The new station will enable the transport company UKK-Express operating in Northern Finland to start using biogas with two gas vehicles this year. The aim is to increase the number of gas vehicles going forward.

Gasum has opened its newest gas filling station, the northernmost filling station selling liquefied gas in the world, in the Finnish city of Rovaniemi. Gasum has already opened two other gas filling stations in Lapland, one in Keminmaa, Finland, and the other in Luleå, Sweden.

The new station is located at the address Energiakatu 5 in the Teollisuuskylä industrial village area of Rovaniemi near the E75 road south of Rovaniemi city center. The location is excellent for traffic heading both north and south from Rovaniemi.

The station has been much wished for and serves both heavy-duty vehicles and passenger cars – the station sells both liquefied and compressed gas.

”The station in Rovaniemi is an important addition in the expansion of Gasum’s filling station network in Lapland. It is now possible to significantly reduce emissions from road transport in Northern Finland, too, with trucks operating on biogas instead of fossil fuels. Gasum’s goal is to enable the use of gas on all long-haul logistics routes in Finland and Sweden,” says Juho Kurra, Head of Business, Traffic Finland, Gasum.

“The only realistic alternative that makes economic sense”

Transport company UKK-Express handles freight traffic between Lapland and Northern Finland as well as the rest of Finland, Scandinavia and Europe. The daily Helsinki–Rovaniemi long-haul route and distribution network to Northern Finland and Lapland form the core of the company’s transport services.

Jukka Uimaniemi, CEO at UKK Express says that the Rovaniemi filling station will enable the use of gas vehicles in the company’s main distribution area for the first time. UKK-Express will start tests with a biogas truck and trailer truck this year, but if all goes well, the aim is to increase the number of biogas vehicles next year.

“We aim to significantly reduce emissions from our operations by 2030, and investing in gas-fueled vehicles has been in our plans for some time. As I see it, biogas is currently the only realistic alternative that makes economic sense to significantly reduce logistics emissions in the Northern Finland region,” Uimaniemi says.

Cost-effective emission reductions today

Logistics and transport companies are in a key position in cutting Nordic road traffic emissions since they drive longer distances, and their emissions are many times greater than those of passenger cars.

Biogas is a cost-effective fuel to reduce road traffic emissions already today. The lifecycle emissions of biogas are 90% lower on average compared to traditional fuels.

Gasum’s strategic goal is to bring 7 TWh of renewable gas yearly to the Nordic market by 2027. This is four times more than at present and would mean annual carbon dioxide reductions totaling 1.8 million tonnes for Gasum’s customers.