enabling continuous product refinement across platforms.

6. Mastering renewable complexity is becoming a source of competitive edge

As regulations tighten and sustainability targets deepen, success will belong to companies that can seamlessly trace, value, and report renewable volumes integrated with traditional commodity flow. Firms that can optimize certificate portfolios, anticipate compliance exposure, and integrate sustainability within routine trading workflows will not only reduce risk — they’ll gain a lasting competitive edge as the market evolves.

Ready to go deeper?

Download the full whitepaper to explore how certificate schemes, carbon intensity, and logistics modeling are reshaping CTRM requirements.

Or contact us to discuss how ION can support your renewable fuels strategy — no matter where you are on the journey.