Nordic energy company Gasum has entered into an agreement with the City of Vaasa, NLC Ferry Oy and Wärtsilä Finland Oy to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Wasaline, which operates the Vaasa-Umeå ferry route, and for use in Wärtsilä’s new Smart Technology Hub. Gasum is to build a local LNG customer terminal in Vaskiluoto from where tanker trucks will take LNG to customer sites.

Gasum is to build a customer terminal in Vaskiluoto in Vaasa, from where the company will flexibly supply LNG to cargo and passenger shipping company Wasaline’s new LNG-fueled ferry M/S Aurora Botnia, which will start operating later this year, and to Wärtsilä’s new Smart Technology Hub, a place for research, product development and engineering, which will be completed in the fall. Gasum will also be able to serve other customers through the terminal.

“In the City of Vaasa’s Energy and Climate program, the ambition is for the city to be carbon-neutral in the 2020s. The city is committed to the goal of reducing emissions between different actors in the urban area. It’s good news that this cooperation helps us to increase the availability of gas across the Vaasa region. Our cooperation is also an example of how we in Vaasa are combining our expertise in the energy industry and creating cleaner energy solutions,” says Tomas Häyry, Mayor of Vaasa.

“It’s good news that an LNG customer terminal is to be built in Vaskiluoto. We believe that the use of liquefied natural gas will increase both on land and at sea and that demand for more environmentally friendly fuels will show further growth. At Wärtsilä’s Vaasa site, we develop LNG engines and other maritime innovations for example,” says Vesa Riihimäki, Director, Delivery Management, Wärtsilä Finland.

”The new ferry, M/S Aurora Botnia, which will operate the Vaasa-Umeå route, is nearing completion. Our ship will be the most eco-friendly passenger and car ferry currently under construction. The ship’s engines will run on liquefied natural gas and moving forward also on renewable biogas. The ferry will accommodate 800 passengers and have a cargo capacity of 1,500 lane meters for trucks and cars. Sustainability is increasingly important to our customers and also to the entire Vaasa region,” says Peter Ståhlberg, CEO of Wasaline.

“We are continuously developing new ways to reduce emissions together with our partners and customers. We want to help our customers to lower their own carbon footprint. Gas delivers significant cost-effective options to reach emission reductions both in maritime and road transport. This project will strengthen availability and enable customers to smoothly switch to using biogas,” says Tommy Mattila, Sales director, Industry, Gasum.

LNG is the most environmentally friendly maritime transport fuel and meets all existing and future IMO environmental requirements. Use of LNG makes it easy to switch to using renewable liquefied biogas (LBG) since its distribution uses the existing LNG infrastructure. LBG has the same properties as LNGand is suitable as a fuel for road and maritime transport and for industrial use.