Épopée Gestion, Urbeez and EnerVivo announce the signing of a strategic partnership dedicated to anaerobic digestion and biomethane in France. The three partners are combining their expertise to accelerate the conversion of existing cogeneration units to biomethane injection and to develop new units. A first investment has already been committed to the Méthanisation Dessous Machecot unit, located in Charente.
This partnership brings together three complementary areas of expertise: Épopée Gestion, a regional investor specialising in particular in low-carbon infrastructure; Urbeez, a developer and operator of anaerobic digestion projects; and EnerVivo, which contributes its technical expertise and its engineering consultancy specialising in anaerobic digestion.
The partners will roll out two complementary strategies:
- The acquisition, modernisation and development of existing anaerobic digestion units, particularly cogeneration units that can be converted to biomethane injection. Injected biomethane avoids around 80% of greenhouse gas emissions compared with fossil natural gas.
- The development of new anaerobic digestion units with biomethane injection.
The partners’ shared ambition is to gradually build a portfolio of high-performing, long-lasting assets deeply rooted in agricultural regions, thereby strengthening France’s energy sovereignty by fostering local renewable gas production.
A first investment in Méthanisation Dessous Machecot
The first investment of the partnership will be in the Méthanisation Dessous Machecot unit, located in La Chapelle, Charente. With a capacity of 25 GWh per year, it will be converted, with commissioning scheduled for autumn 2027.
This first transaction illustrates the so-called “brownfield” strategy, which consists of building on existing units with solid fundamentals in order to modernise them, improve their performance and, where relevant, support their transition to producing biomethane injected into the French gas grid.
It will be followed, over the next twelve months, by several further investments in projects at an advanced stage of development, thus making it possible to quickly build an initial portfolio of anaerobic digestion units.
Complementary expertise across the entire value chain
Épopée Gestion provides, through the funds of its Infrastructure and Climate vertical, the investment capacity needed to finance and develop the portfolio, with a long-term support approach aimed at driving the decarbonisation of the economy.
Urbeez, with a strong presence in Western France, contributes its experience as a developer and operator of anaerobic digestion projects. Its role covers in particular deal origination, project development, relationships with local and agricultural stakeholders, and plant operations.
EnerVivo contributes its engineering consultancy, its technical expertise and more than twenty years of experience in anaerobic digestion, notably through Sylvain Frédéric, Chairman and co-founder of EnerVivo and co-founder of Naskeo Environnement (now the Kéon group) in 2005. EnerVivo handles the technical analysis of assets, feasibility studies, and the sizing and optimisation of units.
The partnership thus covers the entire project life cycle: origination, development, engineering, financing and operations.
Supporting a new stage in the French anaerobic digestion market
A large share of France’s anaerobic digestion fleet has historically been developed around combined heat and power (cogeneration). Some of these units are now entering a new phase: equipment renewal, biological optimisation, changes in feedstock, capacity increases or a shift in how the energy is used.
The aim is to support this transformation, particularly where switching from cogeneration to biomethane injection is technically and economically relevant. With injection, more than 95% of the biogas energy is recovered, compared with around 40% electrical efficiency for a cogeneration engine.
At the same time, new biomethane units with strong agricultural and regional roots will be developed. Anaerobic digestion is indeed an infrastructure at the crossroads of several challenges: local renewable energy production, gas decarbonisation, recovery of organic matter, soil fertilisation and diversification of farm income.
Stéphane Touche, Chairman and co-founder of Urbeez, said: “This partnership gives us the means to accelerate a strategy we have been developing for several years: identifying good projects, developing new units and supporting the long-term operation of existing facilities. The complementarity between Urbeez, Épopée Gestion and EnerVivo brings together the operational, technical and financial skills needed to develop robust and sustainable projects.”
Bastien Rocheteau, Investment Director, Infrastructure at Épopée Gestion, commented: “Deploying biomethane injection units is a particularly relevant solution for accelerating the decarbonisation of our energy mix. By modernising units already rooted in their regions, we are contributing both to France’s energy sovereignty and to generating additional income for our partner farms. Our ambition is to gradually build a portfolio of high-performing, long-lasting assets.”
Sylvain Frédéric, Chairman and co-founder of EnerVivo, added: “After more than twenty years in anaerobic digestion, we are seeing a new phase of market development. Part of the existing fleet needs to be modernised and sometimes transformed, alongside the development of new biomethane units. With this partnership, we are bringing together complementary skills to analyse, develop, finance and operate these projects over the long term.”