The facility, located in the PreZero Spain Controlled Waste Repository in Els Hostalets de Pierola, was inaugurated today by Regional Minister for Climate Action, Food and the Rural Agenda, David Mascort, along with authorities and business representatives.
- A pioneering initiative in Spain as it is the largest biomethane injection project using biogas generated from water from a controlled waste repository and is the first financed by a long-term private power purchase agreement (BPA).
- Thanks to the WAGABOX® technology patented by Waga Energy, 70 GWh of renewable gas will be injected annually into Nedgia’s grid, equivalent to the consumption of 14,000 households or 200 buses.
- The initiative, which is disruptive in the renewable energy industry, has obtained a grant of €2.4 million from the European Union through funds allocated for the development of innovative technologies to reduce carbon footprint.
This morning David Mascort, Regional Minister for Climate Action, Food and the Rural Agenda, inaugurated the Can Mata Biomethane Production Plant, Spain’s largest project for transforming biogas generated by waste degradation in a controlled waste repository into biomethane, a renewable energy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The initiative is promoted by PreZero Spain, one of the main environmental sector companies specialising in the provision of urban services and the development of the circular economy, and Waga Energy, leader in biomethane production using biogas from a controlled waste repository. Nedgia, the Naturgy group gas distributor, will inject biomethane through its grid with a 6-kilometre pipeline constructed as part of the project.
The inauguration was chaired by Regional Minister for Climate Action, Food and the Rural Agenda, David Mascort, accompanied by other public authority figures and representatives of the business world, including Gerard Parcerises, Mayor of Pierola; Isaac Peraire, Managing Director of the Catalan Waste Agency; Assumpta Farran, Director General of Energy for the Regional Government of Catalonia; Josep Pena, Director of Territorial Services in Barcelona, David Alquézar, Catalan Government Delegate in the Penedès region; Gonzalo Cañete, CEO of PreZero Spain & Portugal; Mathieu Lefebvre, CEO of Waga Energy; Raúl Suarez, CEO of Nedgia; Roman Doubrava, Head of Unit, Innovation Fund in European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) of the European Commission.
Regional Minister for Climate Action, David Mascort, emphasised that “This plant we are inaugurating today is a pioneering one in Catalonia. It is the only plant in the [Spanish] State that can produce biomethane from biogas generated by aerobic decomposition. An initiative with which we are responding to diverse major challenges facing our country: the energy transition, progressing towards a circular economy, the rural agenda to favour activity in the primary sector, and reducing emissions. We congratulate PREZERO and WAGA ENERGY because their business commitment has vital implications for the climate.”
“It is an international benchmark in the production of biomethane from waste. First, for the management exercised over decades by the controlled waste repository, which is an example at European level in the gasification of this type of facility and now has enabled us to generate renewable energy on a large scale. This project also shows the road to making ambitious biomethane production initiatives a tangible reality and is a mirror for all the environmental sector due to the collaboration between companies representing the entire value chain, uniting the strengths that each of us can contribute,” said Gonzalo Cañete, CEO of PreZero in Spain and Portugal.
“We are delighted with the success of this project developed in collaboration with PreZero and Nedgia, and the support of the European Commission, as well as with its contribution to the energy transition. The Can Mata Controlled Waste Repository is the first in Spain to benefit from this innovative technology already applied in controlled waste repositories in France and Canada, and soon in the United States too” added Waga Energy CEO Mathieu Lefebvre.
According to Nedgia CEO Raúl Suárez “this pioneering project puts gas networks and biomethane at the centre of the energy transition, to make it economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. Moreover, as it is a key local project, we can produce Km 0 gas, reducing imports and dependence on third countries”.
The facility, located at the Can Mata Controlled Waste Repository (Els Hostalets de Pierola, Barcelona) is the first capable of producing 70 GWh of biomethane per year from the recovery of gas emitted by solid waste in Spain, equivalent to the energy consumption of 14,000 households or fuel for 200 buses. All that while making a big contribution to decarbonising the planet by avoiding the emission of 17,000 tonnes of CO2 per year by replacing the consumption of fossil natural gas with this renewable energy. The biomethane produced by this unit is ‘ISCC EU’ certified, guaranteeing that it meets the sustainability and greenhouse gas reduction criteria set out by the European Renewable Energy Directive.
