VORN Bioenergy has acquired five biogas plants and an associated composting facility from Enerfarm, an Equitix portfolio company, strengthening its position in Italy as the German biomethane developer expands its renewable gas portfolio across Europe.
The assets are located across Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Veneto in northern Italy and have a combined capacity of more than 200 GWh, according to VORN Bioenergy. The facilities are at different stages of construction, conversion and development, with the portfolio expected to add substantial biomethane production capacity as projects move into operation.
The transaction follows VORN’s recent acquisition of a biogas plant in Wolnzach, Bavaria, and forms part of a wider expansion programme spanning Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Poland.
Five plants add scale to VORN’s Italian biomethane business
The Enerfarm transaction gives VORN control of five anaerobic digestion assets together with an associated composting operation.
VORN said the five plants and composting facility have a combined capacity exceeding 200 GWh, equivalent to the annual thermal energy requirements of approximately 14,000 households under the company’s calculation.
The assets are not all at the same development stage. This means the acquisition combines operating and development potential rather than representing an immediately available block of fully operational biomethane capacity.
Equitix, which owned Enerfarm from 2022 until the transaction, provided a more detailed view of the portfolio’s expected output. It said the assets are expected to exceed 215 GWh of annual production once fully operational, equivalent to the thermal energy requirements of around 20,000 households.
Enerfarm shifted from biogas-to-power towards biomethane
The transaction follows a significant transformation of Enerfarm under Equitix ownership.
When Equitix acquired the business in 2022, the portfolio was focused on producing electricity from biogas. During its ownership period, Equitix worked with Enerfarm’s management to secure approvals allowing four of the plants to be converted from biogas-to-power operations to anaerobic digestion and biomethane production.
Approvals were also obtained to increase production capacity.
Equitix said commissioning activities had already begun at two of the upgraded facilities before the sale. The development work therefore leaves VORN with a portfolio in which permitting, conversion and commissioning milestones have already been advanced.
The associated composting operation also remains part of the transaction, adding a material-recovery component alongside renewable gas production.
VORN targets 2 TWh of annual biomethane by 2030
The Enerfarm acquisition supports VORN Bioenergy’s stated objective of producing 2 TWh of biomethane annually by 2030 while operating on an emission-free basis.
The company has more than two decades of project experience and has developed or delivered more than 40 bioenergy projects across Europe, according to information provided by VORN.
Jörg Lennertz, Chief Executive Officer of VORN Bioenergy, said the acquisition forms part of the company’s broader expansion across Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Poland.
He described biomethane as an important component of the energy transition and said VORN expects further expansion activity as it develops its European platform.
Northern Italy becomes an important growth market
The acquisition increases VORN’s exposure to northern Italy, a region with substantial agricultural and food-processing activity that can provide organic feedstocks for anaerobic digestion.
The company’s existing Italian development activity means the Enerfarm portfolio is being added to a broader country-level platform rather than operated as an isolated acquisition.
VORN’s portfolio information currently lists Italian facilities including Sant’Elena, San Daniele, Enersab and Martinelle, with projects at different stages of conversion or construction. The company identifies Sant’Elena and San Daniele as existing biogas facilities being converted to biomethane, while Enersab and Martinelle are also part of its Italian development pipeline.
This combination of existing plants and development-stage assets allows VORN to build capacity through both acquisitions and project development.
Equitix exits after four years of portfolio development
For Equitix, the transaction completes an investment cycle that began with its acquisition of Enerfarm in 2022.
During that period, the infrastructure investor focused on repositioning the portfolio from electricity generation using biogas towards biomethane production.
Achal Bhuwania, Chief Investment Officer at Equitix, said the Enerfarm sale represented the investor’s 20th exit over the previous five years. He said the portfolio had progressed through permitting, financing and development milestones and had been transformed into a biomethane platform.
Luca Belli, Chief Executive Officer of Enerfarm, said VORN provided an industrial platform for the next phase of development and highlighted the potential role of biomethane in supporting local agriculture and the circular economy.
The transaction was completed on 18 September 2026, according to Equitix.
Biomethane acquisition strategy accelerates
VORN’s latest transaction illustrates a strategy that combines the acquisition of existing assets with development of new biomethane facilities.
The approach can shorten the development cycle where acquired plants already have key permits, grid or infrastructure arrangements and conversion work underway. However, the eventual contribution to production depends on completing construction, upgrading, commissioning and operational ramp-up at individual sites.
The Enerfarm portfolio therefore provides VORN with both near-term integration work and a longer-term capacity pipeline.
The company’s recent acquisition in Bavaria and its continuing activities in several European countries indicate that portfolio expansion remains central to its growth model.
Bioenergy Business Analysis
The Enerfarm acquisition is significant less because of the number of plants involved than because of the stage of development of the assets. Equitix has already moved four of the five facilities through permitting for conversion from biogas-based electricity generation to biomethane production, while commissioning has begun at two upgraded sites. This gives VORN a portfolio with development work already under way rather than five entirely greenfield projects.
The transaction also demonstrates how ownership strategies in the European biogas sector are evolving. Infrastructure investors can develop and reposition assets before selling them to specialist operators with longer-term biomethane ambitions. In Enerfarm’s case, the transition from biogas-to-power to biomethane created a platform aligned with VORN’s core business.
For VORN, the acquisition provides additional capacity towards its 2 TWh annual biomethane target for 2030. The ultimate contribution will depend on the successful completion and operation of the individual plants, so the more than 200 GWh figure should not be interpreted as fully operational output at the transaction date.
The Italian portfolio also gives VORN additional exposure to the agricultural and organic-waste feedstock base of northern Italy. That creates potential synergies with its circular-economy strategy, although feedstock availability, permitting, plant commissioning, operating performance and biomethane market economics will remain important factors in determining the assets’ long-term performance.
