Suez to acquire 51% stake in Polish biogas company ARA Cursus

Waste and water management firm Suez will acquire a 51% stake in Polish biogas company ARA Cursus, the company announced on July 18.

Alongside Suez, Eiffel, through its fund Eiffel Gaz Vert, which has already financed ARA projects, will acquire a 24.5% stake. Bourgogne, the former majority owner of ARA, will retain a 24.5% stake. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. 

ARA Cursus develops and operates anaerobic digestion plants and has a portfolio of nine agricultural biogas projects in Poland. Each project is designed to produce around 1 MW of electrical renewable energy, with one project currently in operation. The next group of projects is scheduled to start construction in 2024. The projects also involve producing digestate as an agricultural fertiliser and drying wood for commercial customers.

Along with Eiffel and Bourgogne, Suez plans to invest nearly €70mn ($76.2mn) in constructing the first group of biogas plants and developing additional biomethane production plants. Each plant will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 4,600 tonnes/year.

The development of biogas production benefits from the support scheme established by the Polish government in 2023. National biogas production is expected to reach 30 TWh/year by 2030, leveraging abundant local agricultural waste feedstock, according to the company.