Lisbon, Feb. 27, 2025 (Lusa) - Floene and GRDF, the largest operators of the gas distribution networks in Portugal and France, will strengthen their strategic partnership for the development of renewable gases, a step that could accelerate the production of biomethane in Portugal.
This partnership, which will be formalised on Friday, is part of a series of bilateral agreements signed during French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Porto, reinforcing cooperation between Portugal and France in the field of energy transition.
As the chief executive of Floene, Gabriel Sousa, explained to Lusa, the agreement provides for the continuation of the "sharing of legislative and regulatory experiences", as well as solutions for adapting infrastructures to incorporate renewable gases into the natural gas distribution network, added the head of the former Galp Natural Gas Distribution.
France has been recognised as one of the markets with the best results in implementing biomethane, with Gaz Réseau Distribution France (GRDF) connecting around three new biomethane units a week to its distribution network.
The head of Floene believes that the ‘technology’ implemented by his counterpart is not the only reason for these results. "Success is very much down to the regulatory solutions that end up being favourable to this type of initiative," he adds, regretting that the same doesn't happen in Portugal.
"We had the Biomethane Action Plan, which was approved a year ago, and now the coordination groups are being appointed so that the measures can be studied, developed and implemented. We need to do this more quickly. The wheel has been invented, we should be able to take advantage of it and do in a short space of time what other countries have taken seven or eight years to do," he warned.
For Laurence Poirier-Dietz, CEO of GRDF, this agreement is "a way of sharing experience and expertise to help partners build on what was done years ago on the French market".
Although they admit that France ends up taking on more of the role of teacher and Portugal that of pupil, the heads of the two companies argue that the French group also ends up learning about the experiences being developed in Portugal, particularly in the area of hydrogen.
When asked what measures could be replicated in Portugal to speed up the transition to green gas, Laurence Poirier-Dietz said there was no doubt that France's success lay in the introduction of feed-in tariffs, which "made it possible to reduce investment costs for the biomethane producer and brought benefits in terms of revenue predictability".
The Biomethane Action Plan sets the goal of replacing almost 10% of natural gas with biomethane by 2030 in Potugal, a target that Floene's CEO says "is not impossible to achieve".
In fact, according to Gabriel Sousa, the country "has the potential to go beyond 60% of gas consumption being replaced by biomethane".
The head of the company that manages nine of the eleven gas distribution companies in Portugal also emphasises that what is at stake are ‘circular economy’ projects that transform waste from the agricultural sector or the municipal solids segment into clean energy.
As biomethane is the same molecule as natural gas, the current network is suitable for this renewable gas, and the same applies to hydrogen if it is consumed in a mixture and not at 100%, he explained, giving as an example the pilot project they are developing in Seixal with a mixture of around 15%.
To achieve the targets set, Portugal will ‘need all sectors’, he warned, highlighting the potential for producing this 'green’ gas in the agricultural sector and in the solid waste segment.
Portugal currently has a biomethane pilot plant in Mirandela. GRDF, meanwhile, has more than 600 plants injecting into the grid.
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Lusa
