VIVESCIA (a leading French grain cooperative group), Roquette (a global leader in plant-based ingredients and pharmaceutical excipients serving the food, nutrition, pharmaceutical and bio-industry markets) and Siplec E.Leclerc (the cooperative of the E.Leclerc Movement responsible for energy products and services) have signed a three-year partnership to support the production of low-carbon ethanol sourced from French supply chains – a first in the road biofuels sector.
Building on a regenerative agriculture program and a cutting-edge low-carbon industrial approach, this new collaboration, spanning the entire value chain from upstream agriculture to downstream fuel distribution, aims to achieve maximum greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions (up to 100% compared with fossil fuel benchmarks). The ambition is clear: to accelerate the ecological transition of mobility in France by relying on sovereign value chains that fairly reward their stakeholders while delivering a sustainable fuel accessible to all motorists.
For the first time, the agreement brings together a grain cooperative, an industrial producer and an energy distributor. VIVESCIA, together with its member farmers, will supply wheat volumes from farms participating in TRANSITIONS*, a program launched in 2023 that supports and guides the transition to regenerative and low-carbon agriculture over long-term cycles of five to seven years.
Roquette produces ethanol at its Beinheim site. This facility benefits from low-carbon production capabilities based on biomass and geothermal energy, complemented by CO₂ capture technology. Combined with low-carbon wheat sourcing, Roquette’s ethanol delivers one of the lowest carbon footprints on the market. By fully integrating the agricultural upstream segment (through VIVESCIA) into its decarbonization strategy, Roquette meets customer expectations (from Siplec) while advancing its own climate commitments (SBTi).
Siplec E.Leclerc is both a long-standing operator and a market leader in this field. The cooperative pioneered the incorporation of ethanol into gasoline twenty years ago. Today, E85 Superethanol is available in more than half of E.Leclerc service stations and continues to grow steadily. Siplec E.Leclerc incorporates this ethanol across its entire gasoline range—SP95-E5, SP95-E10 and E85—distributed through its network of 734 service stations. It provides an immediate solution for decarbonizing road mobility, backed by the E.Leclerc Movement’s longstanding commitment to helping all motorists navigate the energy transition without ever forcing a choice between affordability and climate action.
This three-year commitment provides each partner with the visibility necessary to support, expand and sustain a program that has already paid more than €7.2 million to VIVESCIA member farmers over the past two years. Support for changes in farming practices is no longer an annual variable but becomes a structural component of the value chain, enabling GHG emission reductions of up to 100% compared with fossil fuels.
The entire value chain is certified under the 2BSvs sustainability standard, recognized by the European Commission for biofuels.
French ethanol production uses less than 1% of the country’s agricultural land and supports nearly 30,000 jobs nationwide[2]. It is a French industry that strengthens energy and industrial sovereignty, generates co-products for animal feed, and reduces dependence on imports.
“With Siplec, a leading energy player, and Roquette, our long-standing TRANSITIONS partner, we are writing a new chapter. It is a collective source of pride for our cooperative group and its committed member farmers. As the first large-scale impact program in France and Europe, TRANSITIONS places innovation and cooperation at the heart of its momentum. By creating a virtuous ethanol value chain, this partnership once again demonstrates and reinforces what TRANSITIONS has stood for since its launch in 2023: a competitive, more resilient, low-carbon agriculture that benefits soils and biodiversity. This ambition is made possible through the collective efforts of every stakeholder across both food and biofuel value chains. It all starts together!” Christoph Büren, Chairman of the VIVESCIA Group
“This partnership brings full coherence to our ethanol value chain. By combining French grains produced through regenerative agriculture with a highly decarbonized industrial asset, we demonstrate that a low-carbon French value chain—from field to fuel—is now a reality. It is a virtuous model that combines industrial performance, sovereignty and climate transition.” Xavier Galliot, Director of Sustainable Development & Stakeholder Engagement, Roquette
“For more than twenty years, E.Leclerc has championed Superethanol in our service stations as a way to decarbonize road transport. Through this value-chain agreement led by Siplec E.Leclerc, we are providing all our partners with the long-term market prospects needed to accelerate the transformation of our regions. We are securing a low-carbon French supply source and ensuring that every liter sold at the pump is backed by tangible, measurable and rewarded agricultural practices. This is what a successful transition should look like: rewarding those who make it happen while remaining accessible to those who benefit from it. By 2035, together with Siplec, we will make the E.Leclerc network the leading provider of sustainable mobility solutions in France.” Michel-Édouard Leclerc, Chairman of the Strategic Committee of the E.Leclerc Movement