Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca may be best known for its Covid vaccine and a range of other medications, but it is also a firm with high ambitions to power all its UK and overseas operations with renewable energy by the end of this year.
The Anglo-Swedish company has taken a major step towards this goal by opening its own biomethane plant at Gonerby Moor in Lincolnshire.
Working in partnership with Future Biogas, the Moor Bioenergy plant has been the first of its kind to be established in Britain without the need for a government subsidy.
Following extensive tank fitting work and the installation of other vital components, the plant is now up and running and will be able to produce the equivalent of 100 GW hours, enough power to meet the annual energy needs of 8,000 homes.
This power will be used to supply the company’s UK operations, which include premises in Cambridge, London, Macclesfield, Liverpool and Luton.
Meeting AZ Green Targets
In doing so, the company estimates that it will reduce its fossil fuel gas usage by 20 per cent, cutting 18,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year. As well as aiming to be powered fully by renewable sources by the end of this year, the company has stated ambitions of reaching net zero by 2045.
The scale of the investment and the fact it did not need government money may be partly a reflection of the fact that AstraZeneca is a very large and well-resourced company, able to provide the funding for a major renewables project. Indeed, to meet its environmental target, it will need to do more of the same, whether in biofuels or other renewables.
At the same time, however, this is not simply a case of AstraZeneca doing this just because it can. Faced with the challenge of attaining net zero, large commercial enterprises with multiple sites of manufacturing, research and development and administration in different countries will have big decisions to make if they want to meet their goals.
An Example For Others To Follow?
For this reason, the step taken by AstraZeneca may inspire a lot of other large companies to make investments in biofuel plants, helping to build up the biogas industry as they meet their energy needs. Indeed, some may go further and reach a point where the amount of energy produced is more than their full requirements and can be sold onward commercially.
Such a step may be some way down the line for AstraZeneca or any other firm just now, but it is undoubtedly a major landmark boost for the sector’s credibility that such a plant can be established without government funds.
The endorsement that AstraZeneca’s actions provide is far from the only positive action that has been performed recently to demonstrate that large companies are keen on the green energy option that biofuel offers.
Unsold Food Is A Retailer’s Opportunity
Among the others is supermarket retailer Sainsbury’s. Conscious that its distribution operations are highly carbon intensive and that food waste is a major problem when any produce goes unsold and passes its sell-by date, the retailer has found the ideal solution by turning food waste into biofuel for its truck fleet.
Working with its supplier RenECO, which already turns food waste from the company into biogas, Sainsbury’s will now use the fuel in 30 trucks at its Bristol distribution centre. The move will save about 3,000 tonnes of carbon a year.
The liquid fuel used will be made entirely from biomethane, unlike some other fuels that mix biofuels with non-renewable gas.
“Today’s announcement underscores the power that collaboration has in driving impactful change across business,” said Sainsbury’s chief property and procurement officer Patrick Dunne.
He added: “We are proud to have worked closely with our supplier RenECO to deliver a pioneering move that supports our commitment to circularity,” noting that this scheme helps the retailer move closer to its goal of reaching net zero by 2035.
In Good Company
As Gasworld notes, Sainsbury’s is not the first major UK retailer to use biogas made with its own food waste. Lidl was the first to do so, while Waitrose has been using biofuel in its delivery vehicles since 2017. Tesco is trialling such vehicles and Morrisons is working to phase out its fossil fuel-powered fleet and replace it with biofuel-powered vehicles.
Because the waste comes straight from the supermarkets themselves, the circular option is a no-brainer for retail giants.
The connection is perhaps less obvious for a pharmaceuticals company, which does not produce much usable waste of its own, but the initiative AstraZeneca has shown may highlight the fact that such a link is not necessary for a company to make it well worth its investment in biofuel production.
