Waga Energy, the European leader in the production of biomethane from landfill gas, and Meridiam, an investment fund specializing in public infrastructure finance, obtained a non-recourse loan of 10.4 million euros from BNP Paribas and Banque Populaire Grand Ouest to refinance four WAGABOX® biomethane units located in France. The deal underpins Waga Energy’s ability to rely on financial institutions to deploy its innovative WAGABOX® gas-to-biomethane technology.
Image Credit: Waga Energy
The WAGABOX® units are part of two SPV companies, one of which is jointly owned by Meridiam. These two companies signed a non-recourse credit agreement with the banks for 10.4 million euros to repay the loans previously contracted with Waga Energy and Meridiam. The refinancing of these four WAGABOX® units will strengthen Waga Energy's cash flow and enable further financing of new projects in Europe and North America.
The SPV company jointly owned by Waga Energy and Meridiam hosts three biomethane units, one of which is still under construction. The second SPV company hosts one unit and is 100% owned by Waga Energy. When the final unit is commissioned, the projects will generate a total of 95 GWh of biomethane per year and prevent the emission of the equivalent of 17,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
New Projects in Europe and North America
Waga Energy’s proprietary technology is the result of 10 years of research and development. It makes it possible to upgrade landfill gas into grid compliant biomethane, also known as Renewable Natural Gas. Waga Energy currently operates ten WAGABOX® units in France. Ten more projects are also under construction in France, Spain and Canada. The Group plans to have 100 WAGABOX® units in operation worldwide by the end of 2026, to achieve a production capacity of around 4 TWh per year and avoid the emission of 700,000 tonnes of CO2 per year in the atmosphere.
Marie-Amélie Richel, Administrative & Financial Director of Waga Energy, declares: “The success of this refinancing operation demonstrates the finance community’s confidence in our business model and our technology. Our ability to raise bank debt to reduce the cost of project financing is a major factor in the competitiveness of the biomethane we produce”.
Julien Touati, Partner at Meridiam, declares: “This partnership with Waga Energy, which is entering a new phase with the mobilization of leading long-term banking partners, is a perfect illustration of our desire to bring technological solutions to the service of the energy transition. Fostering circular economy models is at the heart of our mission. We have supported Waga Energy for three years now, and we embrace this pioneering role in the production of biomethane and green gas, a sector in which we are now one of the main investors in France".