Séché Environnement and Waga Energy start up a RNG production unit in North of France

Séché Environnement and Waga Energy
start up a RNG production unit in North of France

Séché Environnement, an international player in the circular economy and environmental services, and Waga Energy (EPA: WAGA), a global expert in the production of Renewable Natural Gas from landfills, have started up a Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) production unit at the Opal Environnement site, a subsidiary of the Séché Environnement group, in Sainte-Marie-Kerque (Northwestern France). Using the innovative WAGABOX® technology, developed and patented by Waga Energy, the plant recovers the gas spontaneously emitted by landfilled waste in the form of RNG, a renewable substitute for fossil-based natural gas. Its renewable gas production is injected directly into the local gas grid to supply homes and businesses.

The WAGABOX® unit at Sainte-Marie-Kerque can process 500 scfm (800 m3/h), and produce up to 120,000 MMBtu (35 GWh) of RNG per year, depending on the concentration of methane in the raw gas. At its maximum capacity, it can supply around 5,500 households and avoid the emission of 5,800 tons of CO2 equivalent per year into the atmosphere, through the substitution of fossil-based natural gas in the grid[1].

The gas emitted at the Sainte-Marie-Kerque landfill was previously upgraded by a power engine. The WAGABOX® unit will significantly increase the landfill energy production, providing energy that will help to decarbonize sectors such as transport and industry – still totally dependent on fossil fuels.

Maxime Séché, Chief Executive Officer of Séché Environnement, said: "This RNG production plant illustrates the Séché Environnement group’s commitment to circular economy and ecological transition of territories and industries. It is part of the group’s decarbonization strategy presented in February 2022, and its ambition to curb its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030."

Mathieu Lefebvre, Chief Executive Officer of Waga Energy, said: "Thanks to the WAGABOX® technology, the Sainte-Marie-Kerque landfill has become a RNG producer, and now supplies the local community with low-carbon energy. We are delighted about – and proud of – this first collaboration with the Séché Environnement group, a long-standing and recognized player in waste management, strongly committed to fighting global warming and reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

About Séché Environnement

Séché Environnement is a leading player in waste management, including the most complex and hazardous waste, and in environmental services, particularly in the event of an environmental emergency. Thanks to its expertise in creating circular economies, decarbonization, and hazard management, the group has been contributing to the ecological transition of industries and territories and to the protection of living things for nearly 40 years. Séché Environnement, a French family-owned industrial group, deploys the cutting-edge technologies developed by its R&D department on the ground, in more than 120 sites in 15 countries, including some fifty industrial sites in France. With over 5,700 employees, including 2,500 in France, Séché Environnement generated revenue of nearly €900 million in 2022, 30% of which from its international operations.

Séché Environnement has been listed on the Euronext Eurolist (Compartment B) since November 27, 1997. It is included in the CAC Mid&Small and EnterNext Tech 40 indexes. ISIN Code: FR 0000039139 - Bloomberg: SCHP.FP - Reuters: CCHE.PA.

About Waga Energy

Waga Energy (EPA: WAGA) produces competitively priced Renewable Natural Gas by upgrading landfill gas using a patented purification technology called WAGABOX®. The RNG produced is injected directly into the gas distribution networks that supply individuals and businesses, providing a substitute for natural gas. Waga Energy finances, builds, and operates its WAGABOX® units under long-term contracts with landfill operators for the supply of raw gas, and generates income by selling the RNG it produces. Waga Energy owns and operates eighteen WAGABOX® units in France, Spain, and Canada, representing an installed capacity of 2,300,000 MMBtu (675 GWh/y). Sixteen units are under construction in France, Canada, and the US. Each project initiated by Waga Energy contributes to the fight against global warming and helps the energy transition.

CONTACTS:

[1] Estimate based on comparative emission factors for natural gas and Renewable Natural Gas in France, as determined by French energy agency ADEME's carbon database, and factoring in direct and indirect emissions