New Biogas Plant Makes France More Self-Sufficient

A new biogas plant is now on the way in the village of Ennezat near Clermont Ferrand in central France. This will be another step towards making France more self-sufficient in both renewable energy and environmentally friendly fertiliser.

The plant is owned by the farmer Jean-Sébastien Lhospitalier who initiated the project and energy company Groupe LANGA. The facility is being delivered by the European company Xergi.

"We chose Xergi because the company has recognised know-how in biogas technology, especially when it comes to treating many different types of biomass," says Jean-Sébastien Lhospitalier who has worked diligently on the project for more than seven years.

The biogas plant will treat manure, deep litter and organic residues from the food industry. The plant not only helps in the production of renewable energy in the form of biogas converted into electricity and heat. It also improves the quality of the manure and it recycles the nutrients in the organic waste. This makes it possible to replace imported chemical fertilisers with domestically produced green fertiliser.

Therefore the project is good for the climate, the environment and the French economy, which will be less dependent on imported gas and fertilisers.

The biogas plant will have the latest and most efficient biogas technology, developed by Xergi based on 30 years of experience building biogas plants in France, the UK, Germany, Denmark, the USA and several other countries.

"Biogas allows us to expand our portfolio of activities," says Vincent Canu, head of LANGA's biogas projects. He describes Xergi as a serious company.

"We wanted to see several biogas plants that had been operating for several years with the same types of feedstock that we would be using at the Méthelec plant. Xergi was fully able to show us this and we have visited a number of biogas plants in both Denmark and France. Xergi also presented its working method, which has only reinforced our decision," says Vincent Canu.

At Xergi's French subsidiary they are also very pleased with the new order for the Méthelec plant.
"We are obviously proud that LANGA Solution and Jean-Sébastien Lhospitalier have shown great confidence in us. The team responsible for carrying out the project consists of both Danish and French employees. The Franco-Danish tandem ensures that the project will benefit from the experience that Xergi has built up in France, but also from our many years of experience on the international markets," says Guillaume Loir, director of Xergi's French subsidiary.
 
For several years Xergi has focused on developing the French market and so CEO Jørgen Ballermann has welcomed the Méthelec project.

"With Méthelec, Xergi has built French biogas plants with a total capacity of 11 MW of electricity, making France one of our key markets. Xergi is very solid financially, which customers prioritise in a financially difficult period. At the same time, we have a strong technology that ensures efficient biogas production and high flexibility in the choice of biomass for customers," is how Jørgen Ballermann explains Xergi's success in France.

"The Méthelec project has contributed to the effective strengthening of French biogas production and I expect that it may pave the way for new and exciting projects for Xergi, both in France and on the international market," says Jørgen Ballermann.