Minister Sari Multala today opened Finland’s first container-based injection point for biogas and synthetic e-methane in Mäntsälä. This so-called virtual gas network gives production plants outside the gas network access to international gas markets.
Gas produced at plants outside the network can be transported to Mäntsälä in truck-mounted containers and injected into the gas network there. No comparable public container-based injection point, connected to the gas distribution network and open to all operators, has previously been built in Finland.
The first phase of the virtual gas network comprises a gas container reception point built at the Mäntsälän Biovoima site and a compressor station built in Anttila, Mäntsälä, which transfers gas to Finnish and European markets.
The gas network offers the best price for biogas
Auris Energy’s virtual gas network service offers a significant opportunity for small and medium-sized biogas plants that have previously struggled to obtain the best market price for their biogas.
Without a virtual gas network, farm-scale biogas plants, for example, have had to use their gas locally or sell it to gas vehicle drivers through their own filling stations. Local demand has not always been sufficient to use all the biogas produced, let alone offer producers the best possible price.
According to the Finnish Biocycle and Biogas Association, up to 10% of biogas produced in Finland has had to be flared at production plants because there was insufficient local demand. Auris Energy’s container-based injection point allows biogas to be fed directly into the gas network, where it replaces fossil natural gas.
The gas network acts as a neutral, open marketplace, offering all biogas producers an equal opportunity to sell their gas. This is because gas sold through the network is priced according to Europe’s major gas exchanges, giving producers the same best possible price as larger players.
An investment of over a million euros with far-reaching effects
The Mäntsälä development consists of two parts. A gas container reception point has been built alongside the operating biogas plant at the Mäntsälän Biovoima site. Biogas and synthetic methane production plants deliver gas here in containers by truck. The containers are unloaded and their gas is injected into the network.
The second part is the compressor station completed in Anttila, Mäntsälä, where gas is transferred from the local distribution network to the transmission network. In the gas network, it directly replaces fossil natural gas and thereby reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
The total investment exceeds €1 million. Auris Energy is ready to expand the virtual gas network to other locations in response to demand. The project supports Finland’s clean transition and the development of sustainable energy infrastructure.
The impact of the virtual gas network is many times greater than the investment. It creates opportunities for biogas, green hydrogen and synthetic methane production plants by giving new production access to Finnish and European gas markets.
Further information:
Ville Karttunen, Chief Growth Officer, Auris Energy, ville.karttunen@aurisenergia.fi
Maria Elojärvi, Communications Lead, Auris Energy, maria.elojarvi@aurisenergia.fi