“We are very happy that Els Hostalets de Pierola is at the forefront of avant-garde and innovation, it is an important step forward for the municipality and the area. It is a pioneering facility in the whole State and a strategic commitment to our town, as a driving force for the circular economy, energy transition and regeneration. Wagabox is a complement, a technology that improves efficiency and environmental respect for this Controlled Waste Repository. We should see a reduction in emissions in the immediate environment” explained Gerard Parcerisas, Mayor of Hostalets de Pierola.
The construction and maintenance of the unit is financed by selling biomethane to a private operator through a long-term power purchase agreement. This is the first large-scale biomethane injection project from controlled waste repository gas to be financed using this model in Europe. The plant, which is disruptive in the renewable energy industry, has obtained a grant of €2.4 million from the European Union through the Innovation Fund Small Scale programme for the development of innovative technologies to reduce the carbon footprint.
As explained by Roman Doubrava, Head of the CINEA Innovation Fund, attached to the European Commission “At CINEA, we are pleased to support the Waga4World (W4W) project, one of the Innovation Fund’s pioneering projects which has successfully begun operations. The aim of this project is to replace fossil natural gas for biomethane, achieving a reduction of 17,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, an amount similar to the annual emissions of approximately 10,000 petrol-run cars. By backing W4W, the Commission is placing European innovative technology and small and medium-sized enterprises at the forefront of the European Green Deal transition and helping to contribute to its ambitious biomethane production target”.
Can Mata Controlled Waste Repository, Barcelona
The Can Mata controlled waste repository is one of the largest in Spain with an area of 78 hectares, equivalent to over 70 football pitches. PreZero Spain has operated this facility, which treats urban and industrial waste from Barcelona and its surrounding area, for over 30 years. During those three decades, it has handled over 22 million tonnes of waste. The waste stored at Can Mata produces almost 40 million cubic metres of biogas per year, of which,until now, only 50% was reused to produce thermal power for the facility and electricity and thermal power for manufacturing construction materials. Thanks to this new technology, the controlled waste repository will recover 100% of the biogas.
Cutting-edge technology focused on adding value to controlled waste repository biogas
WAGABOX® technology is the result of 15 years of research and the most efficient and only technology dedicated to the production of biomethane using biogas from a controlled waste repository. This innovative system combines membrane filtration and cryogenic distillation to separate methane, an energy gas, from the other gases emitted by waste (oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds). It guarantees energy efficiency superior to solutions based on electricity production, and optimal resource recovery, with no operational constraints for operators of controlled waste repositories. In the past 6 years, 18 units have been commissioned in France, Canada and Spain. Sixteen more are under construction in France, Canada and the United States.
About PreZero Spain and Portugal
With over 16,000 employees, the company provides urban services (waste collection, street cleaning and green area management) to around 12 million people in more than 980 municipalities, and develops circular economy solutions for waste treatment and recycling at the 127 facilities it operates. The company is part of PreZero International which, with around 30,000 employees in 11 countries, belongs to the Schwarz Group, including Lidl and Kaufland, which are among the leading food retailers in Europe.
About Waga Energy
Waga Energy (EPA: WAGA) is an international renewable energy company that produces biomethane at a competitive price by adding value to controlled waste repository gas using WAGABOX® technology. Waga Energy finances, builds and operates its WAGABOX® units under long-term agreements with operators of controlled waste repositories to extract gas, which it injects into the distribution network that is supplied to homes and businesses, replacing fossil natural gas and generating revenue from reselling the biomethane. Waga Energy operates 18 WAGABOX® units in Europe, representing an installed capacity of 665 GWh/year, and has 16 other ongoing projects in France, Spain, Canada and the United States. Waga Energy has had a presence in Spain since 2020 and is based in Barcelona. Each project developed by Waga Energy contributes to combating climate change and achieving the energy transition. Waga Energy is a listed company on Euronext Paris as of 27 October 2021.
About Nedgia
The Naturgy group gas distributor is the sector’s leading company in Spain, where it operates in 11 autonomous regions and 1,150 municipalities. It has over 5.4 million supply points, representing 70% of consumers. Its main assets are its 57,000 kilometres of networks that enable safe and efficient supply of natural gas and renewable gas (biomethane), as well as hydrogen going forward. Innovation, proximity and customer service are part of its raison d’être, and define its activity.
