en.Wedoany.com Reported - French grain cooperative group VIVESCIA, plant-based ingredients and pharmaceutical excipients manufacturer Roquette, and energy distribution cooperative Siplec E.Leclerc have signed a three-year partnership to jointly support low-carbon ethanol production sourced from the French supply chain, a first in the road biofuels sector. This agreement brings together a grain cooperative, an industrial manufacturer, and an energy distributor for the first time.
The partnership covers the entire value chain, from upstream agriculture to downstream fuel distribution, leveraging regenerative agriculture programs and low-carbon industrial methods to achieve maximum greenhouse gas emission reductions, up to 100% compared to the fossil fuel benchmark. The goal is to accelerate the ecological transition of France's transport sector by relying on a sovereign value chain, fairly rewarding participants, while providing sustainable fuel for all motorists.
Under the agreement, VIVESCIA and its member farms will supply wheat from farms participating in the TRANSITIONS program. TRANSITIONS, a project launched in 2023, supports farms in transitioning to regenerative and low-carbon agriculture over a five-to-seven-year cycle. Roquette produces ethanol at its Beinheim plant, which benefits from low-carbon production capacity based on biomass and geothermal energy, supplemented by carbon capture technology. Combined with low-carbon wheat sourcing, this ethanol product offers one of the lowest carbon footprints on the market. Siplec E.Leclerc, both a long-term operator in the field and a market leader, was the first to blend ethanol into gasoline twenty years ago. Today, E85 super ethanol is available at over half of E.Leclerc's service stations. Siplec E.Leclerc blends this ethanol into its entire range of gasoline products (SP95-E5, SP95-E10, and E85) and distributes it through its network of 734 service stations.
This three-year commitment provides each partner with the necessary visibility to support the program, which has already paid over €7.2 million to VIVESCIA member farms over the past two years. Support for changes in agricultural practices is no longer an annual variable but becomes a structural component of the value chain, enabling greenhouse gas emission reductions of up to 100% compared to fossil fuels. The entire value chain is certified under the 2BSvs sustainability standard for biofuels, recognized by the European Commission.
French ethanol production uses less than 1% of the country's agricultural land and supports nearly 30,000 jobs nationwide. The industry produces co-products for animal feed, reducing dependence on imports and strengthening energy and industrial sovereignty.
Christoph Büren, Chairman of the VIVESCIA Group, stated: "Together with leading energy company Siplec and our long-term TRANSITIONS partner Roquette, we are writing a new chapter. This is a collective source of pride for our cooperative group and its loyal member farms. As the first large-scale impact project in France and Europe, TRANSITIONS places innovation and cooperation at the core of its driving force. By establishing a virtuous ethanol value chain, this partnership once again proves and reinforces everything TRANSITIONS has represented since its launch in 2023: a more competitive, more resilient, low-carbon agriculture that benefits soil and biodiversity."
Xavier Galliot, Director of Sustainable Development and Stakeholder Engagement at Roquette, said: "This partnership brings complete coherence to our ethanol value chain. By combining French grains produced through regenerative agriculture with a highly decarbonized industrial facility, we demonstrate that a low-carbon French value chain from field to fuel is now a reality. This is a virtuous model that combines industrial performance, sovereignty, and climate transition."
Michel-Édouard Leclerc, Chairman of the E.Leclerc Movement Strategy Committee, commented: "For over twenty years, E.Leclerc has advocated for promoting super ethanol at our service stations as a means of decarbonizing road transport. Through this value chain agreement led by Siplec E.Leclerc, we provide all partners with the long-term market outlook needed to accelerate regional transformation. We secure a French low-carbon supply source and ensure that every liter of fuel sold is supported by tangible, measurable, and rewarding agricultural practices. By 2035, together with Siplec, we will make the E.Leclerc network a leading provider of sustainable mobility solutions in France."
