Reframing anaerobic digestion as a defossilization platform

Abstract Anaerobic digestion (AD) coupled with carbon capture, utilization, and/or storage (CCUS) is a deployable bioenergy platform that supplies renewable energy and bioresources while valorizing biogenic CO 2 for integrated carbon management on the pathway to net‐zero. Framing AD solely as a waste‐treatment technology undervalues its broader contribution to defossilization, particularly its capacity to directly substitute fossil‐based natural gas, fertilizers, and chemicals. Here, we reconceptualize the role of AD‐CCUS in future net‐zero policy frameworks by synthesizing recent life cycle assessment findings. We further identify priority research directions, including (i) developing energy‐water‐resource hubs to enable multi‐product ecosystems, (ii) advancing environmental–economic analyses to quantify ecosystem service values derived from bioresource valorization in AD‐CCUS systems, (iii) integrating AD‐CCUS into CO 2 transport, storage, and e‐fuel networks, (iv) leveraging artificial intelligence, digitalization, and digital twins for performance optimization and emissions verification, and (v) establishing governance frameworks and market instruments that recognize biogenic CO 2 as strategic carbon infrastructure. Repositioned in this way, AD‐CCUS emerges as a central pillar in the portfolio of solutions for a defossilized economy.