TotalEnergies Launches 8th Biomethane Plant in France

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TotalEnergies Launches 8th Biomethane Plant in France

TotalEnergies SE has commissioned its eighth biomethane production unit in France. The new BioNorrois plant, located in Fontaine-le-Dun, will inject 153 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of biomethane per year into the French gas transmission company Natran’s natural gas transport network, equivalent to the average annual gas consumption of more than 30,000 inhabitants, TotalEnergies said in a news […]

TotalEnergies SE has commissioned its eighth biomethane production unit in France.

The new BioNorrois plant, located in Fontaine-le-Dun, will inject 153 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of biomethane per year into the French gas transmission company Natran’s natural gas transport network, equivalent to the average annual gas consumption of more than 30,000 inhabitants, TotalEnergies said in a news release.

“We are delighted with the commissioning of this new anaerobic digestion unit in Normandy, comparable in size to BioBéarn, our largest production site in France,” Karine Boissy-Rousseau, TotalEnergies Vice President for Green Gases, said. “With this new plant, which brings our biogas production capacity in the country to more than 800 GWh, TotalEnergies confirms its position as a major player in the market. With Cristal Union, we are partnering long-term with a robust, internationally recognized partner committed to sustainable growth of its activities. With this new biogas project, TotalEnergies continues to contribute to the promotion of a circular economy with multiple local benefits, the production of renewable energies, and the decarbonization of the French energy mix”.

“We are pleased with the commissioning of this biomethane production unit located close to our sugar factory in Fontaine-le-Dun,” Xavier Astolfi, Cristal Union General Manager, said. “Cristal Union has been committed to decarbonizing its activities for over 20 years. Unlike many industries, we have an asset: the ability to valorize the residues of our production, beet pulp, and industrial effluents, and reuse them to produce energy through anaerobic digestion or combustion. This partnership with TotalEnergies is a full-scale project for the treatment of pulp. Beyond the production of biogas from our production residues, it will allow us to provide our partner farmers with digestate to spread on their fields”.

Around 150,000 tons of annual production of digestate, a nutrient-rich byproduct of the process, will be sent to partner farms and support them in their transition to the use of sustainable and locally produced fertilizers, the company said. The plant will save more than 5,500 tons of chemical fertilizers and reduce emissions of around 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, it added.

Green Hydrogen Projects in Netherlands

Meanwhile, TotalEnergies has formed a 50/50 joint venture with Air Liquide to develop two projects in the Netherlands for the production and delivery of around 45,000 tons a year of green hydrogen produced using renewable power, generated mostly by the OranjeWind offshore wind farm.

The projects will cut CO2 emissions from TotalEnergies’ refineries in Belgium and the Netherlands by up to 450,000 tons a year and contribute to European renewable energy targets in transport, the company said in a separate news release.

The joint venture will build and operate a 250-megawatt (MW) electrolyzer near the Zeeland refinery in Vlissingen, Netherlands, targeting to produce up to 30,000 tons of green hydrogen a year, most of which will be delivered to the refinery.

The electrolyzer will be commissioned in 2029 and will cut the site’s CO2 emissions by up to 300,000 tons a year, TotalEnergies said.

The project represents a global investment of around $622.7 million (EUR 600 million) for the two companies, who have applied for support under European and national subsidy programs.

As part of Air Liquide’s 200-MW ELYgator electrolyzer project located in Maasvlakte, Netherlands, TotalEnergies has also signed a tolling agreement for 130 MW for the dedicated production of 15,000 tons per year of green hydrogen to its platform in Antwerp, Belgium.

Under the agreement, TotalEnergies will supply the renewable electrons produced by the OranjeWind project to Air Liquide to be transformed into green hydrogen. The project is expected to be operational by the end of 2027 and will reduce CO2 emissions at the Antwerp site by up to 150,000 tons per year, according to the release.

“Following the first partnership agreement with Air Liquide to supply the Normandy refinery with green hydrogen, and the agreements to supply the Grandpuits and La Mède biorefineries with renewable hydrogen, the partnership with Air Liquide takes on a new dimension and marks a new step in TotalEnergies’ ambition to decarbonize the hydrogen consumed by its refineries in Europe by 2030”, Vincent Stoquart, President for Refining and Chemicals at TotalEnergies, said. “By supplying these two electrolyzers with renewable electricity from our offshore wind project in the Netherlands, TotalEnergies is leveraging its positioning as an integrated electricity company”.

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