Organic fertilizers and biogas from biowaste in the Helsinki region – commercial use of the Lohja biogas plant started up

Gasum strives actively to increase biogas production capacity by building new biogas plants and also by increasing biogas procurement from partners. The Lohja biogas plant uses biodegradable waste from the Helsinki region as feedstock, which means that the recycled nutrients created in production at the biogas plant meet the criteria for organic fertilizers.

”It’s pleasing that our Lohja biogas plant was completed to plan. Our plant promotes the realization of the circular economy in the Helsinki region. Demand for biogas is growing in all segments and we are constantly pursuing new opportunities to increase production capacity. Demand for recycled nutrients and organic fertilizers is showing development in various industrial sectors. We constantly need more biodegradable waste for our production and hope that operators in the Helsinki region will join us in promoting the circular economy by becoming part of the chain,” says Johan Grön, Vice President, Biogas, Gasum.

The plant will process around 60,000 tonnes of biomass a year to produce 40 GWh of renewable biogas, equivalent to the annual fuel consumption of 100 heavy-duty vehicles or 4,000 cars a year. The plant will also produce around 50,000 tonnes of organic fertilizers for agriculture.

“We welcome Gasum to our waste center in Munkkaa, Lohja. Smooth cooperation in biowaste processing will now continue with cooperation in use of the site. We at waste management company Rosk’n Roll seek to create circular economy centers where it is easy for operators to locate and invest in plants that promote material and nutrient recycling. Gasum’s plant is an excellent example of this,” says Vesa Heikkonen, CEO, Rosk’n Roll Oy Ab.

The Lohja biogas plant has been granted support of EUR 7.83 million by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment under the Bioeconomy and clean solutions key project. The objective of the key project is to increase in a sustainable way the share of renewable energy of the energy used in Finland by, in particular, improving its availability.

Biogas is a fully renewable energy source that can be produced from many types of biodegradable waste. Use of biogas as a fuel can help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 90% compared to fossil diesel. Gasum now has 16 biogas plants in Finland and Sweden, making the company one of the largest producers of biogas in the Nordics. Gasum will make 4 TWh of biogas available in the Nordics by 2024 through its own production and partners.