In Sweden, the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and Eskilstuna Biogas AB have signed a seven-year loan to co-finance the construction of a new biogas production plant in a facility near Eskilstuna.
The EUR 15 million loan is supported by the European Union under the InvestEU programme and is eligible under NIB’s InvestEU Framework Operation Green Mobility and Transport.
Eskilstuna Biogas is a company formed to build a greenfield biogas plant to produce liquefied biomethane (bioLNG), and it is owned by Andion, Equitix Next Generation Fund, and Rederi AB Gotland (Gotlandsbolaget).
The plant, currently under construction, will actively reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by producing biogas that replaces fossil fuels.
Produce bioLNG
The plant will have the capacity to process up to 150,000 tonnes of feedstock per year and an estimated production capacity of up to 5,450 tonnes of liquefied biomethane (bioLNG) annually that will be used for city buses and ferries.
The company expects the plant to start operations in the first half of 2027.
We are very excited to finally start the construction of the Eskilstuna Biogas plant with a distinguished group of strategic investors, valued municipality, and local farming partners. We are also looking forward to contributing to a 10 percent carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction in the region and leading the way for other necessary green initiatives in the years to come, said Kaj Wågdahl, Chairman of Eskilstuna Biogas.
The company sources its feedstock primarily from local farmers in the form of manure, supplemented by food waste from the Eskilstuna municipality.
Adopting technologies that replace fossil fuels is one of the greatest challenges of this decade. Eskilstuna Biogas sets a great example by using available resources to tackle the challenges of climate change and waste management, all of which contribute to Sweden’s 2045 net-zero target, said Jeanette Vitasp, NIB’s Head of Lending.
The InvestEU Fund is implemented through financial partners that will invest in projects using the EU budget guarantee of EUR 26.2 billion.
The entire budget guarantee will back the investment projects of the implementing partners, increase their risk-bearing capacity, and thus mobilise at least EUR 372 billion in additional investment.
