Italy's First Andion Greenfield Locks €24M

Andion CH4 closes €24M in project finance for its first Italian greenfield biomethane plant in Mirandola, backed by BNL BNP Paribas and Mediocredito Centrale

18 May 2026

Institutional capital is arriving at the asset level in European renewable gas. Andion CH4 Renewables closed a €24 million project financing on April 27, securing funds to construct its first fully owned greenfield biomethane facility in Mirandola, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, a transaction that analysts said reflects growing lender confidence in the country's renewable gas sector.

The deal was arranged by a banking pool comprising BNL BNP Paribas and Mediocredito Centrale. The Mirandola plant is designed to process more than 70,000 tonnes of manure-based agricultural waste annually, producing approximately 44 gigawatt-hours of liquefied biomethane. SOL Group holds a 20 percent equity stake and has secured exclusive long-term offtake rights for the facility's entire output, a structure that, according to company statements, reduces lender exposure by providing stable revenue certainty in a market where offtake security remains a primary financing condition.

The facility is being developed under Italy's DM 2022 biomethane incentive framework. Michele Lissoni, Managing Director Italy at Andion, described Mirandola as a benchmark for the company's expansion strategy, citing the plant's alignment with rigorous quality, safety, and sustainability standards. The financing follows a €67 million private credit facility Andion closed in February 2026, backed by institutional investors, to fund its near-term development pipeline across Italy and the Nordic region. Mirandola represents the first operational draw on that platform.

Yet the broader Italian market has not been without difficulty. Permitting complexity and policy uncertainty contributed to €101 million in cancelled or suspended European biomethane investments in 2025, according to the European Biogas Association. Fully permitted, construction-ready assets consequently attract a meaningful premium from lenders, making Mirandola's relatively unencumbered path to finance a signal of some note.

Production is targeted for the second quarter of 2026. With additional projects advancing in Sweden and northern Italy, Andion continues to press toward its stated goal of owning and operating more than one terawatt-hour of European biomethane capacity by 2030, a target that could inform how institutional investors approach the sector in the years ahead.