Finland-headed gas major Gasum Oy has reported that its biogas project in Turku, Finland is moving ahead as progress is being made in design work and procurement. The project, which is to be completed during 2019, comprises of the expansion and modernisation of the Topinoja biogas plant and the construction of a biogas upgrading and liquefaction plant. In addition, Gasum will also construct more filling stations to serve light vehicles in the Turku region.
Turku (Åbo) is a city located on the southwest coast of Finland. According to Gasum, the total investment of the Turku biogas project will create a significant new opening in growing the biogas business. The Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has awarded the biogas plant expansion project EUR 7.97 million in investment aid for key energy projects.
Developing the biogas market and increasing production are a core part of our strategy. The Topinoja biogas plant expansion project in Turku includes the modernization and expansion of the biogas plant processing capacity, biogas upgrading and liquefaction and partly compression. The end product of reject water treatment will be high-quality nitrogen concentrate which we will supply to our customers, said Matti Oksanen, Director, Product Management and Solutions, Biogas, from Gasum.
The Turku project will provide around 170 full-time equivalents of employment during the construction phase.The annual total capacity of the biogas plant following the completion of the expansion will be around 110 000 tonnes of sewage sludge and separately collected biowaste as well as industrial side streams.
The project will, according to Gasum, enhance the growth of the Finnish biogas market and strongly promote the transport fuel use of biogas. Construction of the Topinoja project is underway and will be completed in 2019.
The liquefaction of biogas will make it possible to distribute biogas for use as a fuel for the heavy-duty road as well as maritime transport. The liquefaction capacity will correspond to the annual fuel consumption of around 125 heavy-duty vehicles. In addition, we are able to supply compressed biogas for car traffic in the Turku region. Liquefied biogas is available from our four heavy-duty vehicle filling stations, located in Turku, Helsinki’s Vuosaari Harbor, Jyväskylä and Vantaa. We’ll also be constructing more stations, said Oksanen.
Under the Government Programme, the key projects aim to bring the Finnish economy to a path of sustainable growth and rising employment. The objective of the ’Bioeconomy and clean solutions’ key projects is to increase the use of renewable energy in a sustainable way so that its share will rise to more than 50 percent during the 2020s. This will be based, in particular, on the growth in the supply of bioenergy and other emission-free renewable energy.
