Danish experience for the development of Ukrainian biomethane: conference summary
On April 29, the Danish-Ukrainian Agro TechConference was held at the Premier Palace Hotel. The Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Ukraine, together with the Danish Agriculture & Food Council and with the support of Ukrainian associations in the agricultural sector, organized a visit of seven leading Danish companies in the field of grain processing, livestock and bioenergy production.
The event was opened by:
- Ole Egberg Mikkelsen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to Ukrain.
- Vitalii Koval, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine.
- Serhii Tkachuk, Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection.
UABIO team took part in the conference within the second module “Bioenergy: Synergy between all agricultural sectors in the utilization of agricultural waste and its conversion into energy. Increasing agricultural efficiency and additional income”. Georgii Geletukha, Chairman of the Board of the Association, moderated the session and made a presentation on biomethane in Ukraine
Key points from the module
Representatives of Ukraine and Denmark spoke at the panel:
- Georgii Geletukha, Chairman of the Board of UABIO;
- Oleh Riabov, Executive Director of Horodyshche-Pustovarivska Agrarian Company (Gals Agro);
- Jesper Stræde, Export Sales Manager & Business Developer of Linka Energy;
- Roman Kantarovskyi, Head of the development of external investment projects, VITAGRO Group;
- Adomas Audickas, Deputy CEO of MHP Group responsible for bioenergy development;
- Olexandra Gumeniuk, Commercial Manager for Eastern Europe, Ammongas, European Energy Group;
- Kaare Stamer Andreasen, Finance Director/Advisor, EIFO.
Georgii Geletukha: Europe would be glad to buy biomethane from Ukraine on a larger scale.
“The biogas sector in Ukraine has been developing since about 2015, and we now have 85 biogas plants with a total capacity of 140 MW of electricity. We also have three biomethane plants with a capacity of 17 million cubic meters of biomethane per year. In addition, we have a well-developed gas network and about 300 gas filling stations for LNG“, says the expert.
Why is Ukraine so promising for this sector?
- Ukraine has the largest area of agricultural land in Europe and, accordingly, one of the best agricultural feedstock potential for biomethane production.
- Well-developed GTS and GDS.
- The structure of agricultural enterprises is favorable for producing biomethane (big share of large and medium-sized enterprises).
- Possibility of exporting biomethane to the EU premium market. Ukraine could potentially take up to 20% of this market.
“We have a rather underdeveloped livestock industry, which is probably not typical for our Danish colleagues. Instead, we have a lot of crop waste that can be used to make biogas. For example, the potential for biogas production from nutritious crop residues is more than five times higher than the potential for renewable gas production from livestock waste”, adds Georgii Geletukha.
“The war, of course, affected the biogas sector, but it has demonstrated great resilience. The pre-war years were about the smooth growth of electricity production from biogas in Ukraine. In 2022, we saw a decline, but in 2023 we see a return to pre-war levels. The sector has responded strongly to the military actions“, emphasizes UABIO Chairman of the Board.
Download presentation by Georgii Geletukha
Oleh Riabov: We are creating jobs for those who will return from the war. We are creating facilities to rebuild the country.
“Our company started the first study of the biogas sector in 2016. The first plant started operating in 2017 in the Chernihiv region. The first biomethane production module was launched there. At the same time, facilities were being built in Kyiv and Chernihiv regions. This year we plan to launch another biomethane production site with a capacity of 3 million cubic meters per year. In total, we have invested 33 million euros in 14.7 MW of green generation. Another promising area of our business is distributed gas-piston power generation, in which we have invested another EUR 5 million”.
Oleh Riabov also emphasizes the importance of the industry for the country’s recovery. Among the advantages:
- distributed production of electricity and biomethane;
- additional income from agricultural residues and waste;
- profitable and diversified agribusiness;
- reduction of CO2 emissions;
- new jobs and prospects for Ukrainians;
- local production and reduced energy transportation costs;
- boost to livestock development and local food and feed production;
- development of agricultural regions and prosperity of local communities;
- the readiness of local producers to meet the requirements of the СВАМ.
Download presentation by Oleh Riabov
Jesper Stræde: Biogas and straw are a great and cheap combination!
“Since 1978, we have been developing a wide range of biomass boilers. During this time, we have manufactured more than 5000 units. Moreover, Linka Energy is present in all countries of the world! Our favorite is straw. For the biomethane sector, straw is a valuable, CO2-neutral feedstock that reduces methane emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. At the same time, it increases the productivity of the biogas plant“.
In particular, Jesper Stræde shared details about Linka Energy’s innovative and efficient ‘Straw to Biogas’ solution. Everything in it is designed for long uptime and low maintenance costs.
“At first, the straw is chopped into particles a few centimeters in size. Then the chopped mass is fed to a crusher, which grinds it further. The technology is also equipped with a self-cleaning filter and a hammer mill. The system is closed, and there are no bacteria inside the tank. Of course, it also depends on the customer’s wishes – we can also reduce the size of the crushed particles”.
