Methanization in France began to develop in the 2000s and has experienced significant growth in recent years.

The majority of sites (especially agricultural) were previously built with a cogeneration system, to produce electricity from biowaste. Today, the injection model (production of green gas) offers a very interesting opportunity for new projects and is gradually catching up with the number of cogeneration sites in France.

The development of methanization varies greatly from one region or department to another. This can be explained by several factors:

• The availability of biomass resources and the type of inputs available,
• Local policies,
• Government incentives (including financial aid for very expensive projects),
• Support from local communities…

The map created by Methappro below references almost all the methanization sites in metropolitan France (including some planned sites). The yellow markers represent injection sites and the blue markers represent cogeneration sites.

The differences in development between the regions are quite easy to distinguish. The number of sites is generally much higher in the northern half of the country. If we were to draw a line above Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, around 75 to 80% of the sites would be located above this border.

Historically, Alsace is a pioneering region of methanization in France. This is simply explained by its proximity to Germany, which is one of the most avant-garde countries in this method. The Grand Est is still today the region with the most methanization sites in France.

There are also different recovery models depending on the area. Brittany, for example, has a majority of sites that operate using cogeneration. One reason for this is historical: the sites began to develop before having real access to the injection solution. A second reason concerns the type of agriculture that predominates in the region; many farmer-methanizers are in fact livestock farmers, who are primarily looking for a solution to improve the circularity of their operations and in particular their slurry/manure production – a challenge to which cogeneration already responds very well.

The South-East is the least developed region in terms of the number of existing sites. The nature of agricultural activities there is in fact less favourable: it is more in the order of fruit farming than large cereal crops or livestock farming.

Including existing sites and planned sites, the two regions of France with the most injection sites are Hauts-de-France and Grand Est.

The Grand Est also largely dominates the number of existing cogeneration sites, followed further away by Brittany, Normandy and Pays de la Loire.

Future articles on our blog will follow with analyses focused on each major area of ​​France.

Industrialists, there are more than 1500 active methanizers in France with which we are in contact and can consider a collaboration on the management of your waste. Methappro is present in all regions of France and offers you a tailor-made solution to radically reduce your costs while managing logistics.

For more information, contact us: louis@methappro.fr