Waga Energy will move to an 80,000 square foot building in Eybens, in the Greater Grenoble, France area. Waga Energy’s ambition is to position the site as an international center for excellence in cryogenic technology and the production of renewable natural gas (RNG) and other renewable gases. Waga Energy (EPA: WAGA), a specialist in the production of renewable natural gas (RNG) from landfill gas, announced that it acquired a three-story building in Eybens, south of Grenoble, France, in November. The company will move its headquarters and all Grenoble-area employees to the new location in February 2023.
Waga Energy’s headcount has grown by 75 since its October 2021 IPO. Around 60 of the new hires are in the Greater Grenoble area, where the company is headquartered. Waga Energy now employs 150 people worldwide, with around 120 in France. Since 2020, it has been headquartered in a 900 sq. m (9,000 sq. ft.) building in the Inovallée technology park in Meylan, just west of Grenoble.
The new building offers 5,300 sq. m (53,000 sq. ft.) of office space, some of which will be leased initially, and 2,700 sq. m (27,000 sq. ft.) of warehouse space for the company’s spare parts inventory—making it ten times larger than Waga Energy’s Meylan headquarters. The new building sits on a 10,000 sq. m (100,000 sq. ft.) lot with ample room to store large equipment before it is transported to landfills for installation.
The project (purchase price plus renovation costs) represents an investment of €10 million. Waga Energy is financing the project with bank loans of €8 million from French banks BNP Paribas, Banque Populaire Auvergne Rhône Alpes, Crédit Agricole Sud Rhône Alpes, and Caisse d’Épargne Rhône-Alpes. The building was formerly occupied by Hewlett-Packard. “The new building will provide us with much-needed space to move toward our target of building 100 RNG production units worldwide by 2026 to put a significant dent in global greenhouse gas emissions. It is also a strong anchor for us in Grenoble’s world-renowned innovation ecosystem, home to unique know-how in cryogenic technology and renewable gas,” said Nicolas Paget, Chief Operating Officer, Waga Energy.