BIOGEST and SWEN Capital Partners invest 30 M€ in biomethane projects in Europe and North America

By | 2021-04-21

  • BIOGEST Invest S.A.S: a newly founded biomethane investment company
  • 1st joint biomethane project, a 140 Nm³/h PowerRing® is under construction in France

Paris – Change, April 19th , 2021: BIOGEST Invest is a newly set partnership developed by BIOGEST and SWEN CP. The latter has decided to create the first European fund committed to renewable gas, the SWEN Impact Fund for Transition (“SWIFT”), whose core target is biomethane production assets and associated renewable gases.

BIOGEST Invest, a joint asset management company, is dedicated to investments in renewable gas energy solutions, in which both parties share the capital, and whose purpose is to take advantage of the complementary skills to provide financing to biomethane projects to be built and operated by BIOGEST. The French market is the first to approach with its initial and united project of a 140 Nm³/h PowerRing biomethane plant located in Normandie.

Olivier Aubert, SWEN’s fund manager, declares: “We are very enthusiastic to support the biomethane market in its growth alongside BIOGEST. BIOGEST’s technology, which is one of the best in term of energy efficiency, safeguards the profitability of our sustainable investments, and together with SWEN’s financial know-how, an excellent framework for beneficial expansion was created. The French market is the first location in our broad portfolio and highlights the growth of the biomethane sector in this country where more than a thousand projects are under preparation”.

Martin Schlerka, CEO of BIOGEST, continues: “Our French success stories showcase how our expertise give clients a purpose for their organic waste, create additional revenue and contribute to the greater good of our planet. The first BIOGEST Invest project in France is a unique symbiosis of two leading experts to embrace renewable energy technology. We look forward to further construction starts in our international biomethane projects pipeline with our newly founded joint venture!

As a renewable source of energy, biomethane offers technological, environmental, and economic advantages: energy is generated 24/7, all year round, and therefore plays an important role in reducing carbon emissions and greening the transport sector. In addition to helping achieve climate protection goals, biomethane also leverages farm income and reduces reliance on market price for agricultural goods.

BIOGEST® is a pioneer brand offering full-service biomethane and biogas plant solutions worldwide and is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. After more than 30 years of experience, BIOGEST completed 160+ projects by holding an active key player role in over 20 countries. The tried and tested BIOGEST technology is created to customize green gas projects from strategic planning to co-investment, construction, operation, maintenance, and management of plants. BIOGEST engages in converting organic waste into clean and renewable energy in order to combat the rise in waste production and satisfy the growing energy demand.

SWEN Capital Partners is a key player in responsible investment in unlisted assets in Europe. With *€5,9 billion under management, SWEN Capital Partners offers a wide range of investment programs for institutional and private clients. The management company integrates ESG criteria in all its asset management activities and has been implementing a climate strategy since 2017. In 2019, it reinforced its actions by launching the first impact fund dedicated to renewable gas project investments. SWEN Capital Partners is owned by the OFI Group (mainly Macif, Matmut), Arkea Investment Services (ARKEA Group) and its team.

* Calculated as the amount of total investment.