At the recent World Biogas Expo & Summit, the central topic of discussion was biotransformation – how to get rid of fossil fuels and other petroleum derivatives. Biogas and biomethane (renewable natural gas) are at the heart of this transformation and are emerging pillars of energy production in many economies around the world.

The award-winning MGP262

Our impressive performance at Expo & Summit was rewarded with the AD & Biogas Industry Awards. Our meter MGP262 for escaping the gas biomethane was awarded in the Research and Innovation category. Our meters beat out many competitors from more than 30 countries to win this award at the WBE for the second time in a row.

At the award ceremony, Irene Zakrzewski, Vaisala’s Research and Development Project Manager, thanked the jury and peers, saying: “Vaisala has always been committed to driving innovation, and we are encouraged to receive this award today, and we will continue to explore more possibilities and push the limits of measurement. I am honored to receive this award as a team representative. Thank you for your recognition of us, in the future we will use more technological achievements to give back to the society!”

Antti Heikkila, Product Manager, added: “It is an honor to be recognized by our industry peers, your recognition is the greatest affirmation for us, and it also confirms the truth of the feedback we hear from our customers and partners. In their daily production operations, they are using our sensors to produce renewable alternatives to fossil fuels while minimizing the amount of greenhouse gases escaping into the atmosphere.”

However, the real benefit of MGP262 is its ability to turn waste into treasure and open up new business opportunities. In addition, the supply of natural gas to the energy and heating sectors should also be secured, which needs to be taken seriously in view of the volatile global supply situation.

MGP262: A work of ingenuity

The MGP262 represents Vaisala’s long-standing mission to address an important issue in renewable non-fossil gas production: inefficiency. Simply put, renewable energy needs to be profitable in order to be widely adopted. From both an ecological and economic point of view, inefficiencies need to be minimized.

This is what the Vaisala Biogas team is trying to solve. Having developed the MGP261 3-in-1 in-line multi-gas probe for raw biogas, Vaxala’s R&D team set their sights on the next level of biogas development: biomethanes /RNG.

At first, measuring low concentrations of methane and high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the flow of escaping gas from biogas purification plants was challenging. But after successfully creating an optical in-situ meter for monitoring biogas production, the team knew it could be done. After repeated studies, proof-of-concept and multiple pilot installations at customer sites, the project quickly came to fruition. More importantly, the design and engineering team solved the problem without changing the form factor.

“Early in the development of the MGP261, we asked ourselves, ‘Do you want a meter small enough to hold in your hand or a large wall-mounted cabinet?'” . The answer is obvious.” Antti Heikkila explains.

“The compact design of the MGP makes it easy to install in small Spaces while offering advantages such as low power consumption. For biomethane plants, this simplifies operations. Instead of using bulky cabinets and reference gases, the MGP is a complete in-situ solution that is small enough to hold in your hand. This is exactly what our customers want, “concludes Otto Tierto, Vaisala MGP262 R&D Project Manager.

Vaisala MGP262 – “Money” goes nowhere

The role of MGP262 is to ensure that your biomethane /RNG production remains efficient, which means that it is both profitable and green. MGP262 helps you reduce the amount of methane that escapes into the atmosphere during the purification process. Because methane is a greenhouse gas, it’s important for the environment to always keep this methane loss low, and it’s also about profitability, because then you have more advanced biomethane to sell.

The MGP262 was released to the public in January 2021. In just over two years, it has proven its worth with sales volumes and will continue to earn recognition and accolades where biomethane /RNG is produced.