Ian TaylorNordic biomethane specialist St1 Biokraft has informed ship.energy that it is expanding its production capacity in Sweden through the acquisition of Södra Hallands Kraft Biogas’s plant in Hov.
St1 Biokraft is a joint venture between HitecVision, Aneo and St1, which is one of Nordic region’s main energy companies and refiners as well as a leading player in the regional bunker market.
Currently, St1 Biokraft has 12 biogas production and upgrading plants in Sweden, Norway and South Korea with a production capacity of more than 550 GWh. In addition, the company has two plants under construction in Finland and is in the process of completing another in Mönsterås, Sweden. It is aiming to achieve 3 TWh biomethane production and 6 TWh biomethane sales by 2030.
The biogas plant in Hov, which was first built in 1992 and has since undergone various expansions and upgrades, will add 25 GWh to St1 Biokraft’s capacity. St1 Biokraft signed an agreement to buy the operation on 28 February. The business was transferred to St1 Biokraft on that date and will change its name to St1 Biokraft Laholm AB. St1 Biokraft already owns and operates an upgrading plant in the same property.
Miika Johansson, the CEO of St1 Biokraft, commented: ‘Biomethane is a competitive renewable fuel that contributes to major emission reductions, especially in the transport sector. A prerequisite for the green transition is that there is biomethane and infrastructure available on the market. Our ambition is to increase that availability to enable more companies and industries to make the transition.’
Speaking to ship.energy today (6 March), an St1 Biokraft spokesperson confirmed that the marine sector was one of the markets that the company was targeting for its biomethane.
Image: St1 Biokraft
Rhys Berry
