Finland-headed gas and energy company Gasum Oy has announced that it has received final construction permits for its planned Götene biogas-to-bioLNG plant in Götene, Sweden. For Gasum the Götene plant marks the beginning of a "string of investments into new biogas production in accordance with the company’s new strategy."
After a “careful and thorough” planning and permit process, Gasum is starting the construction work on its latest biogas plant project in the Swedish community of Götene.
The Götene plant will utilize mainly manure as feedstock from the agriculture sector in the surrounding area. The plant will process approximately 400 000 tonnes of feedstock annually.
According to Gasum, manure is a feedstock that has the ability to turn biogas from a low-carbon to a carbon-negative fuel.
It lowers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when used, for example, in cars and trucks but also mitigates methane emissions generated by traditional treatment of manure, where it is simply spread out onto fields.
Once completed in early 2025, the plant will produce an estimated 120 GWh worth of liquefied biomethane (bioLNG) aka LBG per annum.
Recycle fertilizers back to the farms
In addition to liquefied biomethane (aka renewable natural gas – RNG), the plant will produce 350 000 tonnes of high-quality environmentally friendly biofertilizers, which are returned to the farmers providing the feedstock.
Compared to fossil fertilizers, recycled fertilizers contain organic matter which is important in maintaining the growing conditions and weather resistance of farmlands.
Gasum is investing nearly EUR 54 million in the Götene plant, of which EUR 15 million has been provided as a grant from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s Klimatklivet (Climate Step) investment program.
We are extremely happy to be proceeding with this project in Götene because, in the last couple of years, we have seen interest in biogas intensify in the Nordic countries as well as across the whole of Europe. The Götene biogas plant will be the first step in Gasum’s ambitious plan for increasing the availability of renewable energy to our customers whether they are in the traffic, industry, or maritime segment, said Erik Woode, Head of Project Development and Execution at Gasum.
First of five large plants in Sweden
The Götene plant is the first one in a series of five large-scale biogas plants that Gasum plans to construct in Sweden during the next few years. The other locations will be Borlänge, Kalmar, Sjöbo, and Hörby.
Gasum is also planning a biogas plant near Trondheim in Norway. These upcoming projects are part of Gasum’s renewed strategy to invest strongly in increasing Nordic biogas availability in the coming years.
Gasum’s strategic goal is that by 2027 a significant portion of its profits will come from green energy sources. This means increasing the role of biogas and trade in renewable electricity.
According to the company, fossil gas, and its liquefied form LNG, continues to be an important stepping stone and a pathway to biogas and possibly synthetic methane use in the future.
This is because the existing infrastructure built for LNG is directly usable for the transfer of bioLNG and synthetic methane.
