Nordic energy company Gasum launched a new strategy for the next five years in 2022. It aims to shift the emphasis of its business and operations more towards renewable natural gas (RNG) and electricity.
In 2022, the firm delivered 1.7 terawatt hours (TWh) of biogas to its customers, and its ambitious new goal is to bring 7TWh worth of RNG annually to the Nordic market by 2027.
The company said this means "significant investments" in increasing Gasum’s own biogas production as well as sourcing more renewable gas from trusted partners.
Gasum currently produces biogas in 17 plants in Finland and Sweden from different waste streams such as sewage sludge, manure and biowaste. The carbon dioxide emissions reduction of using biogas compared to fossil fuel use is on average as high as 90%. Using manure for biogas production can even have a carbon negative impact, meaning an emissions reduction of more than 100%.
Finland, Sweden and Norway together currently produce about 4 TWh of biogas per year. Denmark is the largest biogas producer of the Nordic region with around 8 TWh produced annually.
The increase in Gasum's supply to 7 TWh at the Nordic level would mean a significant increase in availability. Using 7 TWh of renewable gas instead of fossil fuels would also mean a cumulative yearly reduction of 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide.
“There is still much to do to decarbonise land and sea transportation as well as industrial processes. Increasing biogas availability in these segments is a way of reducing emissions sooner rather than later. The switch to biogas can happen almost at the snap of your fingers, because biogas is fully interchangeable with natural gas wherever it is currently used”, said Mika Wiljanen, CEO of Gasum Group.
Wiljanen went on to say that Gasum has begun construction on the first of five large biogas plants it plans to build in Sweden.
" The Götene plant, which will be constructed during 2023–2024, will produce 120 GWh of biogas per year. Multiply that by five and you go a long way to reaching that goal by 2027. But we do have a few other plans up our sleeves as well,” Wiljanen stated.
Gasum intends to produce 7 TWh RNG annually by 2027
