TotalEnergies and Veolia expand collaboration to reduce emissions, conserve water, advance circular economy, and accelerate low-carbon technologies for sustainable growth.
Long-time collaborators TotalEnergies and Veolia have signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) to deepen their cooperation in key areas supporting the energy transition and circular economy. This partnership aligns with both companies’ strategic goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce their water footprints. The collaboration aims to accelerate innovation across industries, scale up sustainable technologies, and address major environmental challenges through research and industrial integration.
Under this expanded partnership, the two companies will combine their respective expertise. Veolia will bring its advanced capabilities in water resource management and the recovery of valuable materials from waste, while TotalEnergies will contribute its experience in methane emissions reduction and the production and supply of low-carbon energy solutions.
Tackling Methane Emissions from Landfills
A major focus area will be reducing methane emissions from landfills. Veolia plans to deploy TotalEnergies’ AUSEA technology—a drone-based system that measures methane emissions—to monitor and manage emissions more effectively. Early trials have shown that AUSEA can deliver accurate, consistent data, detect leaks, and pinpoint high-emission zones. Integrating this innovation will strengthen Veolia’s strategy to capture up to 80% of methane emissions from landfills by 2032 and extend the technology’s application beyond the oil and gas industry.
Lowering Industrial Water Footprint
Veolia will also assist TotalEnergies in its goal to reduce freshwater withdrawals by 20% by 2030 compared to 2021 levels at sites facing water stress, while also enhancing discharge quality. Following a recent agreement between Veolia and SATORP—a Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies joint venture—the companies will now develop projects focused on wastewater reuse at TotalEnergies facilities. These initiatives include repurposing municipal wastewater for industrial use and leveraging Veolia’s advanced water treatment technologies.
Sustainable Desalination Through Clean Energy
The two partners are also joining forces to promote low-carbon energy use in desalination. TotalEnergies will support Veolia in powering desalination plants with renewable energy sources. Their successful collaboration in Oman, where they built the largest solar-powered desalination plant, exemplifies this commitment. Veolia aims to double its desalination capacity by 2030 while further lowering the energy intensity of these systems.
Recovering Strategic Resources from Waste
In addition, the companies will collaborate on research to industrialize the recovery of critical materials such as rare earth elements from waste. These resources—found in batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines—are vital to clean energy technologies but remain underutilized.
Veolia CEO Estelle Brachlianoff expressed that the partnership reinforces both companies’ commitment to ecological transformation and industrial sustainability. TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné added that the collaboration will enable both firms to make measurable contributions to reducing environmental impact and advancing the circular economy.
