In Norway, Biokraft AS has inaugurated the world´s largest plant for the production of liquefied biogas (LBG). Officiated by Norwegian PM Erna Solberg with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 2, operational start-up of the plant at Skogn in Mid-Norway commenced in June 2018.
The plant has been built under a turn-key contract with Swedish entrepreneur Purac AB, and it is 100 percent owned by Biokraft AS.
Since June our start-up has proceeded successfully according to plan. We are of course very pleased with this, and I would like to thank our teams at Biokraft, Scandinavian Biogas and Purac for their consistent and good effort throughout this summer safeguarding a successful start-up for us at Biokraft, said Håvard Wollan, CEO of Biokraft AS.
The biogas plant at Skogn will initially produce 12,5 million Nm3 of renewable natural gas (RNG), biomethane, with an energy content of approximately 125 GWh per annum. Biokraft intends to double this production capacity as the next step at Skogn, bringing the total run-rate output to 250 GWh annually.
We are very pleased to see this fruition of the investment and position we took in Biokraft AS many years ago. We succeeded with the collaboration in Biokraft Marin several years ago, and now we are succeeding with the world´s largest LBG plant at Skogn, said Ståle Gjersvold, CEO of TrønderEnergi.
The primary feedstock for the biogas plant is waste and byproduct from the Norwegian fish farming industry and process water from the pulp and paper industry.
Two demonstration projects
Biokraft is currently spearheading two major R&D projects related to the facility at Skogn – the EU funded “EffiSludge for LIFE“ and Norwegian Research Council funded “COMPLETE“. With the facility entering the operational phase, the core demonstration phases for both the EffiSludge for LIFE and COMPLETE projects have also been initiated.
Our market view is consistent with a continuing strong demand-driven growth for liquefied biomethane in the coming years, and in particular from the heavy goods transportation segment. We also believe the application of LNG and LBG in the maritime sector will continue to show strong growth in the coming years. Our plant is a good example of a desired and necessary industrial manifestations in the new circular bio-economy, said Håvard Wollan.
EffiSludge for LIFE is part of the European LIFE Programme on Climate Change Mitigation. The aim is to implement the integrated condition of operation allowing energy and chemicals saving for the wastewater treatment plant processing effluents from the pulp mill. This is a joint project between Biokraft, Scandinavian Biogas and Norske Skog.
The aim of R&D project COMPLETE is to successfully recirculate and utilize nutrients of Biokraft´s own byproducts in order to cultivate algae and polychaetes which may, in turn, provide ingredients for animal feed, including potentially fish feed.
This significant innovation project is undertaken in collaboration with Scandinavian Biogas, NTNU, NIBIO, SINTEF Ocean and is financed by the Norwegian Research Council and Biokraft AS.
Industrial gas distributor AGA has an offtake agreement for the LBG which will utilized as a vehicle fuel in buses for public transportation and also by hauliers in the commercial transport sector.
As the majority owner of Biokraft AS, we are very pleased with the company reaching this important milestone. Biokraft is well positioned in the rapidly growing market for liquid biogas fuel in Scandinavia, said Matti Vikkula, CEO of Scandinavian Biogas.
Facts
About Biokraft AS
Biokraft AS is a Norwegian privately held company headquartered in Trondheim, Norway that operates the world’s largest liquefied biomethane (LBG) plant. Biokraft AS is fully owned by Biokraft Holding AS, which is owned by Scandinavian Biogas Fuels International AB (majority owner), TrønderEnergi AS, Joytrack AS and Cora Holding AS.
Scandinavian Biogas Fuels International AB sells biogas-based renewable energy and related services. The Group provides leading expertise in the purification process for upgrading biogas to vehicle fuel quality and in utilizing reject products from the digestion process as biofertilizer. The Group invests in owned or leased production facilities primarily in the Nordic region, with the Group’s expertise available as a service in other markets.
TrønderEnergi AS is a renewable energy company based in Mid Norway and owned by 24 municipalities in the south of Trøndelag, KLP, and NEAS. TrønderEnergi owns and operates both water and wind power and runs one of Norway’s largest grid companies. TrønderEnergi has around 400 employees and manages renewable energy assets for around NOK 12 billion.
