WOIMA in the Core of Green Energy Transition
Global warming mitigation is driving the migration away from fossil fuels. This “need for change” is exacerbated by the recent disruptions in global oil and gas production and transmission. This has driven most countries to seek alternatives for imported energy and to increase self-reliance especially in the energy sector. Synthetic methane offers an excellent alternative for traditional transport fuels. Especially, since the infrastructure to store and transport it already exists in most countries.
EnergySampo CCU is the regional cooperation project in Ostrobothnia, Finland aiming at erecting Finland’s first next generation synthetic methane (LSNG) production facility at Westenergy’s waste-to-energy site in Mustasaari next to Vaasa. The building consortium is currently finalizing funding for the project, and once confirmed, the plant is scheduled to be built in 2023–2025. The project supports Finland’s journey towards carbon-neutral future in line with EU’s “Fit for 55” goals, promotes decoupling from fossil fuels and plays a key role in the region’s quest for carbon-negative district heating. Vaasa region’s position as the home of the energy cluster in Finland ensures that all technical know-how and expertise is available locally.
LOCAL ENERGY FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES
The plant will have a production capacity of 7,300 tons of LSNG per year (112 GWh). This equals the annual energy consumption of almost 500 trucks, a thousand lorries or two passenger ferries sailing between Vaasa (Finland) and Umeå (Sweden) in the Kvarken. In addition, the process generates excess heat, which is utilized in the local district heating network. The LSNG supply will utilize the existing natural gas and biogas distribution networks, thus enabling and ensuring the efficient utilization of the methane-bound green hydrogen. This will help decarbonize sectors that are hard to electrify, and thus help to limit climate change.
CCU in the project name refers to the capture and utilization of carbon dioxide, an essential part of the new plant concept. The ccWOIMA carbon capture solution plays a key role in the process capturing 20,000 tons p.a. directly from the power plant’s flue gas stream. This reduces Westenergy’s fossil CO2 emissions by 25%. The other components in the innovative modular plant complex producing the LSNG include the production of hydrogen through an electrolysis process, the combination of hydrogen and carbon dioxide into synthetic methane in the chemical methanation process, and the liquefaction of synthetic methane into transport fuel. The production process is powered by 100% renewable wind energy.
GOING GREEN – FASTER
The EU has set an already aggressive target of 40 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030. And this target will only rise as investments in green hydrogen and LSNG increase due to the current energy uncertainty. The energy-dense synthetic methane is an excellent medium for the storage and utilization of hydrogen thanks to the already existing gas infrastructure. The replacement of fossil natural gas with synthetic gas fuels will play a significant role in the power generation and transport fuel mix in the coming decades.
WOIMA, with its modular, pre-engineered, and prefabricated carbon capture solution, is in a unique position to serve both the small-to-medium-scale carbon capture market and the LSNG production facility customers globally. The ccWOIMA solution scales flexibly between 20,000 and 200,000 tons p.a. thus offering the exact capacity required by each customer. The modules are easy to transport, fast to install and simple to maintain. The process utilizes widely available low-cost chemical called hot potassium carbonate (HPC) as the process medium ensuring safe and reliable operation throughout the plant lifetime. The energy-efficient solution also offers the lowest capture cost in the market.
WOIMA Corporation is a Finnish supplier of best-in-class waste-to-value products, projects and services worldwide. We have developed solutions that enable us, and the customer, to transform and recycle virtually any waste stream into raw materials and energy. At WOIMA we combine Finnish engineering know-how in waste management with power generation design expertise. These solutions are used in Finland every day. They support the circular economy ideology and ensure that less than 1% of Finland’s waste ends up in landfills.
Our mission is to improve quality of life both locally and globally, as well as empower people to utilize waste as a commodity. Our decades of international project management experience ensure an on-time, in-budget and high-quality WOIMA solution delivery across the globe.
