CycleØ invests EUR 200 million in Spanish RNG

The Hoja de Ruta del Biogás (Route to biogas) policy published in 2022, targets a minimum production of 10.4 TWh of renewable gas production by 2030 in Spain, roughly 75 percent more than the current operational capacity, which is 2.74 TWh according to the European Biogas Association (EBA).

Spain currently has nine biomethane aka renewable natural gas (RNG) plants, significantly fewer than the 675 plants in France, 254 in Germany, and 133 in Italy. Some 1,548 biomethane plants are found across Europe according to the EBA.

Significant investment

The investment in Spain totals EUR 200 million and will see CycleØ build up to 30 biogas plants in which the company’s proprietary biogas upgrading and liquefaction technology will be used to convert the raw biogas into RNG and bioLNG.

Using agri-food and industrial organic waste, the plants will range from small to medium-sized facilities and generate a combined output of 800 GWh which will be injected into the Spanish gas grid or liquified.

The plants will be located across the country including Catalonia, Aragón, and Galicia.

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, said Laurence Molke, CEO of CycleØ.

ALFA project

CycleØ has three plants already operating in Lleida, Catalonia, and commissioned the first private, grid connection point on the Spanish gas grid in 2024.

FNX, the 100 percent 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.

In addition to investing in its own plants, is helping to raise awareness of the benefits of biogas production to the wider Spanish farming community by participating in the ALFA project.

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, said Jordi Berengué, Managing Director of FNX commenting on the involvement of the company in the ALFA workshop.

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 practices in biogas development in the farming community.

We are delighted to collaborate with CycleØ on the ALFA project. As pioneers in the Spanish biogas sector, we know they have precious knowledge to share with others considering getting started with biogas, so we feel we are working with the right partner, said Carla Sebastiani, Business Developer at Sustainable Innovations and responsible for the Spanish HUB in the ALFA project.