Biogas and e-SAF Business Joint Venture Established with Denmark's Skovgaard Energy

Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer: Shingo Ueno) has established a joint venture North Sky A/S with Skovgaard Energy (Head Office: Lemvig, Denmark; CEO: Niels Erik Madsen; hereinafter "SE"), a company engaged in the development of renewable energy to produce biogas and Power to X (*1) business such as e-SAF (*2). The new company aims to produce around 40 million Nm³ (*3) of biogas – equivalent to the annual gas consumption of about 20,000 Danish households. It will also expand SE's existing biogas production sites across Denmark. Further, leveraging knowledge gained from the biogas business, the joint venture will develop other bioenergy sources, including e-SAF, a sustainable aviation fuel. This marks Sumitomo Corporation'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.

Denmark's Biogas Market

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...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 Corporation's business network in Europe with SE's strengths, the new company aims to expand the biogas business and develop e-SAF production. As a synthetic fuel produced from biomass-derived carbon dioxide and green hydrogen, e-SAF is expected to see rising demand as it moves towards commercialization... from its own plants.

Sumitomo Corporation Group's Bioenergy Business

The Sumitomo Corporation Group has positioned bioenergy as a key method for achieving carbon neutrality in its business operations by 2050 and realizing a sustainable energy cycle... including projects for producing and selling biomethane in Malaysia and Indonesia.

(*1) Power to X A general term for technologies that convert renewable energy into hydrogen, fuels and chemicals (collectively referred to as “X”). Fuels include e-SAF. (*2) e-SAF A type of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and a liquid fuel synthesized from green hydrogen – produced via electrolysis using renewable energy – and carbon dioxide....