In Australia, landfill gas (LFG) project developer and operator LMS Energy Pty Ltd (LMS) has acquired a 50 percent stake in compatriot start-up Helmont Energy Pty Ltd (Helmont). The strategic partnership is aimed at accelerating the country's bioenergy transformation and the investment will accelerate Helmont’s growth and enable a continued focus on developing projects that use agricultural feedstocks to generate renewable energy and abate carbon emissions across the agricultural sector.
According to a statement, with the recent release of the Federal Government’s Bioenergy Roadmap identifying vast opportunities to create bioenergy from agricultural resources and a shared commitment to sustainable energy production from bioenergy resources, this partnership leverages the collective resources and extensive expertise of two leading companies to develop projects across the expanding bioenergy industry.
The investment, the value of which has not been disclosed, provides Helmont with available capital to develop its portfolio of development projects, including energy-from-waste projects using anaerobic digestion (AD) and biomethane grid injection technology.
In the agricultural sector alone, more than 1 000 PJ p.a. of bioenergy resources are available. This represents more than 4 times the amount of bioenergy currently produced in Australia and the opportunities to turn this into renewable energy and contribute to the circular economy are only just emerging, said Helmont’s Managing Director, Mark Jonker.
Since its establishment in 2020, Helmont has been a key influencer in shaping this industry, including new policy that will support bioenergy that can decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors of the Australian economy.
By converting millions of tonnes of organic agricultural waste generated each year into renewable energy, Helmont is able to reduce carbon emissions from the agricultural sector while creating value for farmers and agri-food businesses, which supports long-term regional development.
This new partnership with LMS provides us with the opportunity to leverage their position as a leading bioenergy provider and Australia’s largest carbon abatement company to grow our business in build, own, and operate projects in the agriculture sector and explore carbon abatement projects in the heavy transport, gas, and mining sectors, Mark Jonker said.
LMS’ General Manager, Matthew Falzon, said that “the investment in Helmont recognized the emerging opportunities presented by agricultural feedstocks, enabling LMS to expand its leadership in the bioenergy market and promote our commitment to a circular economy.”
LMS has four decades of experience in bioenergy, owning and operating 50+ biogas facilities across Australia. Our decision to invest in Helmont evolved from a shared commitment to bioenergy innovation and carbon abatement, with both companies seeking to utilize organic resources to
reduce emissions and power the circular economy. The LMS Team is thrilled with this investment, which will provide improved value to new and existing customers for both companies through our complementary capabilities, Mattew Falzon said.
The partnership enables the companies to deliver on their long-term commitment to decarbonising the Australian economy and making a material contribution to Australia’s journey to net-zero by 2050.
