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One of the most vibrant biomethane markets in Europe is the French market. Continuous growth also requires keeping up with the speed of the other changes taking place in the market such as the present industry situation, guidelines, levies, the various biogas installations in France, and so on.

Veolia and Waga Energy have announced the start-up of France's largest biomethane production unit, which will use biogas from a non-hazardous waste storage facility. Veolia's manufacturing ecology hub in Claye-Souilly (Paris region) will generate 120 GWh of renewable gas per year and be located on France's largest biogas production site. This equals the average annual consumption of 20,000 households or 480 BioNGV buses, saving approximately 25,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Based on Waga Energy's WAGABOX innovation, this fully streamlined, and remotely controlled production unit recovers and treats biogas from landfill waste to produce biomethane, a 100 percent renewable gas. This green gas is then implanted directly into the GRDF-operated network to provide energy to the region's homes and businesses for their traditional uses and decarbonize the transportation sector via BioGNV.

The Claye-Souilly project is one of four in France developed through a collaboration between Veolia and Waga Energy. A production unit is already operational in Saint-Palais (Cher), and two more are being built in Le Ham (Manche) and Chatuzange-le-Goubet (Drôme). Once operational, these four units will have a biomethane production capacity of up to 175 GWh per year by 2024, allowing 35,000 metric tonnes of CO2 to be avoided each year.

According to Estelle Brachlianoff, Group Chief Operating Officer at Veolia, Veolia is a significant player in biogas production and energy conversion; the Group already generates 1.6 terrawatt hours of biogas from waste mechanisation in France alone. They intend to contribute to developing a full-fledged European green gas production sector, which is critical for energy security and the fight against global warming.

The commissioning of this massive capacity unit at the Claye-Souilly industrial ecology hub marks a new progression in our five-year collaboration with Veolia. They are thrilled to be combining our unique gas engineering expertise with that of a world leader in waste treatment to create a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. They are taking concrete action against global warming and strengthening our country's energy independence by producing biomethane, a pillar of the energy transition.

Bertrand de Singly, Regional Customer Director, Ile-de-France at GRDF stated that thanks to this 27th biomethane production unit, the Seine-et-Marne is becoming more energy independent. Local biomethane production now covers 16 percent of its residential gas consumption (with a target of 75 percent by 2030 in the CapMétha77 charter). GRDF has financed the adaptation of the gas network to accommodate this project’s renewable gas production.

The industrial ecology hub in Claye-Souilly, Île-de-France, treats and recovers up to 1.5 million tonnes of municipal and industrial waste per year. It already has facilities for converting the biogas produced into heat and electricity. The site's total annual energy production from all sources will increase to 238 GWh with the new biomethane production unit commissioning, a 40% increase over the current energy supply.