CycleØ Invests €200M To Support Spanish Biogas Production

The Hoja de Ruta del Biogás (Route to biogas) policy published in 2022, targets a minimum production of 10.4TWh of renewable gas production by 2030 in Spain, roughly 75% more than the current operational capacity, which is 2.74TWh according to the European Biomethane Association. Spain currently has 9 biomethane plants, significantly fewer than the 675 plants in France, 254 in Germany and 133 in Italy. There is a total of 1,548 biomethane plants across Europe.

In addition to investing in its own plants, CycleØ is helping to raise awareness of the benefits of biogas production to the wider Spanish farming community by contributing to the ALFA project. This is a project funded by the European Commission that aims to promote the potential of biogas production from livestock farming, and CycleØ is hosting a workshop in May this year, aimed at sharing best practice in biogas development in the farming community.

CycleØ has three plants already operating in Lleida, Catalonia and also commissioned the first private, grid connection point on the Spanish gas grid in 2024.  FNX, the 100% owned subsidiary of the company, is based in Artea in the Basque country where the company’s proprietary upgrading technology is manufactured and employs around 50 members of staff.

The investment of €200m will see CycleØ:

• Build up to 30 biogas plants, in which the company’s proprietary upgrading and liquefaction technology will be used to convert the gas into biomethane. The plants will range from small to medium-sized with a combined production capacity of 800 GWh equivalent, enough to provide the gas needs of around 123,000 households.
• Generate renewable natural gas from agri-food and industrial waste, which will then be upgraded for injection into the Spanish gas grid or liquified for transport use. The plants will be located in regions across Spain including Catalonia, Aragón and Galicia.
• Create additional grid injection points to inject the upgraded gas directly into the Spanish gas grid, helping to decarbonise the network.
• Host a knowledge-sharing workshop at the company’s Lleida cluster, sharing practical knowledge and expertise on the process, timescales and benefits of investing in biogas for agriculture. Invited guests will learn directly from a pioneer in Spanish biogas.

Speaking about the investment, CEO Laurence Molke said “We know there is a significant gap in biogas and biomethane generation capacity in Spain and we are investing now to help fill that gap. We’ve seen reports that Spain does not have developers ready to invest in the biogas plants it needs and that simply is not true – we’re fully funded, ready to act and committed to Spain for the long term."

Commenting on the involvement of the company in the ALFA workshop, Managing Director of FNX Jordi Berengué commented “We are pleased to share our experience and knowledge with the ALFA project to support more biogas development in the Spanish farming community. This will help more farmers to understand the benefits of biogas for managing waste and reducing carbon emissions."