EnviTec Biogas has started work on two biomethane projects in France, strengthening its presence in the country after nearly two decades of operations and long-term partnerships with local customers, Bioenergy Insight reported.
The projects involve converting the existing Biowatt biogas plant in Brittany into a biomethane production facility and building a new biomethane plant for recycling company Cler Verts in south-west France.
The Biowatt facility, commissioned in 2010, was EnviTec’s first biogas project in France. It initially produced 526 kW of electricity using pig slurry, agricultural waste and fats.
The plant’s capacity later increased to 889 kW after additional agricultural and food-processing residues were added. The site was also equipped with pasteurisation facilities and larger storage capacity for digestate.
Following a partnership agreement signed in 2025, EnviTec is now converting the facility to produce biomethane. The company will install an EnviThan gas-upgrading unit capable of producing 250 normal cubic metres of biomethane an hour. The equipment is being manufactured at EnviTec’s Saerbeck site and is expected to be delivered and commissioned by the end of 2026.
The project will also include replacing mixers, converting existing storage space into additional digester capacity, renewing the digester roof and installing a biogas boiler.
The biomethane will be supplied to the French gas network operated by NaTran through a dedicated 13-km shared pipeline to Loudéac. The gas will be used mainly to provide heat to businesses and other service-sector users in the area.
The remaining digestate will continue to be used by farmers in the region as a fertiliser.
The second project, Valoverte, is being developed for Cler Verts and will be the company’s second facility built by EnviTec. Its first plant, Cler ENR, was commissioned in 2015 with an electricity generation capacity of 637 kW.
The new Valoverte plant will have an EnviThan unit capable of producing 280 normal cubic metres of biomethane an hour. Annual production is expected to reach about 25 GWh.
The plant will use agricultural residues and by-products from the food industry. These materials will be unpacked and treated at a separate facility before being supplied to the plant.
Earthworks are already under way, with tank installation planned for September 2026. Piping and equipment installation will follow, along with delivery of the EnviThan unit.
Biomethane injection into the GRDF gas network is expected to begin from July 2027. The gas will be used locally for heat production.
EnviTec has completed 48 plant projects in France since entering the market in 2007. The country’s multi-year energy plan, adopted in February 2026, reaffirmed its target of reaching 62 TWh of biomethane production by 2035.
France currently supports biomethane mainly through regulated payments for gas supplied to the grid, while the government is moving towards a system based on biogas production certificates, known as CPB. The final design of the new system is expected to be announced in the coming months.
Christian Ernst, EnviTec’s Southern Europe sales manager, said France remained an important growth market and one of Europe’s most active countries for biogas development.
