Protos is one of Sweden’s largest suppliers of KRAV‑certified meat. A visiting group from the Biogas Solutions Research Center, BSRC, was given a guided tour of the operation. The factory in Visby, which employs 150 people, has significantly reduced its use of fossil fuels by switching to biogas. The company itself contributes to this production by delivering slaughterhouse waste to the biogas plant in Bro.
“We made the transition during 2017 and 2018, and we can now operate on both oil and biogas. Today, we use just over one cubic metre of oil per year. That is, of course, a major difference compared with before the transition,” says Göran Persson, Environmental and Property Manager.
Collaboration
The slaughterhouse employs 150 people and the operation, which was previously part of the Scan Group, is now fully privately owned. Protos works in collaboration with other actors to reduce its climate footprint. One example is a project testing red algae as a feed supplement for cattle, with the aim of reducing methane emissions during digestion. The company has also discussed potential cooperation with the neighbouring Arla facility, which generates large volumes of water as a by‑product of milk powder production.
Water is a scarce
resource on Gotland
“Water is a scarce resource on Gotland, and this is water that we could potentially use in our own operations, for example for cleaning. We are interested in being able to treat and reuse the water from Arla,” says Göran Persson.
Development
He also identifies areas for further development. One example is the continued use of the fossil fuel liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, in parts of pork processing.
“We also transport products from the facility to mainland Sweden, and around 1,900 tonnes of waste per year must be sent for destruction. This includes, for example, spinal material and brain tissue, which is subject to regulations on specified risk material,” says Göran Persson.
Carbon dioxide for preservation
During 2024, Protos introduced a new plastic packaging solution that is partially filled with food‑grade carbon dioxide, a by‑product of biogas production, to preserve the products.
“In our case, the carbon dioxide comes from the ethanol plant in Norrköping, but it is also a residual product of biogas production,” Göran Persson notes.
