The Finnish gas filling station network has increased by several stations in 2017, and in August the gas infrastructure of Central Finland was also strengthened with the opening of a new filling station in Jyväskylä. The station offers compressed natural gas (CNG) and biogas (CBG), which can be used to fuel vehicles such as cars, delivery vehicles, waste management vehicles and buses. Liquefied natural gas (LNG), on the other hand, is suitable for heavy-duty vehicles. The development of the station network and the increase in the number of gas-fueled vehicles supports the transition to cleaner solutions in private as well as public transport.
Gasum promotes cleaner mobility and is strongly committed to the development of gas-powered transport in Finland. In addition to natural gas and biogas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is a significant option for emission reductions for heavy-duty vehicles. In Europe, the pace of market development is already fast – LNG-fueled heavy-duty vehicles are becoming more common and the filling station network is expanding. The gas filling station opened in Jyväskylä is the second one in Finland offering fuel for light as well as heavy-duty vehicles. This year LNG for heavy-duty transport has become available in Jyväskylä, Turku, Helsinki and Vantaa.
Finland’s gas filling station network is expanding at a rapid annual rate, and the station opened in August in Jyväskylä is already the fourth new station opened in 2017. Over the next few years, the number of new stations to be opened by Gasum totals 35.
”Consumers, enterprises and cities want clean and inexpensive transport solutions. Sources of road fuel gas are expanding and access improving all the time thanks to the new gas filling stations of various of operators. In Jyväskylä as well there are now two filling stations responding to the increasing need for road fuel gas. The selection of vehicle models running on gas is also currently increasing, and gas vehicles are available from all well-known car manufactures for light and heavy-duty transport needs. I’m happy that Jyväskylä's trunk route transport now also gets an excellent opportunity to switch to lower-emission energy solutions,” says Gasum Vice President for Biogas Jukka Metsälä.
People in Finland interested in energy issues
According to a recent panel survey, the majority (76%) of people in Finland are interested in energy issues. * According to the survey, people in Finland are also committed to cleaner energy solutions. At the same time, however, people do not want to give up private cars. To respond to consumer wishes and the tightening emission targets, cities and enterprises need to find and offer new solutions for transport.
”The renewable energy local government review conducted for the City of Jyväskylä this year shows that we have great opportunities to increase the share of renewable energy. New transport solutions will play an important role in the achievement of this goal, and therefore we’re really pleased to get a new filling station in Jyväskylä that provides a comprehensive service for transport in the area,” says Mayor of the City of Jyväskylä Timo Koivisto.
Transport emission reduction as part of corporate responsibility
PR Director Juha Niemi from the moving and logistics services provider Niemi Services also finds that enterprises should actively introduce new ways to cut transport emissions. ”We started cooperation with Gasum in 2015, and today we’re already using 15 vehicles running on Finnish biogas. Our target is to achieve zero fine particulate emissions by 2040. The growing filling station network enables us to start using biogas vehicles outside the Helsinki region as well. Thanks to the new filling station, we're now operating our first Jyväskylä-based biogas vehicle.”
Gasum biogas is a 100% Finnish and renewable biofuel. It is the only road fuel sold in Finland that has been awarded the Made in Finland Key Flag Symbol as well as the Nordic Ecolabel. Biogas production is strongly associated with the circular economy as gas is produced from feedstocks such as biowaste that used to end up in landfill sites or waste incineration facilities. The circular economy provides enterprises and municipalities with an excellent opportunity to fuel their vehicles with biogas produced from their own biowaste.
The environmental management expert Eerola-Yhtiöt is the first company in Finland to fuel its vehicles with 100% Finnish and renewable biogas produced from waste collected by the company. Earlier, the fat, oil and grease (FOG) sludge collected by us ended up unutilized in wastewater treatment plants and landfill sites, but now we're able to recover the energy content of FOG at the biogas plant. With us filling up eight vehicles on biogas for a year reduces the CO2 emissions from their use by an amazing 2,600 tonnes a year. We’re very proud to be a forerunner in this,” says Tom Sundell, Marketing Director, from Eerola-Yhtiöt.
*Pitkänen, Ville; Westinen, Jussi. Suomalaisten asenteet ja aktiivisuus energia-asioissa (“Attitudes and level of activity in energy issues among people in Finland”), Ajatuspaja e2, 2017.
For more information please contact:
Jukka Metsälä, Vice President, Biogas, Gasum Ltd, phone: +358 40 5633 756, firstname.surname(a)gasum.com
Olga Väisänen, Vice President, Communications, Gasum Ltd, phone +358 40 554 0578, firstname.surname(a)gasum.com
