It would also save up to 19 times the emissions, so there was "no need to throw away the gas barbecue just yet," Fonterra global sustainability director Carolyn Mortland told The Country Sport Breakfast's Mark Kelly.
Fonterra already had biodigesters at its Tirau and Darfield sites as part of its wastewater treatment, "so we've got some expertise and experience in how they work," Mortland said.
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"Also, we're a consumer of gas and we've got a target to reach of net zero emissions in our manufacturing site by 2050, so we're really keen to look at what new technologies are there and how that can help us and all of New Zealand."
Fonterra was already making headway in reducing emissions, and had recently committed to getting out of coal at its manufacturing sites by 2037.
The co-op would be transitioning the remaining nine of its 29 sites off coal over the next 16 years, Mortland said.
"We have made some great progress. This year we moved our Te Awamutu site to wood pellets and that reduced our coal use by 10 per cent and we're also co-firing our Brightwater site on wood biomass."
The study was another piece in the puzzle towards Fonterra's goal of net zero emissions by 2050, Mortland said.
"We've got to look ahead and think about how we transition out of gas. So it's studies like this and working with our partners that can help develop a renewable gas market that doesn't exist today, that we can use for the future."
