EQTEC PLC (AIM:EQT) said it expects to begin initial front-end engineering design work, or pre-FEED, for a French waste-to-renewable natural gas (RNG) project in the coming weeks after completing a technical and commercial feasibility study.
The feasibility study of the Biogaz Gardanne project, for which the company was awarded €1 million in March, has concluded that to generate sustainable production of RNG and a healthy return on investment, the site would ideally process around 80,000 tonnes per year of Grade B industrial waste wood, using EQTEC’s syngas technology and VESTA methanation technology from John Wood Group PLC, an existing partner.
Along with local development consultants S3D Ingénierie, the AIM-listed company said it presented these recommendations last week to the French government, including the cabinet of the minister for energy transition and the General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI), and receiving assurances of its “strong place” on the energy transition agenda for the region.
Following the meeting, the group said it filed a request to secure a feed-in tariff for RNG to be injected into the GRTgaz natural gas transmission network, and has begun discussions with a number of French utilities for potential project funding.
EQTEC, which will bill roughly €250,000 for engineering services for the pre-FEED work, then anticipates that it will lead the full FEED work that it calculates should be worth at least another €750,000 in fees, most of which will be charged in the first half of next year.
David Le Saint, managing director of EQTEC France, said “momentum is growing for the project in terms of solution development, political support and investment attractiveness”.
As well as French government support, he said the project is also “gaining traction” with private-sector investors looking to invest in clean energy infrastructure that fits well with the direction of French policy.
Le Saint added that the RNG tariffs for France are due to be announced soon and he is “confident we will secure a tariff, along with critical permits that move us closer to making Biogaz Gardanne a reality".