Suez is expanding its reach in the Polish renewable-gas sector by acquiring a stake in biogas plant owner Ara Cursus, along with asset manager Eiffel Investment and Bourgogne.
Water and waste management company Suez is acquiring 51% of Ara Cursus, with Eiffel’s Gaz Vert fund, a prior financial partner of Ara Cursus, also acquiring a 24.5% stake. The remaining 24.5% of Ara Cursus will be retained by Alinea Solar France-owned Bourgogne, the former majority owner.
As part of the transaction, Suez, alongside Eiffel, other financial partners and Bourgogne, has committed nearly €70m to construct the first group of biogas plants and develop additional biomethane production facilities.
Ara Cursus, a Polish developer and operator of anaerobic digestion plants, has developed nine agricultural biogas projects in the country, with the support of technology and project partners.
Each project is designed to produce around 1MW of renewable electrical energy, with one project currently in operation. The next group of projects is due to start construction in the current year.
Yves Rannou, EVP and COO of the Suez recycling and recovery business, said the acquisition of the controlling stake in Ara Cursus is a “new step forward in the development of Suez in Poland, in line with our strategy to increase the share of our international business by 2027”.
Rannou added: “It further reinforces the network of biogas and biomethane plants already operated by Suez in France, in the UK and the Czech Republic.”
Marc-Etienne Mercadier, fund manager of Eiffel Gaz Vert, said: “We are thrilled to become a shareholder of the platform that we started to finance three years ago. The combined expertise of Suez, Eiffel and Bourgogne will allow us to position Ara Cursus as a leading actor of the Polish biogas market.
“Poland is a promising market on which Eiffel has been positioned since 2018 and will continue to scale up, especially on the renewable-gas market.”
Jean-Luc Zbirou, president of Bourgogne said: “We have been working with Eiffel Investment Group and Eiffel Gaz Vert since 2021 to prepare the first portfolio of projects for construction and to start the early stage development of a second group of projects for biomethane production.”
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