Syensqo partners with Engie to install biomass boiler at French plant

Materials firm Syensqo has announced a partnership with Engie Solutions for the installation of a biomass boiler at its Clamecy site (Nièvre, France). The project will enable a reduction of up to 7,000 tonnes/year of CO2 emissions, representing nearly 70% of the site’s current annual emissions. This new investment strengthens Syensqo’s decarbonisation roadmap in France and builds on other major initiatives, including the installation of a biomass boiler and a large-capacity electric boiler at its Saint-Fons site.

The new biomass boiler, supported by ADEME and scheduled to be operational by mid-2027, will replace natural gas-based steam production with low-carbon biomass steam, significantly reducing the site’s reliance on fossil fuels. Under the agreement, Engie will design, invest in, install, operate and maintain the biomass boiler on Syensqo’s premises. Syensqo will purchase the steam produced from biomass, enabling the site to secure a stable, competitive and low-carbon energy supply and reducing the site’s dependence on natural gas.

This project builds on previous investments aimed at reducing CO2 emissions at the site. In 2024, with the support of ADEME under the “Decarb Flash” call for proposals, a steam condensate recovery network was commissioned, with a potential reduction of up to 1,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year.

The project also complements the commissioning in 2025 of a solar farm at the Syensqo site in Clamecy. Covering 25 ha, the equivalent of 35 soccer fields, the installation has an installed capacity of 17.9 MWp, providing renewable electricity to support part of the plant’s operations.

Syensqo’s Clamecy site manufactures more than 150 products and solutions with a wide range of applications in healthcare, beauty care, home care, agriculture and paints.