In Sweden, a partnership agreement between Nordion Energi AB, a gas infrastructure and distribution company, and Denmark-headed biogas major Nature Energy A/S, a wholly owned subsidiary of global oil, gas, and energy major Shell Plc, will explore opportunities to increase the amount of biogas produced in Sweden.
Nordion Energi is the Transmission System Operator (TSO) for the Swedish gas grid and also owns and operates the country’s largest gas distribution network.
The partnership will combine Nature Energy’s expertise in developing and operating large-scale biogas production facilities with Nordion Energi’s strengths in operating and developing energy infrastructure to enable the connection of new biomethane (aka renewable natural gas – RNG) production to the gas grid.
Upgraded biogas is a renewable energy source that can replace fossil natural gas. And the ambitions for more biomethane in the Swedish energy system are now a step closer to becoming a reality.
The partnership aims to take forward opportunities for biogas production facilities potentially being connected to the grid in western Sweden by 2030, subject to future Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) by both partners.
This has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by enabling industry and heavy transport to switch to renewable energy sources more quickly. Biogas already plays an important role in the green transition of the energy system. And for many companies, access to biogas is crucial for them to be able to convert their production. With our focused efforts to get large-scale production of biogas connected to our gas grid, we can offer a stable and sustainable supply of biogas to the customers who need it, explained Hans Kreisel, CEO, of Nordion Energi.
Circular economy
According to Hans Kreisel, Nordion Energy is on track heading toward its ambition to become the first fossil-free gas grid in Europe.
Today, biomethane accounts for 37.5 percent of the gas in the western Swedish gas grid and is increasing.
A modern biogas plant can extract biogenic methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) from organic waste products from industry, agriculture, and households and produce biomethane that is similar to fossil natural gas.
The remaining digestate is recycled back to agriculture, where it acts as a fertilizer of the same quality as raw manure would.
Great potential in Sweden
In Denmark, Nature Energy already operates 13 biogas plants that produce about a third of the RNG in the Danish gas grid.
The company also has a pipeline of new plant projects in the Netherlands, France, the United States (US), and Canada.
And there is potential to extend this growth pipeline in Sweden, according to Ole Hvelplund, CEO at Nature Energy:
瑞典有一个成熟的天然气网络有限公司nstantly being developed. At the same time, there are plenty of biomasses available for our large-scale plants and when we can feed the upgraded biomethane into the gas grid, we see exciting potential for future investments. We look forward to exploring this potential further in partnership with Nordion, said Ole Hvelplund.
Once the relevant regulatory approvals have been obtained, it typically takes Nature Energy around 18 months to build a biogas plant.
