The BioNorrois biomethane plant, commissioned by TotalEnergies in Fontaine-le-Dun, Normandy, is one of France’s newest renewable gas facilities. It injects about 153 GWh of biomethane annually into the national gas network. This is enough to serve about 30,000 households.
TotalEnergies also recently won a €4.5 billion contract from the French Government to develop a 1.5 GW offshore wind farm off Normandy’s coast. Development of what is set to be the largest offshore wind farm in France will be done in conjunction with RWE.
Project Factsheet
Location: Fontaine-le-Dun, Normandy, France
Owner/Operator: TotalEnergies
Feedstock Partner: Cristal Union
Capacity: 153 GWh of biomethane per year
Byproducts: 150,000 tons of digestate per year
CO2 Savings: 30,000 tons avoided annually
Feedstock Supply: Up to 80% of inputs from sugar beet pulp and residues
Grid Connection: Injected into the GRTgaz network
Project Timeline
Early 2024 – Construction in progress. TotalEnergies and Cristal Union formalize a 15-year feedstock supply agreement in Feb 29, 2024
Late 2024 – Original target for commissioning set for the end of the year
February 26, 2025 – Official commissioning of the BioNorrois unit. Biomethane injection begins into the French gas grid.
BioNorrois Facility Commissioning in February 2025
Multinational energy and petroleum company, TotalEnergies, commissioned it’s BioNorrois biomethane production unit in Normandy, France earlier this year. Located specifically in Fontaine-le-Dun, the facility expects to cap productions of up to 153 GWh of biomethane annually.
The biogas is injected into the natural gas transport network operated by GRTgaz. Reportedly, the total capacity of natural gas produced will be enough to provide gas for over 30,000 homes in the country. Additionally, the facility, which is one of the largest in the country, will boost the overall biogas production of the country to over 800 GWh. This also reinforces France’s role in Europe’s energy transition.
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Details on Production at TotalEnergies’ BioNorrois Biogas Facility in Normandy
About 80% of the 185,000 tons of organic materials is supplied by Cristal Union, a French sugar group. The company is also a partner in the project and holds a 10% share. Cristal will provide beet pulp and resides from its production site adjacent to BioNorrois.
150,000 tons of digestate produced annually by the unit will be fully utilized by Cristal and the Norman cooperative NatUp with partner farms. This also supports farmers’ transition to the use of locally produced and sustainable fertilizers.
BioNorrois goes on to serve two roles. This is marked by the supply of renewable gas and the reduction of agricultural waste, with estimated annual CO₂ emission reductions of around 30,000 tons.
Xavier Astolfi, General Manager of Cristal Union, said the following during the commissioning of the facility:
“Cristal Union has been committed to decarbonizing its activities for over 20 years. Unlike many industries, we have an asset: the ability to valorize the residues of our production, beet pulp, and industrial effluents, and reuse them to produce energy through anaerobic digestion or combustion.”
Xavier Astolfi went on to add:
“This partnership with TotalEnergies is a full-scale project for the treatment of pulp.It will allow us to provide our partner farmers with digestate to spread on their fields. A true circular economy project!”
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