The Fifteen-Year Bet on French Biomethane

Plenitude and Methagora sign a 50 GWh annual biomethane deal in France, backed by the national certification framework

21 Apr 2026

France has strengthened its position as a primary market for European renewable gas through a new long-term supply agreement designed to scale domestic biomethane production. Plenitude, the retail and renewable subsidiary of the Italian energy major Eni, has entered into a 15-year contract with the French developer Methagora to secure 50 gigawatt-hours of certified biomethane annually. The deal relies on France’s Biomethane Production Certificates framework, a national regulatory system established to track and verify the origins of renewable gas injected into the country’s infrastructure.

For Plenitude, the partnership solidifies a French portfolio that already includes approximately one gigawatt of installed renewable capacity and a retail base of nearly one million customers. By integrating long-term biomethane supplies, the company aims to diversify its low-carbon offerings beyond its existing wind, solar, and electric vehicle charging assets. The agreement reflects a broader industry shift toward securing stable, decadal supplies of transition fuels as European corporations face increasing pressure to decarbonize their heating and industrial baseloads.

The technical core of the agreement rests on Methagora’s strategy of retrofitting existing agricultural infrastructure. Rather than commissioning new facilities, the developer identifies active methanation sites that currently utilize biogas for local electricity generation. By installing specialized purification and compression systems, these sites are converted to produce grid-quality biomethane. According to company data, five such sites have been modernized to date, contributing 35 gigawatt-hours to the market, with plans to double that output by 2026.

Industry analysts suggest that the 15-year duration of the contract provides the commercial certainty required to improve project bankability in a nascent sector. While the European Union has set an ambitious target of 35 billion cubic meters of biomethane production by 2030, the path to reaching that scale remains capital-intensive. Long-term offtake agreements, supported by national certification schemes like the French framework, function as a critical de-risking mechanism for developers and lenders alike.

The success of these localized agricultural conversions may serve as a blueprint for other member states struggling to meet regional climate mandates. As France continues to refine its certification processes, the integration of small-scale agricultural producers into large-scale corporate portfolios is likely to become a central pillar of the continent's energy strategy. The evolution of these supply chains will be instrumental in determining whether the European gas grid can successfully transition away from fossil fuel reliance over the next decade.