“At Gasum we have a shared purpose for our work: cleaner energy.
In 2020, we honed the purpose of existence of our company so that our aspiration to help our customers to reduce their own carbon footprint as well as that of their customers is even more strongly at the core of everything we do.”
Johanna Lamminen,
CEO, Gasum
Regardless of the uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Gasum continued to develop the Nordic gas market as planned and was able to ensure business continuity and progress in projects. The year 2020 was in many ways exceptional for Gasum. While the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was being reflected in the entire operating environment, a genuine breakthrough of gas took place in Europe as well as globally, particularly in heavy-duty and maritime transport.
Demand for cleaner energy solutions continued to grow in these sectors that play key roles in our strategy. More and more shipping companies have ordered LNG-powered vessels, and interest in gas-fueled heavy-duty road vehicles is increasing. Despite the exceptional circumstances, we succeeded in reaching our profitability targets and advancing our strategy as planned, which required hard work from us in an increasingly competitive market.
Amidst the exceptional circumstances caused by the coronavirus pandemic, we have sought to safeguard business continuity by ensuring the health and safety of our employees and have done everything we can to secure the smooth functioning of business operations. I would like to thank our employees, customers and partners for well-functioning cooperation in a challenging operating environment.
The impacts of the pandemic were mainly reflected in our business as regards our growth targets. Mobility restrictions have been seen in the transport sector as lower fuel consumption and also caused us to push back with bringing our new plants into use. At the same time, there have been delays in our new customers’ projects, which in turn has impacted the start-up of Gasum’s deliveries.
At Gasum we have a shared purpose for our work: cleaner energy. In 2020, we honed the purpose of existence of our company so that our aspiration to help our customers to reduce their own carbon footprint as well as that of their customers is even more strongly at the core of everything we do. Responsibility is a key component of the Gasum strategy, and in January 2021 we announced new responsibility targets to curb climate change. Gasum aims for cumulative carbon emission reductions of a million tonnes by increasing biogas availability.
By 2025, we intend to make 4 TWh of biogas available on the market from our own production and that of certified European partners. In our own operations, we aim to reduce emissions in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and biogas production chains and to implement energy efficiency measures.
As part of our strategy execution, we closed the acquisition of Linde AG’s LNG and Biogas business and Nauticor’s Marine Bunkering business in 2020. The transaction expanded our supply of gas solutions in the Nordics particularly in maritime transport and heavy-duty road transport while also considerably expanding our gas filling station network. Other key events for our segments during the year included the acquisition of a biogas plant in Skövde, Sweden, and the investment decision to construct an industrial-scale biogas plant in Götene, Sweden; our partnership with Pavilion Energy Singapore will expand the supply of LNG, and we entered into our first long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with ABO Wind Oy on the output of a wind farm located in North Ostrobothnia, Finland.
At the turn of the year, the Finnish pipeline gas market was opened up to competition and Gasgrid Finland Oy, the gas transmission network company unbundled from Gasum, became operational. The opening up has taken place as expected, and the market has proved to be of interest to many actors. Going forward, Gasum wants to remain a significant actor in the pipeline gas market and serve its customers in the best possible way.
The importance of gas as an energy source over the longer term will increase further in the context of action against climate change, as the Nordic countries are moving towards carbon-neutral energy production. Although there is still much work to be done, it has been great to notice that the Nordic countries have also made political decisions concerning gas regulation that strengthen the role of gas as a low-emission fuel in the future. Gasum in turn plays a key role in developing the expanding gas infrastructure, which lays a good foundation for increases in the production and use of biogas, too.
Johanna Lamminen
Chief Executive Officer