Finland-headed gas and energy major Gasum Oy has held the inauguration of a new biomethane - aka renewable natural gas (RNG) - filling station in Ålesund, Norway, and marks Gasum's fourth bioLNG filling station for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) in the country.
Gasum has collaborated with Posten Norge AS, the Norwegian postal service, and ÅRIM, a waste management company, to open the new gas filling station.
The new station caters to logistics companies operating in the region as well as to long-haul traffic from Ålesund on the west coast of Norway through Trondheim or Oslo all the way to Sweden.
The station is situated in the Digerneset Næringspark logistics hub and is a crucial component in Gasum’s expanding Nordic gas-filling station network, which is already supporting the growth of RNG in the heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) segment.
The Ålesund filling station which offers both compressed- and liquefied biomethane (bioCNG and bioLNG) is Gasum’s fourth bioLNG filling station in Norway, with several new filling stations to be established in coming years.
Collaboration enables a baseload volume
Posten’s and ÅRIM’s investments in biogas-powered trucks gave Gasum the necessary base load volume to invest in the filling station.
The core of ÅRIM’s business is caring for the environment. Choosing biogas for our transport is as natural as it can be. Biogas supports local production of biogas and enables us to be part of the circular economy, said Øystein Solevåg, CEO of ÅRIM and Bingsa Gjenvinning.
Using RNG will allow Posten and ÅRIM to reduce their emissions from heavy-duty transport. The station is open to all logistics actors and to public motorists.
Reducing CO2 emissions and minimizing local pollution is an important part of Posten’s sustainability targets. We have set ourselves ambitious targets and biogas is one of the renewable sources used by our fleet. Gasum opening in Ålesund is most welcomed, said Margrethe Aamodt, SVP of People and Sustainability Nordic, Posten Norge.
RNG can reduce GHG emissions significantly
Gasum notes a growing interest in gas among Norwegian transport companies as they see RNG as a cost-effective way to reduce emissions and improve their image.
The newly opened gas-filling station in Ålesund is responding to the increasing demand for gas fuel options.
Norway aims to reduce its emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, and according to Gasum, a shift to RNG by just a fifth of the heavy transport market could result in a 70 percent reduction in total fossil carbon emissions.
The use of biomethane also reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the fuel life cycle by over 90 percent compared to fossil fuel use.
Additionally, using biomethane can improve local air quality due to a substantial reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) compared to conventional fuels.
We are very excited to expand our network of filling stations to the west coast of Norway. Digerneset Næringspark is an important logistics hub, and the station will supply the area’s logistics actors with biogas so that they can reduce their emissions from road transport both within Ålesund and for long-distance transport to the Oslo area. I am happy to see considerable interest in biogas in Norway indicated by major logistics players. By expanding the Nordic gas filling station network, we can also provide new opportunities for local companies to substantially lower their emissions, said Jogeir Munkeby, Sales Manager, Traffic Norway at Gasum.
