One of Europe's largest biomethane (aka renewable natural gas – RNG) producers and suppliers to the gas grid, NGF Nature Energy A/S (Nature Energy) in Denmark has recently announced that it has entered into a major agreement to sell biomethane to Shell Energy Europe Ltd (SEEL). The long-term agreement is said to be the largest of its kind and demonstrates the important role that biomethane can play in Europe’s transition to a lower-carbon society.
Nature Energy operates 10 biogas plants located throughout Denmark and expects process over 5 million tonnes of organic waste to produce 170 million Nm3 of biogas during 2020. The company is owned by a consortium consisting of Davidson Kempner Capital Management, a global institutional asset management firm, Pioneer Point Partners, a specialised European private equity partnership, and the Danish pension fund, Sampension.
The agreement is a seal of approval of biomethane as a key driver in the energy transition globally. We are proud that a major energy player like Shell is investing in our biomethane, said Ole Hvelplund, CEO of Nature Energy.
Although details of the deal, such as the annual volume of biomethane, the number of years, and the value of the transaction were not disclosed, the agreement is described as “a commercial breakthrough for biomethane” by Nature Energy.
The size of the agreement also gives us more strength to realize new biomethane projects. We have ambitions to build several large-scale biomethane plants in Denmark, North America, and other parts of Europe, and the agreement with Shell is a crucial step for both Nature Energy and the energy transition. In our dialogue with Shell, we have seen how important it is for them to contribute to the energy transition. For this reason, we have no doubt that it is the right thing to come together in pursuit of spreading biomethane across Europe, said Ole Hvelplund.
Shell welcomed the agreement as part of its wider drive to provide more and cleaner energy solutions for society.
Biomethane has an important role to play in the energy transition. This purchase is an important part of our work to provide a range of lower-carbon energy choices for our customers across Europe. We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with Nature Energy through this biomethane supply deal, said Jonathan McCloy, General Manager for gas at Shell Energy Europe.
