Séché Environnement, an international player in the circular economy and environmental services, and Waga Energy, a global expert in the production of Renewable Natural Gas from landfills, have started up a Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) production unit at the Opal Environnement site, a subsidiary of the Séché Environnement group, in Sainte-Marie-Kerque (Northwestern France). Using the innovative WAGABOX® technology, developed and patented by Waga Energy, the plant recovers the gas spontaneously emitted by landfilled waste in the form of RNG, a renewable substitute for fossil-based natural gas. Its renewable gas production is injected directly into the local gas grid to supply homes and businesses.
The WAGABOX® unit at Sainte-Marie-Kerque can process 500 scfm (800 m3/h), and produce up to 120,000 MMBtu (35 GWh) of RNG per year, depending on the concentration of methane in the raw gas. At its maximum capacity, it can supply around 5,500 households and avoid the emission of 5,800 tons of CO2 equivalent per year into the atmosphere, through the substitution of fossil-based natural gas in the grid.
The gas emitted at the Sainte-Marie-Kerque landfill was previously upgraded by a power engine. The WAGABOX® unit will significantly increase the landfill energy production, providing energy that will help to decarbonize sectors such as transport and industry – still totally dependent on fossil fuels.
Maxime Séché, Chief Executive Officer of Séché Environnement, said: “This RNG production plant illustrates the Séché Environnement group’s commitment to circular economy and ecological transition of territories and industries. It is part of the group’s decarbonization strategy presented in February 2022, and its ambition to curb its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030.”
Mathieu Lefebvre, Chief Executive Officer of Waga Energy, said: “Thanks to the WAGABOX® technology, the Sainte-Marie-Kerque landfill has become a RNG producer, and now supplies the local community with low-carbon energy. We are delighted about – and proud of – this first collaboration with the Séché Environnement group, a long-standing and recognized player in waste management, strongly committed to fighting global warming and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”