Doranova

What Doranova does

Doranova Oy is a Finnish environmental technology company founded in 1995 and headquartered in Vesilahti, Finland, that designs and builds turnkey (KVR) biogas plants using three proprietary, feedstock-specific digestion concepts: Wetferm for slurries and biowaste co-digestion, Solidferm for high-solids clean feedstocks up to 25% dry matter, and Hardferm for the most challenging substrates containing sand, stones, and other impurities (Hardferm received patent protection in December 2019 and was first deployed commercially in Jepua in June 2020). Beyond the three core plant concepts, the company delivers landfill gas collection and utilization systems, preparatory studies, permitting, technical design, and project management services.

The business model is project-based EPC: Doranova acts as technology supplier and KVR-urakoitsija (turnkey contractor) handling design, construction, and commissioning for each plant, with revenue recognized on project delivery and additional professional services revenue from feasibility, licensing, and design work. Customer segments are primarily Finnish agricultural operations (pig and cattle farms, agricultural cooperatives), food-processing companies (potato, sauce/broth, slaughterhouse by-products), energy utilities and municipalities, and research institutions such as Luonnonvarakeskus (Natural Resources Institute Finland). Select customers include Jepuan Biokaasu, Biokymppi, Pielisen Bio, One1/Pohjolan Peruna, Nevel/Puljonki, Viskaalin Ekokylä, Suomen Lantakaasu, Biopir, and Vantaan Energia.

In 2023 the company sold its legacy contaminated soil and groundwater remediation business to Suomen Erityisjäte Oy and refocused on biogas, biological methanation, and biogeenic CO2 utilization. The forward strategy is to extend the EPC core into emerging synthetic-fuel and carbon-negative value chains through a wholly-owned subsidiary Carbonground Oy (carbonization, voluntary carbon credits), a partnership with Liquid Sun on electro-Sustainable Aviation Fuel (e-SAF), a partnership with Germany's Sauter Biogas GmbH for the Finnish market, and pilots with HSY and Vantaan Energia on biological methanation and carbon-negative concepts. The company has 11-50 employees, remains privately held under founder/management ownership (CEO Antti Myllärinen is a shareholder), and has executed international projects in Vietnam, Zambia, Namibia, and China alongside its Finnish core.

Name

Doranova

Legal name

Doranova Oy

Website

https://doranova.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Doranova Oy is a Finnish EPC contractor that designs and builds turnkey biogas plants using three proprietary digestion concepts (Wetferm, Solidferm, Hardferm) for agricultural, food-industry, energy, and municipal customers, with emerging operations in biological methanation, carbonization, and e-SAF development.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biogas Plant Engineering

NAICS

Hazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562211), Sewage Treatment Facilities (22132)

SIC

Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991), Refuse Systems (4953), Hazardous Waste Management (4955)

akta.pro primary industry

Biogas/RNG Plant Development, EPC & Project Delivery (EUAAAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) & Biogas/RNG Production (Organics Feedstocks) (BPALAEAC), Biomass & Waste-to-Energy Plant EPC (EUAEAAAI), Anaerobic Digestion (Wet/Dry AD) & Biogas Production (EUAIAEAD), Landfill Gas (LFG) Collection & RNG Upgrading (EUAAAEAB), Biogas/RNG Plant Operations, Maintenance & Asset Management (EUAAAEAI)

Keywords

• Biogas plant construction
• Anaerobic digestion systems
• Landfill gas collection
• Renewable energy engineering
• Organic waste processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Vesilahti

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Biogas Plant Construction (EPC/Turnkey): Doranova designs and builds biogas plants as technology supplier and EPC (turnkey) contractor. Projects include complete plant delivery from preparatory studies through licensing, design, construction, and commissioning. Revenue generated from project-based construction contracts.
2. Landfill Gas Solutions: Delivery of landfill gas collection and utilization systems including equipment, installation, and measurement services. Includes FID measurements, action statements, and ongoing operational support for landfill gas systems.
3. Design and Consulting Services: Preparatory studies, profitability analyses, environmental permits, EIA processes, technical design, project management, and operational support services provided as subcontracted tasks to customers. Duration varies from a few days to over a year.
4. Biological Methanation Technology Development: Development and piloting of biological methanation technology for synthetic methane production, including integration with pyrolysis and industrial gas sources.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Doranova designs, builds, and commissions biogas plants on a turnkey EPC basis using its three proprietary anaerobic digestion concepts (Wetferm for wet substrates, Solidferm for high-solids wet substrates, and the patented Hardferm for dry substrates). The company also provides landfill gas collection, utilization, and treatment systems for waste management operators, together with feasibility studies, permitting, process and basic engineering design, and biological methanation research.

