In Sweden, an off-take agreement for surplus biomethane has been signed between biogas producer Gästrike Ekogas AB and Sandvik Materials Technology, a business and manufacturing unit within Sweden-headed Sandvik AB, an international engineering group in materials technology, metal-cutting, and mining and rock excavation.
According to a statement, the agreement allows Sandvik Materials Technology, a developer, and manufacturer of advanced stainless steels and special alloys, to utilise the biogas plant’s excess production at its industrial estate in Sandviken. The industrial estate uses oil and gas for, inter alia, heat treatment of materials. At the same time, there are ambitions to reduce the use of fossil fuels.
By replacing a share of oil, LPG and natural gas with carbon-neutral biogas, this will enable a reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by several thousand tonnes annually in Sandviken benefiting Gästrike Ekogas, Sandvik, and the environment.
At Gästrike Ekogas in Forsbacka, biogas is produced from organic household and garden waste equivalent to two million liters of gasoline annually in a process that is completely carbon neutral. When upgraded to biomethane it is used as vehicle fuel in natural gas vehicles (NGVs).
However, the demand for bioCNG from vehicle owners, the main target group, has been low. With no gas grid for injection or onsite gas storage alternatives, up to 70 percent of the biogas production has been flared. As of autumn 2018, Sandvik Materials Technology buys all the excess that the biogas plant produces.
We use large amounts of gas today and have an off-take provision for all their surplus and could use many times more. Our ambition is to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Switching from LPG and oil to biogas means that we are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the industrial area in Sandviken by several thousand tonnes annually, said Lars Andersson, Energy Supply Manager at Sandvik Materials Technology.
Gästrike Ekogas will supply the upgraded biogas in cylinders as compressed biomethane (bioCNG). The bioCNG is then transferred to the existing gas pipeline inside the industrial estate. a developer and manufacturer of advanced stainless steels and special alloys,
