EnviTec Biogas begins 2-biomethane projects in France

German biogas technology company EnviTec Biogas AG is expanding its biomethane footprint in France with two projects for long-standing customers—converting the existing Biowatt plant in Brittany to biomethane production and developing the new Valoverte biomethane facility in south-west France.

The projects highlight the growing use of agricultural and food-industry residues to produce renewable gas while returning digestate to farming as a fertiliser.

Biowatt plant to transition to biomethane

EnviTec’s relationship with Biowatt dates back to 2007, when the companies partnered to develop the biogas facility in Rohan, Brittany. Commissioned in 2010, the plant initially operated on pig slurry, agricultural residues and fats with an electrical capacity of 526 kW.

The facility was subsequently expanded and upgraded with additional agricultural and agri-food residues, pasteurisation, increased digestate storage and higher power generation capacity, which reached 889 kW.

Following an agreement signed in 2025, EnviTec is now converting the facility to biomethane production. An EnviThan gas upgrading unit with a capacity of 250 Nm³/h is being manufactured at EnviTec’s Saerbeck site, with delivery and commissioning scheduled for the end of 2026.

The conversion also includes replacing mixers, converting an existing residue storage tank into an additional digester, renewing the digester roof and installing a biogas boiler.

Once operational, the biomethane will be injected into the NaTran gas network and transported through a dedicated 13-km shared network to Loudéac. There, the renewable gas will support heat supply in the local tertiary sector. Digestate will continue to be used as fertiliser in regional agriculture.

New Valoverte plant to produce 25 GWh annually

The second project, Valoverte, is being developed for recycling company Cler Verts and represents the companies’ second collaboration. Their first facility, Cler ENR, was commissioned in 2015.

The new plant will feature an EnviThan upgrading system with a biomethane capacity of 280 Nm³/h, equivalent to approximately 25 GWh of biomethane annually.

Construction work is underway, with tank installation planned for September 2026. The plant will process agricultural residues and food-industry by-products. Substrates will undergo depackaging and hygienisation at a separate facility before being delivered to the plant.

Biomethane production is expected to begin in July 2027, with the renewable gas planned for injection into the GRDF network and use in local heat generation.

EnviTec said France remains a strategic market. Since entering the country in 2007, the company has completed 48 biogas plant projects, strengthening its position in France’s expanding renewable gas sector.