In Norway, liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer and distributor Skangas has announced that it has entered an agreement with Prima Protein AS for the delivery of LNG to the Prima Protein plant currently under construction in Egersund. The construction of the new LNG customer terminal at the protein factory is also underway. Natural gas was selected as fuel, as it is an "available and emission friendly" option in the interim before biogas becomes available.
Prima Protein AS is building a new “environmentally friendly, innovative and efficient” factory for the production of protein concentrate, fishmeal and fish oil in Egersund. Production will start in January 2019, and the budgeted annual turnover is NOK 250 million (≈ EUR 26.1 million).
The agreement is a six-year deal for the delivery by truck of LNG produced at the Skangas Tananger plant. A new receiving customer terminal will be located in close proximity to the new Prima Protein factory at Egersund.
Prima Protein will use LNG to generate the steam used in production. According to Skangas, LNG has significant environmental advantages in the form of fewer emissions to air compared to other types of fuel, such as virtually no particulate matter (PM) emissions from LNG combustion.
When liquefied biomethane (LBM) becomes available, it may be used directly in the same production process and thus it will be possible to use 100 percent renewable energy in the future, without additional investments.
When selecting natural gas from Skangas, we considered both the vendor and the environment. For us, dependable deliveries and emissions are important factors. The environmental impact of LNG is low, and in the longer term we are also looking at the possibility of using biogas in the same factory process, explained Fredrik Andersen, General Manager of Prima Protein.
