Gasum AB, the Swedish subsidiary of Finland-headed gas major Gasum Oy, has been awarded a SEK 92.6 million (≈EUR 9.3 million) investment subsidy by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket), under the Climate Leap ('Klimatklivet') programme. The investment subsidy will help in opening up to 16 new gas filling stations around Sweden in the coming years.
According to Gasum, the subsidy is a significant step in building a Nordic gas ecosystem that will, for example, expand the use of liquified natural gas (LNG) in heavy-duty vehicles. Switching fuels in the heavy road transport segment, from diesel to either liquefied biogas (LBG) or LNG, will have a significant impact on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulates (PM) and noise emissions.
Furthermore, the company says that gas will play a major role in the transition to a carbon-neutral society. Over the next few years, Gasum will widen the company’s LNG filling station network in Finland, Sweden and Norway. New stations will be positioned at strategically relevant locations, expanding the operating range of LNG powered vehicles even further in the Nordic countries.
New filling stations
With the investment subsidy granted by Swedish EPA in the Climate Leap programme, Gasum takes another important step towards the completion of new filling station projects, as well as the expansion of the Nordic gas infrastructure. The subsidy can be used for building up to 16 new gas filling stations in 13 Swedish regions: Västerbotten, Norrbotten, Värmland, Västernorrland, Gävleborg, Örebro, Västmanland, Uppsala, Västra Götaland, Östra Götaland, Jönköping, Kronoberg and Skåne.
The positive investment support decision gives us a great opportunity to further grow our filling station network, and at the same time, continue our efforts to develop the Nordic gas market. Furthermore, it brings us closer to our goal of reducing emissions from road transport and moving towards a low-carbon future, said Jukka Metsälä, Vice President, Biogas, Gasum.
Gasum has taken a decisive role in the development of the Nordic gas ecosystem. Finland’s first LNG filling stations are located in Helsinki, Vantaa, Turku and Jyväskylä. Recently, the company was awarded EUR 7.83 million in funding support by the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment from its ’Bioeconomy and clean solutions’ programme for increased biogas production.
According to the company, the demand for cleaner solutions in road transport is evident, and a comprehensive gas network is vital in enabling growth. The number of gas vehicles is increasing in all categories. Last year the number of gas cars registered in Finland was three times higher than the year before.
In Sweden, vehicle gas is now the fourth largest transportation fuel type on an energy basis. In 2017, it accounted for 1.7 TWh of which renewable gas, biomethane, had a record 87 percent share according to figures from the Swedish Bioenergy Association, Svebio.
