REG-TotalEnergies SE TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables, a Portfolio Company of BlackRock’s Diversified Infrastructure Business, Join Forces to Develop Renewable Natural Gas in the United States

TotalEnergies SEAnnouncement

24/04/2024 07:30

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TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables, a Portfolio Company of BlackRock’s
Diversified Infrastructure Business, Join Forces to Develop Renewable Natural
Gas in the United States

 

TotalEnergies (Paris:TTE) (LSE:TTE) (NYSE:TTE), a global integrated energy
company, and Vanguard Renewables, a U.S. leader in farm-based
organics-to-renewable natural gas production and a portfolio company of a fund
managed by BlackRock’s Diversified Infrastructure business, have signed an
agreement to create an equally owned joint venture to develop, build, and
operate Farm Powered(® )renewable natural gas (RNG) projects in the United
States. The signing took place in New York on April 12(th) 2024 in the
presence of Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies and Larry
Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock.

TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables will advance 10 RNG projects into
construction over the next 12 months, with a total annual RNG capacity of 0.8
TWh (2.5 Bcf). The three initial projects in this agreement are currently
under construction in Wisconsin and Virginia, each with a unit capacity of
nearly 75 GWh (0.25 Bcf) of RNG per year.

Beyond these first 10 projects, the partners will consider investing together
in a potential pipeline of about 60 projects across the country for a total
capacity of 5 TWh (15 Bcf) per year.

"TotalEnergies is pleased to partner with BlackRock and its portfolio company
Vanguard Renewables, to accelerate the development of food biowaste processing
into renewable natural gas in the United States. By expanding into this
fast-growing market, our joint venture will create value for both companies
while benefiting the food and farming sectors as well as providing a
ready-to-use solution to industrial companies willing to decarbonize their
energy supply. This joint venture is a new step for TotalEnergies in achieving
its objective to produce 10 TWh of renewable natural gas by 2030,” said
Olivier Guerrini, Vice President, Biogas at TotalEnergies.

Vanguard Renewables, a key RNG player in the United States

Headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts, Vanguard Renewables was founded in
2014 and has a workforce of approximately 260. The company currently operates
17 organics-to-renewable energy facilities with an annual capacity of more
than 440 GWh (1.5 Bcf) of RNG. Looking beyond 2024, Vanguard Renewables plans
to commission over 100 RNG projects by the end of 2028.

In July 2022, Vanguard Renewables was acquired by BlackRock, through a fund
managed by its Diversified Infrastructure business (“BlackRock”).
BlackRock has partnered with Vanguard Renewables’ management team to build
upon the company’s market-leading track record to drive the next phase of
its growth to support the nationwide expansion of its anaerobic digester
projects from coast to coast. BlackRock will remain the majority shareholder
of Vanguard Renewables.

“We are thrilled to welcome TotalEnergies as a strategic partner, building
on our mission of developing farm-based organics-to-renewable natural gas
projects across the United States. This collaboration validates Vanguard’s
leadership position in the RNG space in the U.S. and brings together our
expertise with TotalEnergies’ extensive experience in large-scale energy
development, safety procedures, and global partnerships. These 10 RNG
projects, jointly undertaken by TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables as
co-investment partners, further reinforce our commitment and ability to
deliver on our mission of harnessing the power of waste to decarbonize our
planet,” stated Neil H. Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Vanguard
Renewables.

TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables, a robust partnership

The joint-venture will benefit from the expertise of both companies:


 * Thanks to its experienced teams and development platform, Vanguard Renewables
will contribute to the JV its ready-to-build projects at scale. It will also
manage feedstock supply, the assets, operations, and renewable natural gas
sales.

 * Leveraging its strong position in the European market, especially in France
and Poland, TotalEnergies will bring to the JV its industrial expertise,
providing technical support on the design and engineering of the facilities,
and on the plant’s operational performance.

TotalEnergies and Vanguard Renewables will market the RNG through long-term
purchase agreements with buyers actively engaged in decarbonization of their
industrial processes.

