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Under the agreement signed between Gasum and Kouvolan Vesi, the Mäkikylä biogas plant and its business, including contracts, will transfer to Gasum on June 17, 2019. The plant comprises the biogas plant building and process equipment located in conjunction with Mäkikylä wastewater treatment plant.

“The transaction now completed ends a process lasting several years during which we have sought an economically and functionally sustainable solution to our biogas plant operations, which are not part of our core business,” sums up CEO Timo Kyntäjä at Kouvalan Vesi.”

The Mäkikylä biogas plant has been underperforming largely because of its small processing capacity. The plant has processed around 20,000 tonnes of biomass a year, which is the amount allowed by its permit. Gasum plans to invest in developing the plant.

“As a company we are committed to growing the supply of biogas as a renewable traffic fuel and as an enabler to achieving traffic emissions reduction targets. This requires increased production of biogas. The transaction will allow us to invest in the expansion of the Mäkikylä plant with the aim of increasing biogas production at the plant. We will also modernize the processes at the plant to bring them into line with today’s requirements,” says Ari Suomilammi, Director, Circular Economy Finland, Gasum.

Gasum currently owns 12 biogas plants in Finland and Sweden, and buys biogas from three partner plants, of which the Mäkikylä plant is one. Gasum has invested in the construction of a biogas plant in Lohja (Finland) and in Nymölla (Sweden) and in the expansion of the Turku biogas plant. The company’s current biogas capacity is around 650 GWh a year.

Completed in 2011, the Mäkikylä bioplant was built by Kymen Bioenergia Oy, whose main owner was KSS Energia Oy. The City of Kouvola transferred the bioplant and its processing plant to the Waterworks in 2014–2015.

The Gasum Gas Fund supports full-time research relating to education, research and development aiming to promote the gas ecosystem. Gasum Gas Fund is one of the special funds run and administered by the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion (TES). Grants have been given out from the fund for researchers developing future solutions concerning, for example, the bioeconomy and circular economy, transport and logistics or energy solutions promoting the use of gas.

“Gasum promotes development towards a carbon-neutral future together with its partners. Increasing the biogas market and biogas production capacity and promoting the circular economy is a key element of the Gasum strategy. It was an honor for us to provide several promising gas-sector researchers with grants this year, too,” says Gasum CEO Johanna Lamminen.

The objective of the Gas Fund is to support full-time research with full daily allowances. In addition, the Gas Fund seeks to provide long-term funding for research carried out by students. The Gasum Gas Fund is one of the special funds run and administered by the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion (TES).

Received by eight persons this year, the grants from the Gasum Gas Fund in 2019 totaled €62,200:

Danielle Bansfield, MSc (Aalto University), Exploiting the unexploited: improved recycling of nutrients in the reject water from biogas production into value-added products (€5,000)

Aida Hosseinian, MSc (University of Oulu), Phosphorus recovery in the context of circular economy (€5,000)

Kari Koppelmäki, MSc (University of Helsinki), Biokaasuntuotannon integrointi ravinteiden kierrätykseen paikallisessa ruokajärjestelmässä [Integrating biogas production into nutrient cycling in the local food system (€16,200)

Veera Koskue, MSc (Tampere University of Technology), Ravinteiden talteenotto jätevesistä bioelektrokemiallisilla menetelmillä [Nutrient recovery from wastewater using bioelectrochemical methods (€5,000)

Shah Rukh Shakeel, MSc (University of Vaasa), Commercialization of renewable energy technologies in Finland (€5,000)

Natalia Saukkonen, MSc (Tampere University of Technology), Interplay of profitability targets and environmental values in investment decision-making – case studies from biogas sector (€2,000)

Axumavit Tesfamariam (University of Oulu), The effect of selected coagulant on downstream biological wastewater treatment units and on biological sludge stabilization processes (€2,000)

Ville Turunen (Aalto University), Sewage sludge as a potential sustainable nutrient source (€22,000)

Johan Grön (1966) joins the Gasum Management Team from Outotec Corporation where he has had several business line responsibilities as Senior Vice President since 2013. For the last two years, he was responsible for Outotec’s Energy & Environment business line.

“I am delighted to welcome Johan Grön to Gasum and to lead our rapidly growing Biogas business. Johan has a strong track record in serving global energy, processing and manufacturing industry in several executive management positions. Developing the biogas market and the transport use of biogas as well as increasing the biogas production capacity are essential elements of the Gasum strategy. By increasing the use of biogas in transport, we support the emission reduction targets for transport and strengthen the availability of biogas,” says Johanna Lamminen, Chief Executive Officer at Gasum.

Before joining Outotec, Grön served as Chief Technology Officer and management team member of Xylem Corporation in New York and Kemira Oyj. He has also held senior management positions at companies including Stora Enso Oyj and Valmet Oyj.