Baltic Biogas Bus: Increase the use of biogas buses in public transport to reduce the emissions in urban areas in the Baltic Sea Region

Programme 2007 - 2013 Baltic Sea Region

Date of latest update: 2021-04-06

Description

Description (EN):

Extended use of biogas for city buses will lower emissions, improve inner city air quality and strengthen the role of public transport in an efficient strategy to limit the impact from traffic on climate change. This three year project will stimulate cities and regions around the Baltic Sea to use biogas driven buses. The project will generate strategies and policies to introduce biogas as well as analyse necessary measures in biogas production, distribution and bus operations. Activities will be executed to facilitate further expansion. Partners in the Baltic Sea Region will form a show room to demonstrate a sustainable transport system with the potential to reach the EU’s climate goals. The group of partners involved represents most of the countries within the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). The partnership offers an ideal platform for dissemination of knowledge, experience and technology. A broad set of associated organisations in each country will reinforce the processes of information. Through the pan-Baltic network the partners will obtain a better position to negotiate with infrastructure and bus suppliers and at the same time raise the visibility of biogas buses. Dependency on fossil fuels has tempered the interest for investment in new energy technologies, which makes public intervention to support energy innovation both necessary and justified. To make 2nd generation biofuels competitive to fossil fuels is a challenge – and biogas is the only commercially available 2nd generation biofuel. The Baltic Biogas Bus project aims to present cost effective solutions on biogas production as well as distribution and use in buses. The monitoring of economic and environmental impacts will demonstrate a renewable fuel for transport with excellent environmental performance. Efficient use of biogas buses depends on a process with several steps: production from biodegradable materials (waste, sewage sludge and landfill gas) including purification to get a gaseous fuel (biomethane) for vehicles and distribution, either by trailer or in pipelines. Since the characteristics of biogas are similar to natural gas it is possible to inject cleaned biogas into the natural gas grid, so creating a cost effective solution. Handling of biogas at the bus depots includes creating an optimal refuelling system: a fast filling system that fuels the bus as quick as diesel would be fuelled or a slow filling system fuelling the bus over night. The knowledge and experience from the project will form a bridge into the next generation of renewable fuels involving hydrogen. Consequently the project will analyse positive synergies in mixing biogas with hydrogen to get the most out of both renewable fuels.

Achievements (EN):

Apart from setting up management routines, the BBB-project focused on communication issues and establishing important relations with different stakeholders during the first period. A launch event of the project was held in Tartu, where both the minister for environment of Estonia and the representative of the European commission in Estonia gave speeches. During the seminar the project website and the logotype were presented. The BBB-project co-organised the biannual Nordic biogas conference which was held in Oslo in March. Several hundred participants from different European countries were informed about the project and of some of the best practices presented by BBB-partners. These best practices were also presented at Gasskonferansen in Bergen, Norway, which attracted 194 participants. Partly thanks to lobbying and information activities by the project, the county of Hordaland in western Norway has decided to purchase 75 biogas buses and build a biogas production plant in Bergen. A decision has also been made by the project partner in Oslo to buy new biogas buses for public transport. In Tartu, the process of formulating a transport plan for the city including biogas buses as part of the solution has been initiated. Moreover, the results from a feasibility study has led to the construction of the first filling station of compressed gas in Tartu. In northern Germany project partners have started discussions with several providers of public transport on how to introduce biogas buses and in Poland an agreement has been signed with the city council of Rzeszow regarding cooperation on how to introduce biogas buses in public transport. The project has drafted several reports, which are receiving second opinions from other project partners. The preliminary results from reports are being disseminated in regional seminars arranged through the project. Project partners are continuously giving presentations about the BBB-project at several different seminars and workshops, both internally within the project and externally. The Baltic Biogas Bus project has been featured in magazines and newspapers during the period. The Mid Event Symposium and a second International seminar in St. Petersburg has been conducted.

Website: http://www.balticbiogasbus.eu

Thematic information

Green technologies Transport and mobility Renewable energy

Partners (12)

Lead Partner: AB Storstockholm Lokaltrafik

Address: Lindhagensgatan 100, 10573 Stockholm, Sweden

Legal status: n/a

Rīgas Domes Satiksmes Departaments

Name: Rīgas Domes Satiksmes Departaments

Address: 36 GertrudesStreet, 1011 Riga, Latvia

Legal status: n/a

Ruter As, Kollektivtrafikk for Oslo og Akershus

Name: Ruter As, Kollektivtrafikk for Oslo og Akershus

Address: Dronningens gate 40, 104 Oslo, Norway

Legal status: n/a

Tartu Linnavalitsus

Name: Tartu Linnavalitsus

Address: Raekoda, 50089 Tartu, Estonia

Legal status: n/a

VTT Valtion teknillinen tutkimuskeskus

Name: VTT Valtion teknillinen tutkimuskeskus

Address: Vuorimiehentie 3, 02044 VTT Espoo, Finland

Legal status: n/a

Hordaland olje & gass

Name: Hordaland olje & gass

Address: Agnes Mowinckelsgatan 5, 5020 Bergen, Norway

Legal status: n/a

UAB "Kauno autobusai"

Name: UAB "Kauno autobusai"

Address: Raudondvario pl. 105, 47185 Kaunas, Lithuania

Legal status: n/a

ITC Innovations und Trendcenter GmbH

Name: ITC Innovations und Trendcenter GmbH

Address: Hansestrasse 21, 18182 Bentwisch, Germany

Legal status: n/a

Instytut Transportu Samochodowej

Name: Instytut Transportu Samochodowej

Address: Jagiellonska 80, 03-031 Warsaw, Poland

Legal status: n/a

Hordaland fylkeskommune w/Skyss

Name: Hordaland fylkeskommune w/Skyss

Address: Postboks 7900, 5200 Bergen, Norway

Legal status: n/a

ATI West Mecklenburg gGmbH Innovationen brauche Anschub

Name: ATI West Mecklenburg gGmbH Innovationen brauche Anschub

Address: Hagenower Strasse 73, 19061 Schwerin, Germany

Legal status: n/a

Energikontoret i Mälardalen

Name: Energikontoret i Mälardalen

Address: Uppsala Science Park, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 60, 75183 Uppsala, Sweden

Legal status: n/a

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Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Baltic Biogas Bus: Increase the use of biogas buses in public transport to reduce the emissions in urban areas in the Baltic Sea Region

Project acronym: Baltic Biogas Bus

Project start date: 2009-09-01

Project end date: 2012-09-09

Project status: closed

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 4 173 255.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 2 716 721.29

Co-financing sources:

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2007 - 2013 Baltic Sea Region

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2015-03-01

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

92 / 92 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

1 414 / 1 414 (100%)

Notes on the data

Information provided by the programme and collected from programme website

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Baltic Biogas Bus: Increase the use of biogas buses in public transport to reduce the emissions in urban areas in the Baltic Sea Region

Description

Thematic information

Partners (12)

Partners map

Summary

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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