Total acquires Fonroche Biogaz

The Group has become the European leader of renewable gas and strengthens its presence in the renewable energy sector at local level.

• Fonroche Biogaz builds and operates methanization units.
• A new project called BIOBEARN is about to get off the ground in the Lacq basin, and work is due to start this year.
• Fonroche has become one of a dozen other affiliates and activities of Total in southwest France.

In the context of the energy transition, renewable gas, produced from the fermentation of plant or animal organic matter (agricultural waste, etc.) has become a powerful alternative to fossil natural gas.

Fonroche Biogaz (85 employees), a start-up in renewable energies created by the Agen-based group Fonroche in 2011, has been bought out by the Total group. It has an installed capacity of 500 GW, i.e. a portfolio of seven units in operation and four projects in development, including BIOBEARN, due to be brought into service in mid-2022 on the Lacq basin. The new Bearnese methanization plant will rely on 90 providers (manure, abattoirs, cereal waste, muds, and greases, etc.) within a 40-km radius. It will produce the equivalent of the annual consumption of 18,000 inhabitants! A biogas purification unit will extract the methane, which will then be injected into the gas network of the local company Téréga. A circular economy project for the region!

Total’s objective? To produce 1.5 Twh of biomethane a year by 2025

This operation sets Total as leader in renewable gas in France and Europe. “This acquisition is in line with our strategy and our climate ambition, which is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” explains Philippe Sauquet, President Gas, Renewables & Power, Total. “In 2020, we expressed our determination to take part in the development of the renewable gas sector, and Fonroche Biogaz will be the cornerstone of our presence in this market.” The President and founder of the Fonroche group, Yann Maus, is delighted that the Fonroche Biogaz affiliate is being taken over by Total: “Our integrated economic model associated with Total’s international network suggest promising and sustainable prospects for the years to come.”

Southwest France, in a good position on the renewable energy market

Fonroche Biogaz strengthens Total’s renewable energy development strategy and joins the ranks of the different affiliates and activities already present in southwest France: Total Quadran, a reference in renewable power generation, Saft, the leading battery manufacturer, and Greenflex, which supports businesses in their environmental and societal transitions.