Gasum opens new LNG filling station in Finland

Nordic gas company Gasum on May 20 announced the opening of a new LNG filling station in Rovaniemi, Finland. This new station will support the transport company UKK-Express in Northern Finland, allowing them to start using biogas with two gas vehicles this year.

The Rovaniemi station is Gasum's latest addition to its network in Lapland, complementing existing stations in Keminmaa, Finland, and Lulea, Sweden. These facilities are part of Gasum's broader effort to expand the use of renewable gas in the region.

UKK-Express, which manages freight traffic across Lapland, Northern Finland, and beyond to Scandinavia and Europe, will benefit from the new filling station. The daily Helsinki–Rovaniemi route and Northern Finland distribution network form the backbone of UKK-Express's services. Jukka Uimaniemi, CEO of UKK-Express, highlighted the importance of this development. 

Jukka Uimaniemi, CEO at UKK Express said 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 said.

Gasum's strategic objective is to deliver 7 TWh/year of renewable gas annually to the Nordic market by 2027, a fourfold increase from current levels.