AUGA group starts production and sale of biomethane as new commercial activity
This green gas produced in Lithuania will be sold on the German market, which has the most developed biomethane infrastructure in Europe. The project capacities of 3 biogas power plants allow for the generation of 61 thousand megawatt hours of gas per year, the company has announced.
The group of companies sells biomethane gas to the company UAB Tube Green. The gas is transmitted into the natural gas system using the company’s gas intake point. This opportunity to supply biomethane gas to the natural gas system via a remote intake point not directly connected to the gas production facility only emerged at the end of 2023.
“Although we have been able to start producing biomethane gas for some time, laws of the Republic of Lithuania did not envisage the supply of such gas through an intake point separate from the production facility. We are pleased that, as the result of long and steady work, we and other biomethane gas producers in the country now have the opportunity to produce green gas in regions where sufficient raw material demand can be ensured, and the gas that is produced can later be successfully sold on the local or international market,” says Kęstutis Juščius, chair of the Board of AB AUGA group.
According to Kęstutis Juščius, sustainable technologies and products, like the production of biomethane from agricultural secondary raw materials, while requiring investments, can be successfully commercialised today and will ensure a new stable source of income for the group of companies. Additionally, biomethane is one of the most advanced types of renewable energy and is an integral part of the circular economy business model that Group is developing. In the future, this gas will be used in the AUGA M1 tractors developed by the group of companies.
The Group produces biomethane from secondary raw materials of livestock farming activities, namely cow slurry and chicken manure. According to the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, the use of biomethane as an alternative to fossil fuels in the transport sector saves between 70% and 206% of greenhouse gas emissions from the production, transmission and use of the fuel. Thus, when agricultural secondary raw materials are utilized effectively, the energy accumulated in them is not wasted but returned to the market in a more universal form, at the same time generating additional income.