Global energy titan Shell is set to buy Europe’s largest renewable gas producer Nature Energy Biogas A/S in a deal worth US$2 billion, in a bid to accelerate the major's net-zero goal.
The Denmark-headquartered group operates 14 industrial- scale biomethane plants and an international development pipeline of about 30 plants across Europe and North America.
In a statement, Huibert Vigeveno, Shell’s downstream director, told investors: "Shell’s competitiveness in low carbon fuels derives from capabilities across the value chain, combining a world-class Trading and Supply organisation with access to differentiated technology and production assets.
European production platform
"Nature Energy will add a European production platform and growth pipeline to Shell’s existing RNG projects in the United States."
"We will use this acquisition to build an integrated RNG value chain at global scale, at a time when energy transition policies and customer preferences are signalling strong growth in demand in the years ahead," he added.
Nature Energy is owned by a consortium of institutional investors, including Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP, Pioneer Point Partners and Sampension (collectively, the NGF Partnership).
Jesper Lok, the chair of the board at Nature Energy, added: "Nature Energy has grown into a leading producer of biomethane from organic waste and has pioneered a standardized large-scale commercial production process in Denmark that creates higher on-farm crop yields.
"Under the new ownership of Shell, our team will continue to advance its unique vision of unlocking additional valuable resources from waste materials while offering secure and affordable energy to customers and promoting a circular economy."
Contact the writer at giles@proactiveinvestors.com