Cereal Docks accelerates renewable energy adoption with five new biomethane agreements

Cereal Docks strengthens its efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the energy consumed thanks to five new agreements for the supply of biomethane, signed with five local agricultural companies.

Less fossil methane

Overall, the five contracts will enable the replacement each year of approximately 10 million Smc of fossil methane with biomethane, an amount equivalent to approximately 18% of gas consumption by the Group in Italy. The biomethane will be allocated in particular to the Camisano Vicentino plants, where it could cover between 38% and 40% of consumption, and to Marghera, with coverage of approximately 10%.

The operation will avoid the emission into the atmosphere of approximately 20.000 tonnes of CO2 per year, an estimate calculated using the substitution method in relation to fossil methane, based on the Ispra emission factor 2026. Through the Guarantees of Origin (GO) system, gas production from renewable sources is certified and the related environmental benefits can be transparently attributed to the final consumption connected to the grid.

The circular economy

The operation extends the circularity logic that characterises the industrial model of Cereal Docks. The Group processes plant-based raw materials such as soya, sunflower and rapeseed, making the most of their various components. Through the agreements with agricultural companies, this capacity to make the most of resources now also extends to biomethane, produced from agricultural effluents and waste and used as a renewable source in industrial processes. The initiative forms part of the Group’s broader energy strategy, aimed at increasing the use of renewable sources and improving energy efficiency.

In 2025, the Group’s overall energy consumption increased, reaching 815.446 MWh, in line with the growth of industrial activities. During the same period, the share of energy from renewable sources reached 19%, while Scope 2 emissions (location-based) decreased by 48,8%, standing at 6.100 tonnes of CO2.

The comment

"With these agreements, we are taking a major step forward in the use of biomethane, which will come to cover a significant share of the gas consumption of our Italian plants," says Luca Franzosi, energy manager at Cereal Docks Group. "Replacing approximately 10 million Smc of fossil methane per year will enable us to make a concrete reduction in the carbon footprint of the energy consumed and represents an important step in reducing the carbon intensity of our energy mix."

Local initiatives

The Group’s commitment to the energy transition also translates into initiatives that generate benefits for the local area. These include the district heating network built in Camisano Vicentino, an infrastructure 1,7 km long with a capacity of 1,7 MW that provides heat to five community facilities, including a care home, two schools and other public services. The system combines waste heat recovery with a high-efficiency heating plant fuelled by natural gas or soya vegetable oil from a traced and certified supply chain, resulting in average savings of 30% for the users served and a reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 65% when powered by renewable fuel.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.