Promoting regional circular economy through biomethane
With the successful commissioning of a combined biogas and gas upgrading plant for its customer Halinga OÜ, EnviTec Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG is supporting the Estonian dairy company in achieving its environmental and sustainability targets. The plant, located in the municipality of Langerma in the Pärnu region, is the fourth gas upgrading plant delivered by the globally active biogas all-rounder in Estonia. “Thanks to our proven and sustainable membrane-based gas upgrading technology, our customer decided to also entrust us with the raw biogas production for this project,” explains Roland Kurney, Project Manager at EnviTec Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG. Halinga therefore represents the first fully integrated plant built by EnviTec in Estonia. The plant was officially opened on 16 June in Langerma, Põhja-Pärnumaa.
The project was realised within just one year in close cooperation between Halinga OÜ and EnviTec Biogas. “During the construction phase, the customer took responsibility for all civil works, building construction, site setup and overall interface management,” adds Kurney. The new biogas plant, including the EnviThan gas upgrading unit, uses slurry and organic residues generated by the dairy operation as feedstock and produces around 600 Nm³ of biomethane per hour.
Halinga OÜ is part of the internationally active Infortar AS Group. The consortium, comprising 107 companies, focuses primarily on maritime transport, energy and real estate. Together with partners, Infortar has invested around EUR 30 million in biomethane plants. In the Baltic market, biomethane is not exported but used locally as a climate-friendly fuel. “With the successful introduction of CNG refuelling, we are now able to use the biomethane produced directly on site as a climate-friendly fuel. This enables us to efficiently close our value chain and make a further important contribution to sustainable mobility in the region,” says Martti Talgre, Managing Director of Infortar AS. The main off-takers of the green fuel include public transport operators in Tartu, Rakvere and Pärnu.
Funded by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Facility, the project not only strengthens the green transport sector but also enhances regional value creation. “The digested substrates are temporarily stored in two lagoons and subsequently applied in agriculture as high-quality fertiliser,” Kurney continues. With more than 3,000 animals and 3,700 hectares of land, Halinga OÜ is one of Estonia’s largest dairy producers and a significant regional employer.
“Estonia offers a highly attractive environment for investment in renewable energy,” concludes Lars von Lehmden, Managing Director of EnviTec Anlagenbau GmbH & Co. KG. The EnviThan plants built by EnviTec in Estonia now enable the supply of approximately 199 GWh of domestically produced biomethane to the Estonian transport sector each year. This is equivalent to enough fuel for the climate-friendly operation of around 6,000 to 7,000 trucks per year. The market continues to grow, von Lehmden adds, particularly in the field of CO₂ liquefaction, where there is currently strong demand. LCO₂ is an essential raw material used in the beverage industry, for example for cooling, freezing and carbonation. In addition, liquid CO₂ is utilised in numerous other industrial applications, including the chemical industry. It also offers versatile potential in the production of synthetic fuels, particularly in the context of the energy transition.
