Snam acquired 70% of IES Biogas

6 July 2018

The acquisition will enable Snam to develop biomethane plants, leveraging IES Biogas’ managerial expertise, and to promote the use of biomethane in the transport sector.

Snam announced that through its subsidiary Snam4Mobility and for a value of approximately 4 million euro it has acquired 70% of IES Biogas, which is one of the leading Italian companies in the design, construction and management of biogas and biomethane production plants with a market share of more than 10%.

The acquisition will enable Snam to develop biomethane plants, leveraging IES Biogas’ managerial expertise, and to promote the use of biomethane in the transport sector.

Snam CEO Marco Alverà commented: "This acquisition is our first initiative in renewable energy and confirms our commitment to becoming a leader in the energy transition process. Biomethane and other forms of renewable gas will make an essential contribution to reducing carbon dioxide in Italy and not only Italy. In Italy there is huge potential for the development of a biomethane supply chain which will benefit the environment, consumers, agriculture and sustainable mobility. Biomethane-powered cars, buses, trucks and ships will guarantee performance, savings and protection of the environment.”

Founded in Pordenone in 2008 and with a turnover in 2017 of over 20 million euro, IES Biogas has built more than 200 plants throughout Italy. In recent years the company has also worked on projects outside Italy.

Snam4Mobility is the company through which Snam has been developing infrastructure for refuelling compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) engines. The growing interest of the market for sustainable mobility powered by methane and biomethane shows that there is great potential for alternative uses of gas.

Biomethane is a renewable energy source derived from a process of purification of biogas, which is obtained from the exploitation of products and by-products of the agricultural and agro-industrial chain and from the organic part of urban waste. Biomethane can be fed into the natural gas transport infrastructure.

A study carried out by Ecofys for the European Gas for Climate consortium (which includes Snam and eight other companies and associations) estimated that the production and use of biomethane and other renewable gases in existing infrastructure would enable Europe to meet the climate targets of the Paris Agreement, saving around 140 billion euro per year by 2050.