Clarification, 24 September 2026: The wording on e-SAF feedstock eligibility has been clarified. Biogenic origin is not equated with an emission-free production chain. The original publication date has been retained.
Finland’s biogas market is growing rapidly, and interest in renewable gas is increasing in industry and transport. Our Biogas Business Manager Jani Hautaluoma examines how the development of gas infrastructure will shape the next phase of biogas growth in Finland.
“A diverse gas pipeline network supports the growth of the biogas ecosystem,” says Jani Hautaluoma. In his view, Finland’s biogas market is clearly growing, as is the need for gas infrastructure that efficiently transports renewable gas from production to industry, transport and export markets. This requires a functioning system in which gas networks, LNG terminals and the virtual gas network complement each other.
Gas infrastructure is now developing in several regions of Finland. For example, the national transmission system operator Gasgrid has presented plans to expand the gas network into Satakunta. At Auris, we are developing a biogas plant in Säkylä that will produce 130 gigawatt-hours of renewable biogas annually once completed, together with an associated 40-kilometre gas network.
These projects, alongside synthetic methane production planned for nearby areas, will create an ecosystem in Satakunta combining biogas and synthetic fuel production with gas-consuming industry and transport. At the same time, expanding and diversifying gas infrastructure strengthens reliable supply for industry and supports security of supply by providing more domestic renewable gas and new transmission routes.
An expanding network serves growing demand for biogas
Finland is part of a growing European biogas market and supply chain. For biogas growth, it is therefore crucial that the gas network connects regional production areas to the national network and onwards to Europe.
The system includes domestic biogas production, LNG terminals, our fixed gas network connection to Europe – Balticconnector – and Auris’s virtual gas network. In the latter, biogas producers not connected to the network can deliver gas in containers to our injection point in Mäntsälä, where Auris feeds it into the national network.
When gas has a route to Europe’s growing markets, it increases interest in industrial biogas production. Demand from shipping and heavy transport is driving strong growth in biogas demand across Europe, including Finland.
In future, gas infrastructure in Finland will develop primarily to meet the needs of growing biogas production and new synthetic gases such as e-methane. This will mean new transmission connections and injection points, as well as a greater role for terminals and the virtual gas network in areas without pipelines. E-methane is produced by combining carbon dioxide with hydrogen obtained by splitting water using renewable electricity.
Biogenic carbon dioxide for synthetic aviation fuel production
As gas demand grows and Finnish gas production exceeds domestic demand, the need to expand the gas network and build new terminals and gas storage facilities will emerge as early as the end of this decade. Ultimately, the needs of gas market users will determine where, how much and when the network is built.
In the coming years, regional pipeline networks will be developed around facilities producing synthetic sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF), among others. These facilities will obtain biogenic carbon dioxide from nearby biogas plants. Transporting carbon dioxide to the process as a gas through a pipeline is significantly cheaper than delivering it to the plant in liquid form.
Carbon dioxide sales bring biogas plants additional revenue and improve their profitability. Biogenic carbon dioxide is one possible raw material for synthetic aviation fuel production. Feedstock eligibility and fuel emission savings must be assessed against the applicable sustainability and life-cycle accounting criteria; biogenic origin alone does not establish an emission-free production chain.
An industrial ecosystem is growing around biogas
Three simultaneous developments support the expansion of the gas network. First, EU regulation is opening markets for growing biogas production. Second, Finnish industry needs low-emission, gas-based solutions for its processes. Third, regional gas networks and associated terminals are developing to support rapidly growing biogas production.
Auris Energy plays a strong role in developing gas infrastructure where biogas production meets industrial demand. At the same time, Auris is creating an ecosystem that brings together biogas feedstock suppliers and gas customers. We help our customers plan how biogas can support their long-term competitiveness and sustainability.
Finland’s expanding and diversifying gas infrastructure enables future opportunities. By connecting Finland to Europe, it will make Finnish biogas a market-based, industrially relevant energy source that supports climate targets in Europe’s growing energy markets.
I would be happy to discuss how biogas and its various supply solutions could support your specific processes. Jani Hautaluoma, Biogas Business Manager at Auris Energy, jani.hautaluoma@aurisenergia.fi