Syngenta has signed a virtual power purchase agreement with Statkraft to support the decarbonisation of its operations across Europe. The agreement will provide wind-generated electricity for Syngenta’s Crop Protection and Seeds businesses, marking the company’s first use of a virtual PPA as part of its climate strategy.

The five-year contract will deliver 125 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity annually, amounting to a total of 625 gigawatt-hours by the end of the agreement in 2030. While the electricity itself will not be physically delivered to Syngenta’s facilities, the financial structure of the vPPA enables the company to support renewable generation and hedge power price exposure while reducing the carbon intensity of its operations.

A Financial Route to Decarbonisation

Unlike traditional power purchase agreements, a virtual PPA functions as a financial contract rather than a physical supply arrangement. This structure allows companies to support new or existing renewable energy assets without altering how electricity is sourced for individual sites. For Syngenta, the approach provides flexibility to advance its emissions reduction targets without disrupting established operational processes across multiple European locations.

Rachel Stenson Bugnon, Head of Crop Protection Global Sourcing at Syngenta, described the agreement as a milestone in the company’s decarbonisation pathway. She said the tailored structure allows Syngenta to make tangible progress toward its carbon reduction objectives for Syngenta AG while maintaining efficiency across its European manufacturing footprint.

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Customised Wind Supply From Germany

Under the agreement, Statkraft will map the full generation profile of onshore wind capacity in Germany using an artificial wind farm model. This approach enables the creation of customised renewable electricity supply offers aligned with corporate demand profiles. Syngenta will receive green electricity volumes indexed to the electricity spot market for the duration of the contract and will also obtain guarantees of origin for the agreed renewable output.

For Statkraft, the structure helps connect corporate buyers seeking long-term green power procurement with wind assets that may no longer qualify for public subsidies. Sascha Schröder, Vice President for Central European Origination at Statkraft, said the arrangement bridges a structural gap in the market by aligning the shorter delivery preferences of unsubsidised wind farm operators with the long-term sourcing strategies of large industrial customers.

Corporate Power Procurement in Transition

The agreement reflects a broader shift in how multinational companies approach renewable energy procurement. Virtual PPAs have become an increasingly important tool for organisations with complex, multi-country operations that cannot easily source physical renewable power for every site. By separating financial exposure from physical delivery, vPPAs enable companies to scale renewable energy support more rapidly and across wider geographies.

For Syngenta, the deal complements its wider sustainability ambitions by embedding renewable energy into its sourcing strategy while avoiding the need for site-specific infrastructure changes. For Statkraft, Europe’s largest producer of renewable energy, the agreement reinforces the role of corporate PPAs in sustaining wind generation assets as subsidy regimes evolve.

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Implications for Europe’s Energy Transition

As European industrial players face rising pressure to decarbonise operations, agreements like this illustrate how financial instruments can accelerate renewable energy deployment alongside traditional grid-based solutions. Corporate demand for long-term green power contracts is increasingly seen as a stabilising force for renewable investment, particularly for assets transitioning away from public support.

The Syngenta–Statkraft vPPA highlights how customised, market-linked renewable procurement can align corporate climate targets with the realities of Europe’s changing energy market. As more companies adopt similar models, virtual PPAs are likely to play a growing role in linking industrial decarbonisation strategies with the continent’s expanding wind and renewable energy infrastructure.

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