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Veolia Wins Major Contract to Make One of France’s Largest Wastewater Treatment Plants an Environmental Standard-setter

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  • Greater Lyon has chosen Veolia to modernise and manage the Saint Fons wastewater treatment plant, one of France’s largest, representing a EUR100 (USD109.2) million contract over 6 years.
  • With a capacity of one million population equivalents, the site will significantly reduce its carbon footprint thanks to Veolia’s innovative integrated offer, based on the combination of its different businesses, in line with the Group’s GreenUp strategic plan.
  • Veolia will enable the site to reduce its electricity consumption by 15 per cent, gas consumption by 72 per cent, water consumption by 10 per cent, and its need for chemical additives by 50 per cent thanks to more efficient management of the wastewater treatment plant.
  • Veolia’s expertise in both efficiency and technology guarantees compliance with the highest environmental standards at the best value for money.

Greater Lyon has entrusted Veolia, long active in the region, with a significant contract for the modernisation and management of the Saint Fons wastewater treatment plant, one of the largest in France. This 6-year contract represents a total value of EUR100 (USD109.2) million.

In operation for nearly fifty years, the plant treats the wastewater of all inhabitants of the left bank of the Rhône River, as well as some of the region’s industrial groups, equivalent to one million inhabitants. Veolia was chosen to address several issues: to regain compliance on biological treatment, improve the state of the assets, and organise the management of heavy rainfalls which can lead to pollution, all in close cooperation with local authorities. Greater Lyon also aims to make this site a benchmark of standards in terms of operational efficiency, energy and environmental performance. 

Veolia has mobilised all its areas of expertise to implement an integrated offer that meets these goals at the best value for money:

  • Thanks to more efficient digitised management, Veolia will enable the site to reduce its electricity consumption by 15 per cent and its water consumption by 10 per cent.
  • The site’s carbon footprint will be significantly reduced, as 90 per cent of its energy consumption will be covered by decarbonising energy produced from Veolia’s energy recovery facilities. The recovery of waste heat from incinerators will also produce 6 per cent of the site’s electricity needs, thus replacing fossil fuels.
  • Veolia will draw on its technical innovation capabilities to face emerging pollutants such as PFAS, particularly in sewage sludge, and prepare the region for future regulatory changes.

Veolia will also support Greater Lyon in its soil return strategy, with a future pooling of sludge treatment by methanisation at the neighbouring wastewater treatment plant.

With our long-time presence in the region, we are proud to have been chosen by the Lyon metropolitan area to make Saint Fons wastewater treatment plant a true environmental leader. Thanks to more efficient management and the combination of our various businesses, we were able to offer a solution with the best value for money that combines the ecological and economic performances of the site by significantly reducing its carbon footprint and its consumption of raw materials. The ecological transformation of Saint Fons demonstrates our ability to provide concrete solutions to build a sustainable future for and with local regions, perfectly in line with our GreenUp strategic plan.

Jean-François Nogrette, Senior Executive Vice President, France & Special Waste Europe