From Manure to Megawatts: Schroders Acquires APF Energy

Schroders Greencoat acquires six-asset Dutch biomethane platform APF Energy, converting farm waste into grid-ready renewable gas

28 May 2026

Schroders Greencoat, the renewable infrastructure arm of Schroders Capital, has acquired a full stake in APF Energy, a Netherlands-based platform converting agricultural manure and food by-products into biomethane fed directly into the national gas grid. The portfolio spans six assets: three operational plants and three under construction, with a late-stage development pipeline attached.

SWEN Capital Partners, which backed APF Energy from its earliest stages, exits through the sale. The transaction marks the first completed divestment from SWEN's second impact fund.

Dutch policy is tightening the investment case. From 2026, a new blending mandate will require a portion of national gas supply to come from renewable sources, reducing revenue risk for compliant operators. APF Energy's feedstock carries a secondary benefit: the Netherlands' high-intensity farming sector generates persistent nitrate surpluses, and processing that manure into clean gas addresses both an agricultural problem and an energy one. Schroders Greencoat cited this overlap of policy support and feedstock economics as central to its rationale.

The broader European picture adds urgency. More than €28 billion in private capital has been committed continent-wide toward the EU's 35 billion cubic metre biomethane production target for 2030. Independent researchers project a shortfall of up to 23 billion cubic metres against that goal, the gap driven by fragmented policy across member states and persistent financing barriers at the project level.

Deals of this type, moving platforms from early-stage backers into institutional infrastructure ownership, are increasingly viewed as a structural part of closing that gap.