From cows to cars: Valio biogas from manure
Using pressurized biogas produced from cow manure for transportation purposes is new in Finland. Biogas will have an important role in reducing transport emissions because it will be one way to replace diesel and petrol fossil fuels.
At the same time, Valio said it will significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the dairy farm. Utilizing biogas as a transport fuel is part of Valio’s efforts to cut the carbon footprint of milk to zero by 2035.
Valio currently has 20 biogas plants on its dairy farms. The energy they produce is used mainly to produce electricity and heat for the farms.
Using biogas can reduce as much as 85% of the greenhouse gas emissions created during the life cycle of fuel, compared to diesel fuel.
Brothers Janne and Ville Vuorenmaa and their families run a dairy farm of 180 cows in Haapavesi, which is located in central Finland. Milk from the Vuorenmaa farm is used to make Valio Oltermanni cheese at Valio’s nearby Haapavesi cheese plant.
The Vuorenmaa dairy farm has its own biogas plant that produces about 1,200 MWh of biogas per year. Biogas is already been used to produce the electricity and heat needed at the farm, but now the biogas plant has been expanded.
Initially, about half of the gas will be refined into biomethane for use in transportation. The fill-up station will be ready by the end of the year, and then the milk truck will start filling up its biogas tank at the farm.
At first, there will be a limited supply of biogas available to passenger cars. As demand grows, the refining capacity can be increased. If all the biogas were to be used by passenger cars, there would be enough for 85 cars to drive 20,000 kilometers in a year.
“We have had our own biogas plant for 15 years. Previously, we got heat and electricity from cow manure to meet the needs of our own farm. When it was time to renew the equipment, we decided that we could expand and produce biogas also for transportation. The milk truck will start using the farm’s biogas later this year. Around the same time, a fill-up station for other motorists will be opened along Virtala road,” Janne Vuorenmaa said.
Valio is aiming to cut milk’s carbon footprint to zero by 2035. This can be achieved by reducing emissions at dairy farms, in transportation and at plants, and by increasing the carbon sinks of fields through carbon farming. Valio and the Baltic Sea Action Group have teamed up to provide training to dairy farmers. The Vuorenmaa farm is one of the carbon farms.
“The Vuorenmaa dairy farm is a good example of how Finnish farmers can solve climate challenges. At the same time, the farms can generate new business. Utilizing manure for biogas production reduces the carbon footprint of milk produced at the farm by one quarter or one fifth, depending on the way it’s calculated,” said Valio’s Juha Nousiainen, SVP, carbon-neutral milk chain.
About 15m tonnes of manure is generated in Finland every year.
Marko Puhto, managing director of cooperative Osuuskunta Pohjolan Maito, said a network of local operators has emerged around the Vuorenmaa dairy farm. The farm is located close to the Haapavesi cheese plant, so filling up along the milk truck’s route is convenient.
“Demeca, the supplier of the biogas plant, is a Haapavesi-based company, and so is the H. Vähäaho transport company that collects the milk with its new truck. This is local collaboration at its best,” Puhto said.
Demeca’s sales director Sami Vinkki, said, “We want to create new business opportunities for farmers and elevate the valuation of the sector. Our mission is to improve the profitability of farms and the wellbeing of people and animals.
“With the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a lot of talk about Finland’s security of supply. What we have here is one way to increase fuel self-sufficiency. Today most transport fuel is imported. Demeca’s technology has been developed at our family farm here in Haapavesi. One of my big dreams will become reality when I’m able to fill up my own gas-powered vehicle in my home village, at my customer’s farm, and the money stays with the farmers – with no middle man involved.”
