Snam subsidiary Snam4Mobility has acquired a 70 percent stake in leading Italian biogas and biomethane company IES Biogas for approximately 4 million euros, Snam said Thursday in a statement.
The deal will enable Snam to develop biomethane plants, leveraging IES Biogas' expertise and to expand biomethane use in the transport sector, where there is a growing market for sustainable mobility powered by biofuels, the company said.
"This acquisition is our first initiative in renewable energy and confirms our commitment to becoming a leader in the energy transition process," said Snam CEO Marco Alvera.
"Biomethane and other forms of renewable gas will make an essential contribution to reducing carbon dioxide in Italy and not only Italy," Alvera said.
He said Italy had "huge potential" to develop biomethane - a renewable energy source derived from purified biogas obtained from agriculture, agro-industry and organic urban waste, and which can be fed into the natural gas transport infrastructure.
"This 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,” Alvera stated.
The production and use of biomethane and other renewable gases in existing infrastructure would allow Europe to meet the targets of the landmark 2016 Paris Agreement to fight climate change, saving around 140 billion euros per year by 2050, Snam said, citing the findings of an Ecofys study carried out by the European Gas for Climate consortium (made up of Snam and eight other companies and associations).
IES Biogas is a leader in the design, construction and management of biogas and biomethane production plants, with a market share of over 10 percent and a turnover of 20 million euros last year. Founded in Pordenone in northeast Italy in 2008, it has built more than 200 plants across the country and has also worked on projects abroad in recent years, Snam said.
Snam4Mobility is the company through which Snam has been developing infrastructure for refuelling compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) engines, the company stated.
