Sumitomo, Skovgaard Energy form biogas, eSAF joint venture in Denmark
- Sumitomo Corp.
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Sumitomo Corp. announced June 12 that it has established a joint venture, North Sky A/S, with Skovgaard Energy, a company engaged in the development of renewable energy to produce biogas and Power-to-X business such as electro sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF).
The new company aims to produce around 40 million Nm³ of biogas, equivalent to the annual gas consumption of about 20,000 Danish households.
It will also expand Skovgaard Energy’s existing biogas production sites across Denmark.
Further, leveraging knowledge gained from the biogas business, the joint venture will develop other bioenergy sources, including eSAF.
This marks Sumitomo Corp.’s first participation in a biogas production business and will accelerate the growth of its energy-solutions division, one of the key growth areas in its current medium-term management plan.
As an agricultural powerhouse, Denmark aims to make full use of organic waste generated through farming while achieving carbon neutrality.
The country has set a target to power its national gas grid entirely with biogas by 2030.
Biogas—produced from organic waste such as food residue and livestock manure—is attracting increasing attention as a renewable energy source.
Because it does not emit CO2 during combustion but instead returns only the CO2 originally absorbed by its raw materials, it contributes to achieving carbon neutrality.
In addition, by using domestically sourced raw materials, biogas enhances energy self-sufficiency and drives the development of new production facilities across the country.
Since its founding in 1999, Skovgaard Energy has developed renewable energy projects such as wind power.
Today, it owns facilities for biogas production from cattle manure and land for developing Power-to X-business such as eSAF.
Skovgaard Energy has also built strong partnerships with agricultural-cooperative associations in Denmark and has signed a long-term raw-materials supply agreement through 2032.
This will ensure a stable supply of raw materials for biogas production.
By combining Sumitomo Corp.’s business network in Europe with Skovgaard Energy’s strengths, the new company aims to expand the biogas business and develop eSAF production.
As a synthetic fuel produced from biomass-derived carbon dioxide and green hydrogen, eSAF is expected to see rising demand as it moves towards commercialization.
Denmark generates around 90 percent of its domestic electricity from renewable sources, giving it an advantage in procuring green hydrogen.
By expanding biogas operations across the country, the new company will be able to supply biomass-derived CO2—an ingredient in eSAF—stably and at low cost from its own plants.
The Sumitomo Corp. group has positioned bioenergy as a key method for achieving carbon neutrality in its business operations by 2050 and realizing a sustainable energy cycle.
In addition to promoting the Morisora Project in Japan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in February to develop domestically produced SAF, the group also signed an MOU with reNikola in Malaysia in May to explore bioenergy development, including projects for producing and selling biomethane in Malaysia and Indonesia.
