Biogas firm rakes in waste crops and €60m in funding

The scale of the commercial opportunity presented by the fast-emerging European biomass industry was underlined this week with the news German biogas firm Agri.capital has defied the currently sluggish investment environment and secured €60m (£53m) in new equity funding.

The company, which is one of Europe's largest specialist bioenergy firms, owns and operates more than 35 biomass plants in Germany and Austria with combined capacity of more than 32MW.

It said the new equity investment will be used alongside a new €10m debt facility to fund organic expansion across Europe and allow the firm to explore acquisition opportunities.

Co-chief executive Peter Stepany hailed the new funding as a "significant milestone" that will allow the firm to cement its position as "the market-leader in biogas generation in Europe".

The company specialises in combined heat and power plants that convert organic waste into biogas that can be burned off to power generators. It typically locates plants in agricultural area and supports a wide variety of feed stocks including corp waste, manure and food waste.

The company has also developed a number of biogas refineries that clean the resulting biogas to produce pure methane, which burns in the same way as natural gas and can be easily transported.

The new equity investment round was led by TCW Group's specialist Clean Energy Fund and was also backed by returning investors Altima Partners, Green Partners, Halcyon and Ludgate Environmental Fund. The accompanying €10m debt facility was entered into with investment firm Ecofin.