“This exciting partnership brings together TotalEnergies’ global
experience in scaling and operating renewable gas assets with Vanguard
Renewables’ market-leading position in the United States, extensive
operational history and customer relationships, and robust project portfolio.
With TotalEnergies as a strategic partner, Vanguard Renewables will be
positioned to achieve even stronger growth and continued success”, said Doug
Vaccari, Managing Director, Diversified Infrastructure, BlackRock.

Transforming food waste and decarbonizing the production of major US brands

The first 10 projects are based on a model of waste materials recovery from
the food and beverage industries, supplemented with dairy manure from dairy
farms. The anaerobic digesters will be built on the dairy farms themselves,
which will then recover and manage the digestate (a byproduct of the anaerobic
digestion process) as a low-carbon and nutrient dense fertilizer.

To feed its digesters, Vanguard Renewables has established a major network of
leading food industry brands across the US and the groundbreaking Farm Powered
Strategic Alliance, which gives Alliance members preferred access to recycle
their organic waste generated from manufacturing or retail activities and the
potential opportunity to purchase the renewable energy generated at a Vanguard
Renewables’ facility. The Alliance’s members include multi-national
corporations across several verticals, including leading food, beverage, and
pharmaceutical manufacturers.

In anticipation of the Company’s growing portfolio of anaerobic digesters
Vanguard Renewables has expanded its food and beverage diversion services and
its organics solutions team to provide service throughout the contiguous
United States.

The transaction completion is subject to customary conditions precedent.

About Vanguard Renewables

Vanguard Renewables, based in Weston, Massachusetts, is a national leader in
developing food and dairy waste-to-renewable energy projects. The Company owns
and operates on-farm anaerobic digester facilities in the northeast and
currently operates manure-only digesters in the south and west for Dominion
Energy. Vanguard Renewables plans to expand nationwide to more than 100
anaerobic digestion facilities by 2028. Vanguard Renewables is committed to
advancing decarbonization by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farms and
food waste, generating renewable energy, and supporting regenerative
agriculture on partner farms via Farm Powered(®) anaerobic digestion.
Vanguard Renewables is a portfolio company of funds managed by BlackRock.

To learn more visit vanguardrenewables.com

TotalEnergies and biogas

TotalEnergies is a leading company in the European biogas segment with
production capacity of 1.1 TWh. The Company aims to become a major player in
this segment across several key markets, particularly in Europe and the United
States by joining forces with leading partners such as Clean Energy and
Veolia, to reach its objective of producing 10 TWh of biomethane by 2030. It
is active across the entire value chain, from project development to marketing
of this renewable gas and its byproducts, including biofertilizers and bioCO2.

About TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies is a global integrated energy company that produces and markets
energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and
electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to provide as many
people as possible with energy that is more reliable, more affordable and more
sustainable. Active in about 120 countries, TotalEnergies places
sustainability at the heart of its strategy, its projects and its operations.

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Cautionary Note

The terms “TotalEnergies”, “TotalEnergies company” or “Company” in
this document are used to designate TotalEnergies SE and the consolidated
entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by TotalEnergies SE.
Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” may also be used to refer
to these entities or to their employees. The entities in which TotalEnergies
SE directly or indirectly owns a shareholding are separate legal entities.
This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are
based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic,
competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the
future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE
nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in
this document whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. Information concerning risk factors, that may affect
TotalEnergies’ financial results or activities is provided in the most
recent Universal Registration Document, the French-language version of which
is filed by TotalEnergies SE with the French securities regulator Autorité
des Marchés Financiers (AMF), and in the Form 20-F filed with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

TotalEnergies 

Media Relations:+33 (0)1 47 44 46 99l presse@totalenergies.com
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Investor Relations:+33 (0)1 47 44 46 46 l ir@totalenergies.com
(mailto:ir@totalenergies.com)

Vanguard Renewables 

Billy Kepner

+1 (607) 331-9806

bkepner@vanguardrenewables.com (mailto:bkepner@vanguardrenewables.com)

BlackRock 

Christopher Beattie

+1 (646) 231-8518

christopher.beattie@blackrock.com (mailto:christopher.beattie@blackrock.com)



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