SWECO to plan biomass gasification plant in Värnamo

SWECO to plan biomass gasification plant in Värnamo

SWECO's subsidiary SWECO PIC has been awarded a major contract by Växjö Värnamo
Biomass Gasification Centre (VVBGC) in connection with rebuilding and
retrofitting of a unique biomass gasification plant in Värnamo, Sweden. The
assignment is worth more than EUR 1.9 million and is scheduled to begin
immediately.

The rebuild of the gasification plant is part of the CHRISGAS R&D project, where
the aim is to develop and optimise an energy- and cost-efficient method to
produce hydrogen-rich gases from renewable biomass. The gas will be used as
feedstock for producing different types of automotive fuels that can replace
fossil-based petrol and diesel.

With responsibility for planning and detail engineering, SWECO PIC will play a
significant role in the rebuild project.

“Our experience in driving and implementing large-scale industrial projects
makes us well qualified for this task,” says Lennart Brorsson, Team Leader at
SWECO PIC. 

The assignment will be managed by SWECO's office in Gothenburg but will also
rely on resources from SWECO PIC in Finland.
”This will be the starting shot for reconstruction of the biomass gasification
plant, which was originally built in Värnamo in the early 1990s. The rebuilt
plant is expected to go into operation at the beginning of 2009 and will then
follow a pilot programme that is being conducted within the CHRISGAS project,”
explains Sune Bengtsson, Managing Director of VVBGC.CHRISGAS is funded by the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), the Swedish
Energy Agency (STEM) and participating industrial companies.

For more information contact:
Lennart Brorsson, Team Leader SWECO PIC, tel: +46 (0)31-62 75 24, 
e-mail: lennart.brorsson@sweco.se,
Jarl Brandt, Managing Director of SWECO PIC AB, tel: +46 (0)8 695 61 71, 
e-mail: jarl.brandt@sweco.se or
Sune Bengtsson, CHRISGAS Co-ordinator, tel: +46 (0) 470 70 88 23, mobile: +46
(0) 70 668 88 23, e-mail: sune.bengtsson@vxu.se

SWECO is the Nordic region's leading provider of consulting services with
combined expertise in engineering, environmental technology and architecture.
SWECO has 4,200 employees in eight countries and recorded annual sales of around
SEK 3.9 billion in 2006. The company has projects currently under way in some 75
countries worldwide. The SWECO share is quoted on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.