Saipem Awarded Carbon Capture EPF Contract for Synthetic Methane Project in Tampere, Finland

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 16, Saipem was awarded an Engineering, Procurement and Fabrication (EPF) contract by Nordic Ren-Gas for the carbon capture unit of the Tampere Power-to-Gas project in Finland, and will provide the Bluenzyme 200 industrial carbon capture system for the project. The contract scope includes engineering design, equipment procurement and fabrication, and covers technical services for the subsequent installation, commissioning, start-up and performance testing phases. The contract will officially take effect after the Tampere project reaches a final investment decision.

The Tampere project is located in the Tarastenjärvi circular economy park, near the Tammervoima waste-to-energy plant, and is planned to have 50 MW of green hydrogen production capacity and 25 MW of synthetic methane production capacity. The project will utilize approximately 40,000 tonnes of biogenic carbon dioxide per year to produce approximately 200 GWh of renewable synthetic methane, while also supplying up to approximately 200 GWh of waste heat to the Tampere district heating system, with a target for commercial production in 2028.

Saipem will build the first full-scale industrial carbon capture unit using its CO2 Solutions technology and the Bluenzyme 200 standardized solution. The unit is responsible for extracting biogenic carbon dioxide from the flue gas of the existing energy facility at Tammervoima and using it as the carbon source for the subsequent methane synthesis step. Ren-Gas had already selected Saipem in December 2024 to be responsible for the project's post-combustion carbon capture technology, and this EPF contract advances the earlier technology selection to the engineering, procurement and fabrication stage.

The project's overall process chain includes renewable power-to-hydrogen, biogenic carbon dioxide capture, methane synthesis and waste heat recovery. The green hydrogen produced by the 50 MW electrolysis system will enter the methanation unit together with the captured carbon dioxide to synthesize renewable methane, which will be delivered to the heavy-duty road transport market through existing natural gas infrastructure. Ren-Gas also plans to use the waste heat generated during the production process to supply heat to the Tampere district heating network.

The project has formed an engineering system coordinated by multiple technology suppliers. Sweco is responsible for EPCm engineering, procurement and construction management, and for integrating independent process units such as hydrogen production, carbon capture, methane synthesis and heat recovery into a complete production system; MAN Energy Solutions had previously been selected to provide methanation technology. Saipem is now responsible for the EPF of the carbon capture unit, further confirming the key technology suppliers for the main process chain.

The Tampere project had previously received approximately EUR 45.8 million in green transition investment support from the Finnish government, and Ren-Gas's current project materials update the support amount to approximately EUR 46 million. The early project investment estimate was approximately EUR 162 million. With adjustments to production scale and process scheme, the latest project page has not disclosed the updated total capital expenditure.

Ren-Gas also plans to double production capacity in a later phase of the Tampere project. Its overall project portfolio in Finland includes Power-to-Gas projects in Tampere, Lahti, Kotka and other locations, with a planned total electrolyzer capacity of approximately 800 MW, and has received support from a project financing framework of up to EUR 680 million from the European Investment Bank.