More biogas for Finland from waste processed at Ekokem Circular Economy Village – Gasum and Biotehdas to cooperate in biogas production

An upgraded biogas production facility, gas network connection and around 10 km of gas pipeline will be constructed in cooperation between Gasum and Biotehdas at the Ekokem Circular Economy Village in Riihimäki, Finland.

To be completed in 2016, the Riihimäki biogas facility will have an annual production potential of 50 GWh, which corresponds to the annual energy need of 4,500 cars or 2,000 detached houses. Renewable and 100% Finnish, the biogas produced at the Circular Economy Village will be easily accessible in the area covered by the gas network.

To be completed in late 2016, at the Ekokem Circular Economy Village located in Riihimäki municipal waste will be circulated via the Eco Refinery, Plastic Refinery and Biorefinery. During the construction phase the Circular Economy Village will provide around 100/120–160 full-time equivalents of employment and, once completed, will have 20–30 employees, with 4–6 of these working at the biogas production facility.

”The Riihimäki Circular Economy Village is Finland’s first concrete step toward the circular economy. Waste delivered to the Village will be processed into recycled plastics, construction materials, district heat, and electricity and – thanks to Gasum’s contribution – into biogas at the Biotehdas Biorefinery. At the Circular Economy Village the recycling rate of municipal waste is already 50% and the recovery rate around 98%, says Ekokem Strategy Director Mari Puoskari.

At the biogas production facility, Biotehdas will be responsible for gas production, while the upgrading and network injection of biogas will be carried out by Gasum. In addition to the upgrading facility, Gasum will construct a gas network connection on the site as well as a gas pipeline section that will be around 10 km long. Once upgraded, the properties of biogas correspond fully to those of natural gas. This investment by Biotehdas and Gasum will enable the direct network injection of renewable and 100% Finnish biogas from the Ekokem Circular Economy Village for use by a variety of customers in sectors such as transport, heat production, industrial processes, property heating and gas cooking. The investment will increase the annual volume of biogas injected into the Gasum gas network considerably from the current level to around 130 gigawatt-hours.

”We want to put Finnish biowaste processing on a sustainable basis, increase the use of biogas and promote the circular economy. Our cooperation with Gasum opens up opportunities to offer biogas to more target groups, particularly in transport use. Biogas is also a component of Finland’s renewable energy production target. In 2020, Finland must produce 38% of its energy with renewable energy forms,” says Biotehdas Managing Director Kaisa Suvilampi.

”Our cooperation with Ekokem and Biotehdas at the Riihimäki Circular Economy Village is an excellent example and a major step forward in the development of the biogas market. The project enables the production of biogas from a new type of raw material basis. The Riihimäki production facility will strengthen the role of Finnish biogas in concepts based on the circular economy and will considerably increase the volume of biogas offered to customers. Thanks to this investment, we’ll be able to offer biogas to an even larger number of customers,” says Gasum Vice President, Biogas business unit Jukka Metsälä.

Biogas is a Finnish biofuel that is always produced from fully renewable raw materials.

For further information please contact:

Kaisa Suvilampi, Managing Director, Biotehdas Oy
Phone: +358 50 525 4222, firstname.surname(a)biotehdas.fi

Mari Puoskari, Strategy Director, Ekokem Group
Phone: +358 50 537 2595, firstname.surname(a)ekokem.com

Jukka Metsälä, Vice President, Biogas business unit, Gasum Ltd
Phone: +358 20 44 78,656, firstname.surname(a)gasum.fi