He also emphasized that when working with straw, it is necessary to pay attention to the requirements of the fire protection system. Linka Energy uses a BS 7 spark suppression system.
“There is definitely a lot of straw in Ukraine. It is a pity that it is not used, for example, at least for heating. Unlike in Ukraine, we need 8-10 farms to supply raw materials to one biogas plant. I think Ukraine may even outperform us in the long term, given its size and potential“.
Download the presentation by Jesper Stræde
Roman Kantarovskyi: There is a high demand for biomethane in the EU. We, as the country with the greatest potential, should take advantage of this to become a significant player in the market.
“VITAGRO Group is a large agricultural holding company. We hold leading positions in a number of industries and are among the top 15 large latifundists in Ukraine. Our facilities include biomethane and bioethanol plants, as well as 4 solar power plants”, adds Roman Kantarovskyi.
“We started building our biomethane plant in 2022. We did this despite the full-scale war that had begun. We managed to launch it in 2023. However, unfortunately, due to export limitations, we only started injecting biomethane into the grid in October 2024. Thus, VITAGRO became the first company to export biomethane from Ukraine. The buyer is a large European company that will continue to cooperate with us in the future”.
The company has made its own calculations and concluded that by 2030 Ukraine will be able to export 1 billion cubic meters, and by 2050 — about 7 billion. VITAGRO believes that Ukraine has great potential to become a significant player in this market.
According to Vitagro, these are important steps to scale up the production and export of biomethane:
- Ukrainian side — simplified grid connection procedures, quality requirements and procedures aligned with EU standards and realistic sectoral development strategy.
- The EU side — Ukrainian imports integrated into the EU Union Database for Biofuels (UDB) and standardised quality and monitoring requirements for biomethane.
Download presentation by Roman Kantarovskyi
Adomas Audickas: If you don’t have enough raw materials to produce biogas and biomethane, you shouldn’t even start.
The Deputy CEO for Bioenergy at MHP shared the company’s experience in the production of renewable gases. MHP is a leading player in the Ukrainian agricultural market, which includes 11 crop production facilities, 3 feed mills and 17 elevators. MHP’s land bank covers 360,000 hectares in 12 regions of Ukraine.
“The price of biogas directly depends on what it is produced from. Chicken manure is the best raw material. We have now moved from biogas to biomethane production. Accordingly, we have a lot of raw materials for this”, says Adomas Audickas.
“At the initial stage, it is not so important to have the technology, because you will choose it depending on your raw materials. State regulation also plays an important role in this sector. UABIO has helped us a lot to enter the market, although I would not say that it is now fully open to us. However, everything can change positively in the coming year“.
Olexandra Gumeniuk: An important advantage of amine purification technology is that raw biogas doesn’t require any preparation.
“Ammongas has designed, built and commissioned more than 40 biogas plants around the world. Currently, about 50% of the biomethane in the Danish national gas network is produced at the Ammongas biogas processing plant“, informs the company’s commercial manager.
The main technologies of Ammongas include:
- biogas upgrading;
- Bio-LNG production;
- CO2 liquefaction;
- carbon capture.
“Ammonia technology is a biogas purification process that uses amine to achieve a 99% rate, with three times less electricity consumption and up to 90% heat recovery. In addition, amine-based solutions can be used repeatedly“, notes Olexandra Gumeniuk.
The expert also spoke about the Ammongas purification and liquefaction system and mentioned Tønder Biogas (one of the largest biogas plants in the world) as an example of such a plant. Finally, e-methanol and the company’s large-scale plant for its production, Kassø Power-to-X, were discussed.
Kaare Stamer Andreasen: It’s not enough to have dreams, it’s also important to realize them. We make sure that they come true.
“Our financial institution has already provided EUR 750 million in loans to Ukraine. So, if Danish exporters invest in Ukraine, they can take advantage of our guarantees. We also work directly with Ukrainian clients”.
“Payments start after the construction and completion of the work, i.e. in 2 years. The terms are favorable, and I can honestly say that these are the best terms. We provide reliable guarantees and insure risks. However, there are also requirements, and of course we have to take into account our risks”, explains Kaare Stamer Andreasen.
- 30% of the loan must be used to import products from Denmark;
- 70% can be used for imports from other countries or for local needs.
“Of course, we check the company before granting loans. We look at the economic situation and the company’s previous budget. If the company has suffered from the war, we can help. We also check whether it can rebuild its facilities. Also carefully study the environmental component. We do not compromise here, as we strictly adhere to these international environmental standards. In terms of lending, we are more flexible”.
After all the presentations and a series of questions from the audience, the moderator of the module, Georgii Geletukha, summarized the discussion and thanked the participants for their informative reports.
We express our gratitude to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Ukraine and the Danish Agriculture & Food Council for organizing such a useful and large-scale event. We are confident that the Danish experience (in particular, in the use of straw) will be useful for Ukraine and will help us to further develop our national bioenergy sector.
