Gasum has delivered liquified biogas to Svalbard airport, marking the northernmost and most remote location the company has supplied biogas to date. Airport operator Avinor selected Gasum's premium Biogas Plus product to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Norwegian state-owned company Avinor has developed a biogas turbine concept to provide heating and electricity for Longyearbyen airport at Svalbard. As part of this energy transition, Gasum now supplies liquified biogas (LBG) to the facility.
Svalbard is a Norwegian territory comprising a group of islands between mainland Norway and the North Pole. It is one of the northernmost inhabited areas in the world, located approximately 1,000km north of Tromsø.
Due to the remote and northern location of Svalbard, reliable energy needs are fulfilled by fuel-based solutions. Solar energy is difficult to implement as there are few if any daylight hours in Svalbard during the winter season. Energy needs at Svalbard have historically been covered by coal, which was replaced with diesel in 2023.
Reducing emissions in challenging conditions
State-owned Avinor operates 43 airports around Norway. Until now, Svalbard airport has represented 15-20% of Avinor's total GHG emissions. The annual energy demand of the airport is 4GWh.
"This agreement with Avinor is a great demonstration of Gasum's dedication to helping our customers achieve their climate goals. In challenging environments and energy-intensive operations, electrification is not always a feasible solution. In those cases, switching to using biogas can have a huge positive impact. We look forward to seeing emissions reduce in the Svalbard islands with our continuing collaboration with Avinor," says Ville Pesonen, vice president, industry and traffic, Gasum.
"The use of biogas in our energy production at Svalbard airport is a crucial step towards achieving Avinor's climate goals by 2030. By transitioning to renewable and carbon-negative fuels like Biogas Plus, we significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrate our commitment to sustainable operations, even in the most challenging environments," says Karianne Helland Strand, EVP sustainability and infrastructure at Avinor.
Negative emissions with Biogas Plus
This is the northernmost and most remote location Gasum has delivered LBG to, proving the viability of biogas as a source of low-emission energy in even the most extreme environments. Liquified biogas is shipped in containers from Stavanger via Tromsø to Longyearbyen, the capital of Svalbard. Gasum has also provided training on the safe handling of LBG to personnel at Svalbard airport and rescue services.
LBG is a fully renewable fuel, with life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions that are, on average, 90% lower compared to traditional fossil fuels like diesel. Gasum's LBG is produced using different types of waste streams such as biowaste, sewage sludge, manure and other industrial and agricultural side streams.
For Svalbard airport, Avinor has chosen Gasum's premium product LBG Plus, which has emissions below zero and is certified in accordance with ISCC and provided with Proof of Sustainability (PoS) documentation.
LBG Plus typically has a negative carbon intensity (CI) score of -15g of CO₂ eq/MJ. This means that even a remote and isolated location such as Svalbard can utilise 100% renewable and carbon-negative fuels for all energy needs.
Gasum is dedicated to bringing increasingly more renewable gas to the Nordic market in the coming years to help its customers reach their emission reduction targets.
Gasum Supplies liquified biogas to Svalbard airport
