Axpo enters Polish biogas market with acquisition of first asset

22.10.24 - In its first investment in Poland, Axpo has acquired a plant in Western Pomerania which produces green energy mainly from agricultural waste, it was announced today. The company plans to develop further biogas projects in the country over the coming years, making Poland one of five European countries in which Axpo has entered the biogas market.

In October this year, Axpo purchased a biogas plant from private shareholders. In the upcoming months Axpo will renovate the facility and bring it up to its standards. The facility has been in operation since the end of 2020 and is located in the village of Stare Ślepce in the province of Western Pomerania. It processes approximately 20,000 tonnes of agricultural substrates annually, consisting mostly of agricultural waste. Without a plant’s anaerobic digestion process, waste would emit large amounts of methane and CO2 into the atmosphere. The biogas facility produces 6,640 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity a year, as well as organic fertiliser (so-called ‘digestate’) which has a zero-carbon footprint. The electricity generated is fed into the grid as part of Axpo's green energy portfolio. The digestate is used by farmers in the region to fertilise their land.

More projects in the pipeline

The Stare Ślepce plant is the first such facility to be owned by Axpo in Poland. The company plans further growth in the country, including the development of biogas projects. These activities are part of Axpo Group's broader strategy of supplying green gas to European markets.

Axpo Group Head of Biogas International Véronique Abrate said: “Renewable gas is key to the decarbonisation of the agricultural sector and the energy transition, so we are looking forward to developing biogas projects in Poland as well. This is an interesting emerging market to which we have much to offer.”

Axpo Polska Managing Director Grzegorz Biliński added: “So far, we have been expanding in the Polish market by trading and selling power and gas to business customers. Having our own biogas assets is a major milestone for us and also helps diversify our energy portfolio. Poland represents a large share of the European agricultural sector, making it an attractive market for developing projects using agricultural waste for the production of energy. It is also a sector that really does need to implement decarbonisation solutions.”

Extensive expertise in the biogas sector

Axpo has extensive experience in operating biomass and biogas facilities. In Switzerland, it is an industry leader in the dry fermentation of organic waste, with 15 biogas plants producing renewable energy and nutrient-rich natural fertilisers. 

Elsewhere in Europe, Axpo is also pioneering the development of biogas facilities. In Spain, for example, the Torre Santamaría dairy farm uses the manure of its livestock to produce biomethane. The plant currently injects 26 gigawatt hours (GWh) of biomethane into the gas grid every year and in future will more than quadruple its annual biomethane production to 115 GWh. 

This year, Axpo also expanded into the Portuguese and Italian markets. In April, the company launched a 15 GWh biomethane project in Portugal, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2025. In September, Axpo announced the start of construction of its first biomethane plant in Italy which is expected to produce around 45 GWh of renewable energy a year and will also commence operations by the end of 2025.