Nordic energy company Gasum and power-to-gas developer Nordic Ren-Gas have signed a Letter of Intent whereby the parties will negotiate on an offtake agreement for the entire anticipated production of Nordic Ren-Gas’s e-methane plant projects in the Finnish cities of Lahti and Kotka.
If an agreement is reached, Gasum will purchase all e-methane produced at the plants and distribute it to its customers.
With an agreement, the e-methane produced in Lahti and Kotka will be injected to the gas grid with the potential to be exported to Europe or liquefied for use as e-LNG in, for example, maritime transport.
Nordic Ren-Gas has developed a unique operational and technical design for its Power-to-Gas plants to meet all the requirements of the EU Renewable Energy Directive on renewable liquid and gaseous fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) for its e-methane.
In January, Gasum and Nordic Ren-Gas reported signing the first offtake agreement on an e-methane plant in Tampere that will initially produce 160 gigawatt hours (GWh) of e-methane per year starting 2026. The Lahti and Kotka plants will be constructed based on the model developed in the Tampere project.
Final volumes decided based on demand
The initial plan is that the Lahti and Kotka plants combined will produce 800 GWh of renewable e-methane per year, according to the companies.
Gasum and Nordic Ren-gas will determine the realised offtake volumes together based on projected demand from end users. The Lahti and Kotka plants are both planned to be up and running by 2027.
The plants will produce the renewable e-methane using Finnish onshore wind power.
Both projects are being developed in close collaboration with the local energy utilities when it comes to the capture of carbon dioxide and district heating integration to utilise surplus heat from the power-to-gas process.
“Gasum is pleased to continue developing our co-operation with Nordic Ren-Gas, as the potential of e-methane for emission reductions in industry and transport is so substantial. Gasum has the infrastructure in place for effective distribution of e-methane to our customers in land and maritime transport as well as industry and we believe Finland is a competitive location for producing e-methane to the European market. The volumes produced at the Lahti and Kotka plants can be a significant addition to Gasum’s renewable energy offering,”, said Mika Wiljanen, CEO of Gasum Group.
“Excitingly, our collaboration with Gasum has now reached almost one terawatt hour (TWh) of annual e-methane volumes. Building on the success of our joint efforts in the Tampere project, we are thrilled to share progress in the Lahti and Kotka projects. Ren-Gas’s efficient project development model, combined with Gasum’s valuable expertise in the renewable gas market, accelerates the entire development of the renewable e-methane market and facilitates cost-efficient emission reductions in Europe,” said Saara Kujala, CEO of Ren-Gas.
Gasum and Nordic Ren-Gas sign Letter of Intent for major offtake agreement
