Finnish state-owned energy firm and LNG supplier, Gasum, has started building a liquefied biogas (bio-LNG) plant in Gotene, Sweden, and aims to launch the facility in early 2025.
Gasum said in a statement that the Gotene plant is the first one in a series of five large-scale biogas plants that firm plans to construct in Sweden during the next few years.
The other locations will be Borlange, Kalmar, Sjobo, and Horby.
According to Gasum, the firm received final construction permits for the new plant at the end of January and the start of construction marks the beginning of a string of investments into new biogas production in accordance with the company’s new strategy.
Gasum will invest nearly 54 million euros ($57.8 million) in the plant while the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s Klimatklivet investment program provided 15 million euros as a grant back in 2019.
The Gotene plant will produce 120 gigawatt hours (GWh) worth of liquefied biogas (bio-LNG or LBG) per year from early 2025 onwards.
It will utilize mainly manure as feedstock from the agriculture sector in the surrounding area and will process about 400,000 tons of feedstock yearly.
In addition to energy, the plant will produce 350,000 tons of fertilizers, which are returned to the farmers providing the feedstock.
Besides the biogas plants in Sweden, Gasum is also planning a biogas plant near Trondheim in Norway.
These upcoming projects make part of Gasum’s renewed strategy to “invest strongly in increasing Nordic biogas availability in the coming years,” it said.
Gasum’s strategic goal is that by 2027 a significant portion of its profits will come from “green energy” sources.
This means increasing the role of biogas and trade in renewable electricity, the firm said.
Gasum has a large network of LNG/bio-LNG fueling stations for trucks in the Nordics but it also delivers bio-LNG to its maritime customers.