The Var SME Mini Green Power sues the giant Suez after the termination of a contract, jeopardizing 25 jobs and a key technology.
The innovative SME Mini Green Power, a French leader in waste valorization for low-carbon energy, announced on Friday, April 3, 2026 that it has initiated legal proceedings against Suez RV France. The lawsuit, filed with the Paris Commercial Court, follows the abrupt termination of a strategic partnership concerning the construction of an industrial demonstrator in Narbonne. This decision, which the company disputes, puts its survival, its 38 patents, and twenty-five highly skilled jobs at risk.
A abruptly terminated strategic partnership
After twelve years of research and development, Mini Green Power had high hopes for its collaboration with Suez. The agreement, signed in 2024, included two major aspects: a first contract in July for the construction of a demonstrator at a Suez site in Narbonne, followed in October by an exclusive commercial partnership. The latter involved Suez committing to purchasing a minimum of five miniplants, with an expected revenue of 50 million euros.
While the construction of the demonstrator was 90% complete, Suez notified the termination of the contract on November 14, 2025, effective November 22. This abrupt termination, which Mini Green Power considers unfair, forced them, after several weeks of interrupted discussions, to take the matter to court while still seeking an amicable solution.
Human and industrial consequences
This situation weakens a company that was barely recovering from difficult trials. In September 2023, a fire in its workshop led to it being placed in receivership. The partnership with Suez was the cornerstone of its recovery plan and future growth.
Today, 25 direct jobs – engineers, technicians, and production staff – are at risk. Beyond the social impact, it is a French technological know-how that is at stake. Mini Green Power is not just a start-up; it holds a portfolio of 38 patents protecting a validated technology for transforming waste into low-carbon energy and biochar. Based in Hyeres, Mini Green Power (www.minigreenpower.com) is a mission-driven company specializing in the design of small modular plants.
“Time is running out, and we need to make this situation visible”
The founder and CEO of the SME, Jean Riondel, expresses his determination to save his company and its assets.
“We had placed a decisive part of our development prospects in this partnership with Suez and in the success of this demonstrator. Eighteen months after signing, we received a termination notice that we dispute, and we affirm it put us in great difficulty. We had no choice but to sue. But what I want people to look at are the facts: 25 jobs are at stake today. We have a validated technology, 38 patents, an almost finished demonstrator, and a real commercial pipeline. These assets have value. We have not given up on an amicable solution. But time is running out, and today we must make this situation visible,” he warns in a statement.
An issue that goes beyond the commercial dispute
The case of Mini Green Power against Suez raises, according to the SME, questions of public interest. It questions the dynamics of relations between large companies and innovative SMEs, essential links in the energy transition supported by public authorities. The vulnerability of these actors to unilateral decisions highlights the risks to the French industrial ecosystem and the preservation of skilled jobs in the regions.
To illustrate its project, the company has released several videos, including a presentation of the Narbonne plant (https://youtu.be/4df5qXbYRH4) and a documentary about its team and facilities (https://youtu.be/F9QRquz43LM).
