French LNG operator Elengy is planning to offer bio-LNG for bunkering and truck loading at its Montoir and Fos-sur-Mer terminals in the coming days, Argus understands.
The bio-LNG will be supplied though a mass balancing approach, whereby conventional LNG is accompanied by a renewable guarantee of origin (RGGO) certificate that verifies that biomethane has been injected into the grid. The bio-LNG offering will be compliant with the EU's International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) framework, Elengy said.
Belgium's Zeebrugge terminal already supplies bio-LNG through a mass balanced system and charges a "virtual liquefaction fee" of €2.05/MWh. Spain's grid operator Enagas last week announced a similar scheme for its Barcelona and Huelva terminals, although with a lower fee of €0.54/MWh. It is unclear whether Elengy intends to charge a virtual liquefaction fee for its bio-LNG services, and how much such a charge would be.
The price of northwest Europe bio-LNG for bunkering with subsidised waste-based renewable guarantee of origin (RGGO) was last assessed by Argus at €79.66/MWh — a €22.55/MWh premium to the northwest Europe bunker price for conventional LNG.
The ISCC framework allows the exchange of RGGO certificates between European countries. That said, France has the fastest growing biomethane market in Europe, according to the European biogas association (EBA) 2024 annual report. France housed 652 operational biomethane plants at the end of 2023, with a combined capacity of 9.14TWh. Some 86pc of these are connected to the country's distribution grid.
