Waga Energy and Séché Environnement partner to produce Renewable Natural Gas in northwestern France

Waga Energy and Séché Environnement partner to produce Renewable Natural Gas in northwestern France

Séché Environnement is partnering with Waga Energy on a Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) production project at a landfill operated by Séché Environnement subsidiary Opale Environnement in Sainte-Marie-Kerque in northwestern France. Amid tight global gas supplies, the project will position the landfill to produce renewable energy and avoid 3,300 tons of CO2 emissions per year. It will also help Séché Environnement curb its emissions in line with the climate strategy the company unveiled in February 2022.

Waga Energy, the European specialist in the production of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) from landfills, and Séché Environnement, a leader on the circular economy market, announced today that they will be partnering on an RNG injection project at a landfill operated by Séché Environnement subsidiary Opale Environnement in Sainte-Marie-Kerque in northwestern France.

Waga Energy will build a landfill gas upgrading unit at the site, leveraging its WAGABOX® technology to purify the biogas generated by decomposing landfill waste into RNG, a renewable substitute for fossil-based natural gas. Opale Environnement will finance the pipeline connecting the WAGABOX® unit to the gas grid five miles (eight kilometers) away. The unit will inject 20 GWh (68,242 mmBtu) of RNG into the local grid each year, corresponding to the annual consumption of around 3,000 households.

The Opale Environnement landfill in Sainte-Marie-Kerque receives around 50,000 tons of waste per year. Séché Environnement took over operations in 2022 and began implementing measures to achieve environmental excellence. It was one of the first landfills in France to use biogas to generate electricity. The generator will be replaced by a WAGABOX® unit in the second half of 2023.

This project, which coincides with Opale Environnement’s 20th anniversary, marks a new step toward the landfill’s circular economy objectives. The RNG produced will provide an alternative to fossil-based natural gas and avoid the emission of 3,300 tons of CO2 equivalent per year[1]. RNG offers the added advantage of being easy to store and transport using the existing natural gas infrastructure.

Séché Environnement has been providing waste management services for over three decades. This project will position the company to make further inroads into the circular economy market while helping reduce its carbon emissions by 25% by 2030, a target outlined in its climate strategy announced in February 2022.

In 2021, Séché Environnement produced 1,232 GWh (4,203,710 mmBtu) of recovered energy, including 34% from renewable sources.

Waga Energy CEO Mathieu Lefebvre said, “We are extremely pleased to begin working with Séché Environnement, a key stakeholder in France’s waste management and recycling market, and a partner who shares our commitment to the environment. The Renewable Natural Gas produced at this landfill will help decarbonize the economy, reduce fossil-fuel-related carbon emissions, and bolster the local community’s energy independence.”

Séché Environnement CEO Maxime Séché said, “I can’t think of a more appropriate way to celebrate Opale Environnement’s 20th anniversary. This partnership with Waga Energy will help us continue to live up to our commitment to making industrial facilities and communities more sustainable. At Séché Environnement, fighting climate change means shrinking our carbon footprint and developing solutions for the circular economy. This project is 100% aligned with our strategy.”

About Waga Energy

Waga Energy (ISIN: FR0012532810, symbol: WAGA) produces competitively priced Renewable Natural Gas (also known as “biomethane”) by upgrading landfill gas using a patented purification technology called WAGABOX®. The RNG produced is injected directly into the gas distribution networks that supply individuals and businesses, providing a substitute for natural gas. Waga Energy finances, builds and operates its WAGABOX® units under long-term contracts with landfill operators for the supply of raw gas, and generates income by selling the RNG it generated. Waga Energy operates 13 WAGABOX® units in France, representing an installed capacity of 480 GWh/year. Twelve units are under construction in France, Spain, Canada and the US. Each project initiated by Waga Energy contributes to the fight against global warming and the helps the energy transition. Waga Energy has been listed since October 27, 2021, on Euronext Paris.

About Séché Environnement

Séché Environnement is a leading player in waste management, including the most complex and hazardous waste, and in environmental services, particularly in the event of an environmental emergency. Thanks to its expertise in the creation of circular economy loops, decarbonization and hazard control, the group has been contributing to the ecological transition of industries and territories, as well as to the protection of the living world, for nearly 40 years. A French family-owned industrial group, Séché Environnement deploys the cutting-edge technologies developed by its R&D department at the heart of territories, in more than 120 locations in 15 countries, including some fifty industrial sites in France. With nearly 5,000 employees, including 2,300 in France, Séché Environnement generated a turnover of €736 million in 2021, 28% of which was generated internationally. Séché Environnement is listed on Eurolist by Euronext (compartment B). It is eligible for equity savings funds dedicated to investment in SMEs and is included in the CAC Mid&Small, EnterNext Tech 40 and EnterNext PEA-PME 150 indexes. ISIN: FR 0000039139 – Bloomberg: SCHP.FP – Reuters: CCHE.PA

Press contacts
Waga Energy
Laurent Barbotin
+ 33 7 72 77 11 85
[email protected]

Séché Environnement

Constance Descotes

[email protected]

+33 (0)1 53 21 53 53

1Estimate based on non-renewable natural gas and renewable natural gas emission factors in France according to French energy agency ADEME’s carbon database and factoring in direct and indirect emissions.