In its first investment in Poland, Axpo has acquired a plant in Western Pomerania, which produces green energy mainly from agricultural waste, it has been announced.
The company plans to develop further biogas projects in the country over the coming years, making Poland one of five European countries in which Axpo has entered the biogas market.
Axpo acquires Polish biogas plant
In October 2024, Axpo purchased a biogas plant from private shareholders. In the upcoming months, Axpo will renovate the facility and bring it up to its standards. The facility has been in operation since the end of 2020 and is located in the village of Stare Ślepce in the province of Western Pomerania.
It processes approximately 20,000 tons of agricultural substrates annually, consisting mostly of agricultural waste. Without a plant’s anaerobic digestion process, waste would emit large amounts of methane and CO2 into the atmosphere.
Biogas facility adds to Axpo’s green energy portfolio
The electricity generated is fed into the grid as part of Axpo’s green energy portfolio
The biogas facility produces 6,640 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity a year, as well as organic fertilizer (so-called ‘digestate’), which has a zero-carbon footprint.
The electricity generated is fed into the grid as part of Axpo’s green energy portfolio. The digestate is used by farmers in the region to fertilize their land.
More projects in the pipeline
The Stare Ślepce plant is the first such facility to be owned by Axpo in Poland. The company plans further growth in the country, including the development of biogas projects. These activities are part of Axpo Group's broader strategy of supplying green gas to European markets.
Axpo Group’s Head of Biogas International, Véronique Abrate, said: “Renewable gas is key to the decarbonization of the agricultural sector and the energy transition, so we are looking forward to developing biogas projects in Poland as well. This is an interesting emerging market to which we have much to offer.”
Axpo’s biogas assets in Poland
Axpo Polska’s Managing Director, Grzegorz Biliński, stated: “So far, we have been expanding in the Polish market by trading and selling power and gas to business customers. Having our own biogas assets is a major milestone for us and also helps diversify our energy portfolio.”
Grzegorz Biliński adds, “Poland represents a large share of the European agricultural sector, making it an attractive market for developing projects using agricultural waste for the production of energy. It is also a sector that really does need to implement decarbonization solutions.”
Extensive expertise in the biogas sector
Axpo has extensive experience in operating biomass and biogas facilities
Axpo has extensive experience in operating biomass and biogas facilities. In Switzerland, it is an industry major in the dry fermentation of organic waste, with 15 biogas plants producing renewable energy and nutrient-rich natural fertilizers.
Elsewhere in Europe, Axpo is also pioneering the development of biogas facilities. In Spain, for example, the Torre Santamaría dairy farm uses the manure of its livestock to produce bio-methane.
The plant currently injects 26 gigawatt hours (GWh) of bio-methane into the gas grid every year and in future will more than quadruple its annual bio-methane production to 115 GWh.
Axpo expands into the Portuguese and Italian markets
This year, Axpo also expanded into the Portuguese and Italian markets. In April, the company launched a 15 GWh bio-methane project in Portugal, which is expected to be operational by the end of 2025.
In September, Axpo announced the start of construction of its first bio-methane plant in Italy which is expected to produce around 45 GWh of renewable energy a year and will also commence operations by the end of 2025.