Ence acquires first biomethane plant for undisclosed price

ence energiaycelulosaCM

Renta 4 | Ence has closed the acquisition of a biomethane generation plant in the town of La Galera (Tarragona), with a capacity to produce up to 50 GWh of biomethane per year, with its corresponding sustainability certificates. It has also signed a 15-year agreement with a gas trading company for the sale of the biomethane produced by the plant.

As part of its business plan, Ence Biogas plans to produce compost and manufacture a high-quality organic fertiliser, as well as to increase the rate of biomethane production from the current 30 GWh to the planned 50 GWh.

The acquisition price has not been disclosed, but taking into account the production targets, the signed 15-year EPS and the expected capex for the next two years, a ROCE of more than 12% is expected, in line with the Company’s objectives.

Assessment: Very positive news on a qualitative level, which represents the first step of the Company in the biomethane business, where it expects to reach a production of 1,000 GWh in 2030, for which it already has a portfolio of 28 projects, 14 of them in environmental processing and another 14 in development that already have a location and feasibility study completed.

We recall that the latest update of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) foresees reaching an annual biogas production of 20,000 GWh in 2030, while, according to a report by the European Biogas Association (EBA), total biomethane production in 2023 is estimated at 252 GWh, a far cry from the +3,392 GWh produced in Italy or +2,164 GWh in France.

It is difficult to make a quantitative assessment as no figures have been published on the acquisition price or on the biomethane sale agreement, so we do not expect any significant impact on the share price.

We reiterate our recommendation to OVERWEIGHT and P.O. €4.30/share.

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