Naturgy Energy S A : to build its first renewable gas production plant in Andalusia together with Kepler

Naturgy will build its sixth biomethane production plant in Spain and the first in Andalusia in the municipality of Utrera (Seville). This new milestone, driven together with KEPLER Ingeniería and Ecogestión, is a further step in the Energy Group's ambition to play a leading role in the promotion of renewable gases as part of its commitment to energy transition and innovation.

The Utrera project, currently undergoing administrative procedures, will be one of the Group's largest, with an annual production capacity of 40 GWh of biomethane, a high quality renewable gas with qualities comparable to those of natural gas, which could supply more than 10,500 Andalusian homes. The facility is scheduled to start operating in 2025.

This is the first renewable gas project that Naturgy is promoting in Andalusia, the second autonomous community in Spain in terms of biomethane production potential due to the large volume of agricultural and livestock resources that can be treated to obtain biomethane. Specifically, the Utrera plant will be able to recover 68,000 tonnes of waste from agriculture and livestock each year, promoting the circular economy of the region and its transition towards a more sustainable economic model.

The plant will have an advanced anaerobic digestion technology that will allow it to obtain renewable gas more efficiently due to its Hyperthermophilic Biological Pretreatment Unit, which translates into a series of operational advantages such as the possibility of treating fibrous and fatty materials, reducing the time in the digestion process and obtaining biogas with a higher percentage of methane. The renewable gas obtained in the process will be injected into the network of the Naturgy Group gas distributor, Nedgia, for consumption by households and businesses.

Naturgy, leader in renewable gas

Naturgy aims to be the leading company in the promotion of renewable gases in Spain, both in the production and distribution of biomethane in Spain in the short term, and in the development of hydrogen as an energy vector that will have a significant impact on the energy mix in the medium term.

The Group already manages more than 60 biomethane projects in various stages of development. The company has two of its own production plants in operation: one located at the Bens WWTP (A Coruña) and the other in Cerdanyola del Vallès (Barcelona). In the coming months, a third will be added to these, which is currently in the final phase of construction and located at the Porgaporcs livestock farm in Vila-Sana (Lleida), while three more are in the pipeline in Torrefarrera (Lleida), Utiel (Valencia) and Utrera (Seville).
In addition, the Group recently signed an agreement to acquire the entire biomethane production of the Bioenergía Vallés Oriental (BioVO) project, located in the Barcelona municipality of Granollers, as well as the entire production of the first BioLNG project in Spain to promote the decarbonisation of transport.

For its part, Nedgia, Naturgy's gas distributor, already has six biomethane plants in operation injecting into its network infrastructure and an additional portfolio of more than 200 projects at different stages of development that will allow it to incorporate new production of this renewable gas in the short and medium term.

KEPLER Ingeniería y Ecogestión, with office in Seville, is an Environmental and Renewable Energy consultancy with 28 years of experience, of which 23 years in the biogas and environmental recovery sector. The company's portfolio ranges from initial preliminary studies, the evaluation of biogas potential in its own laboratory, project development, turnkey delivery of biomethanisation plants as well as their operation and maintenance and molecular biology analysis. It offers the innovative Hyperthermophilic Biological Pretreatment technology together with its German partner Snow Leopard Projects GmbH.

Commitment to Energy Transition

Naturgy's investments in renewable generation underscore its strategic commitment to finding a balanced solution to the energy trilemma: contributing to economic decarbonisation, ensuring energy security, and providing affordable energy prices for all consumers.
The company is in a favourable position to seize the opportunities presented by renewable gases and drive forward decarbonisation efforts. It is willing to make substantial investments and allocate resources to this business, given the considerable potential Spain holds for its development, with 160 TWh/year, equivalent to 40% of the country's gas demand.

The recent draft of the Spanish National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) has doubled the renewable gas production target to 20 TWh/year by 2030, highlighting its crucial role in the energy transition. Biomethane, as a mature and affordable technology, also contributes to the circular economy through waste optimisation, job creation and the development of rural areas.