From new builds to refurbishments - across six locations, covering the full plant lifecycle

Ardor has been involved in building Finland's biogas infrastructure for several years. The cooperation covers the entire lifecycle of the plants: from new construction to capacity expansions, refurbishments and annual maintenance shutdowns. Projects are spread across multiple locations and two principal customers.

Gasum Oy is the most important customer: Ardor has built Gasum's plants in Riihimäki, Turku and Oulu, and has also carried out refurbishments in Kuopio and Honkajoki. Another significant entity is the Mäntsälän Biovoima Oy biogas plant in Mäntsälä, with Watrec Oy as main contractor. In addition, Ardor has delivered Biotehdas Oy's plants in Oulu and Honkajoki under Watrec Oy's main contracting.

The delivery profile is similar from one plant to the next. This consistency reflects Ardor's established position in biogas construction: this is not a series of one-off contracts but a long-term partnership in which Ardor knows both the process requirements and the customers' ways of working.

In addition to new construction and expansions, Ardor has refurbished Gasum's plants at four locations: Oulu, Kuopio, Honkajoki and Riihimäki. The refurbishments have included piping and equipment installation to extend the operational life of the existing plants.

The technical content of the deliveries is similar from one plant to the next: process piping in all material and pressure classes; equipment installation covering pumps, heat exchangers, compressors, gas storages and sludge bags; and steel structures including service platforms, railings, stair towers and the load-bearing structures of pipe bridges. Pipe bridges are typically delivered in 12–34-metre blocks, pre-equipped, insulated and where required electrically heat-traced — the 250-metre pipe bridge in Turku is the most extensive single example of this.

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Pipe bridges ready from the workshop — faster plant start-up

The pipe bridges of biogas plants are a natural application of Ardor's prefabrication model. The blocks, typically 12–34 metres long, are equipped, insulated and where required electrically heat-traced fully ready at Ardor's workshop before delivery. On site only lifting and connections are required.

Work done at the workshop is significantly faster than equivalent work in the field: the conditions are controlled, materials are at hand, and the work proceeds without dependence on weather or logistical interruptions. At biogas plants, where the start-up schedule is often tight, this materially shortens overall project lead time.

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Ardor's biogas projects

Riihimäki is one of Gasum's plants that Ardor built from the ground up: the piping and machinery contract together with the pipe bridge were part of the delivery in their entirety. The plant was later expanded with additional sludge heat-exchange capacity.

The Turku Gasum plant was likewise built as a new construction, comprising piping, equipment installation, service platforms and stair towers. The plant has since been expanded and refurbished, and the technically most visible element of this entity is the approximately 250-metre pipe bridge - delivered as 34-metre blocks, electrically heat-traced and insulated, fully prefabricated at Ardor's workshop. In addition, a hygienisation revision was carried out at Gasum's Turku plant under BTA International GmbH's main contracting: piping and equipment installation as well as insulation.

In Oulu, Ardor has carried out the new construction of Gasum's plant - the piping and machinery contract together with the pipe bridge - followed by the expansion under Watrec Oy's main contracting: piping, machinery, pipe bridge and service platforms. The other entity at the same location is Biotehdas Oy's plant, which Ardor delivered under Watrec: all piping and equipment installation, gas storage, sludge bag and the steel structures of the pipe bridges and service platforms.

In Honkajoki, Ardor delivered Biotehdas Oy's plant under Watrec's main contracting, comprising process equipment installation, fabrication and installation of piping, the steel structures of the pipe bridges, and the gas storage installation.

In Mäntsälä, the site is the Mäntsälän Biovoima Oy biogas plant, with Watrec Oy as main contractor. Ardor's share was the piping and machinery contract in its entirety.

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