Product overview

Doranova is a Finnish environmental technology company designing and building biogas plants. The product portfolio consists of three main patented biogas plant concepts: Wetferm (wet fermentation for slurries and biowaste), Solidferm (high-solids wet fermentation for dry manures and grass biomasses), and Hardferm (dry anaerobic digestion for challenging substrates with high impurity content). Supporting services include landfill gas solutions (collection systems and measurements), preparatory studies, licensing, and design services. The company also develops advanced technologies including biological methanation, carbonization, and collaborates on e-SAF (electro-Sustainable Aviation Fuel) production with Liquid Sun. Doranova's subsidiary Carbonground Oy focuses on carbonization solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wetferm biogas plants Doranova's wet anaerobic digestion concept used to deliver biogas plants that process pumpable substrates such as manure, sewage sludge, and other liquid organic residues; sold to agricultural operators, municipalities, and energy producers in Finland and internationally.
• Solidferm biogas plants Doranova's high-solids wet fermentation concept enabling biogas plants to process substrates with elevated dry-matter content that traditional wet digesters cannot handle; targeted at farms and food-industry operators with tougher feedstocks.
• Hardferm dry fermentation biogas plants Doranova's patented dry anaerobic digestion concept delivered as turnkey biogas plants (industrial-scale and farm-scale) for substrates that are difficult to handle in wet or high-solids reactors, including dry manure and high-dry-matter agricultural residues.
• Landfill gas collection and utilization systems End-to-end landfill gas collection, treatment, and utilization systems (extraction wells, piping, treatment, and energy recovery) sold to municipalities, water utilities, and waste management operators needing landfill methane capture and renewable energy generation.
• Feasibility studies, permitting and engineering design services Consultancy and engineering services covering feasibility studies, environmental permitting, and process and basic engineering design for biogas and landfill gas projects, sold as standalone pre-project deliverables to plant owners and developers.
• Biological methanation technology (biogenic CO2 + H2 → renewable methane) Proprietary biological methanation technology that converts biogenic CO2 with hydrogen into renewable methane; developed via a Lappeenranta-based pilot project jointly with Slovenian research partners, marketed to renewable gas producers.
• Carbonization (biochar) technology Doranova's emerging pyrolysis-based carbonization technology, developed with Carbonground, that converts biological residues and digestate into biochar for carbon sequestration and soil amendment.
• e-SAF (synthetic sustainable aviation fuel) technology Emerging e-SAF (electric Sustainable Aviation Fuel) production capability being advanced by Doranova through partnerships with biogenic CO2 capture and biological methanation infrastructure, aimed at synthetic aviation fuel producers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hardferm plant increases Jepuan Biokaasu's gas production capacity by approximately 50%
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Sauter Biogas GmbHcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2024Partnership agreement under which Doranova manages sales, construction, and maintenance services of Sauter's biogas plants in the Finnish market. Wetferm plants utilize Sauter's irrigation-based mass and heat transfer technology. This collaboration brings substantial addition to Doranova's biogas plant portfolio.
• Liquid Sun OycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership with Tampere University spin-off Liquid Sun to develop e-SAF (electro-Sustainable Aviation Fuel) production. Doranova provides expertise in biogeenic CO2 production chains and is involved in designing Liquid Sun's first e-SAF pilot plant. Doranova's subcontractor network is utilized for piping, electrical, and automation work. The next phase involves integrating Liquid Sun's pilot equipment into a biogas plant environment at Vesilahti-Lempäälä.
• Weltec Biopower GmbHmajorTechnology or IntegrationGerman technology partner for early biogas plant implementations including Jepuan Biokaasu Oy's initial facility in 2013-2014. Collaboration on design and implementation of biogas plants for challenging agricultural and industrial feedstocks.
• Xylo Gas OycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for biological methanation pilot combining pyrolysis and biological methanation. Xylo Gas provides compact pyrolysis technology combining pyrolysis and indirect gasification for clean process. Pilot tests waste wood streams for pyrolysis suitability and subsequent biological methanation.
• Helsingin seudun ympäristöpalvelut (HSY)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCustomer for new biological methanation pilot starting spring 2026. HSY is the Helsinki Region Environmental Services authority, providing framework for piloting innovative biogas and synthetic fuel technologies.
• Namibia Biogas ProjectmajorTechnology or IntegrationHardferm biogas plant project for sewage wastes and farming residuals in Ondangwa, Namibia. Project will improve city sanitation and reduce dependency on imported electricity.
• Vantaan EnergiamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on concept study for innovative and carbon-negative biogas plant. Vantaan Energia targets carbon negativity by 2030 through Hiilinegatiivinen 2030 program. Doranova's Hardferm concept and synthetic methane production solutions are central to development work.
• Finnair, Finavia, ABB, FortumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners in Liquid Sun's e-SAF pilot program. Finnair and Finavia related to fuel adoption and airport infrastructure; ABB to electrical systems; Fortum to production scaling.
• Carbonground OycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubsidiary company established for carbonization development work. Focuses on binding CO2 into waste fractions for carbon credit markets and improving material properties of waste fractions for further utilization.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ANDRITZ Group: Austrian global EPC incumbent with a dedicated biogas/feedstock-processing division. Overlaps on industrial-scale AD plant engineering and supply, but operates across a much wider pulp, paper, hyd ro, and metals portfolio.
• Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI): Large-incumbent EPC delivering Anaerobic Digestion / Kompogas wet AD plants and broader waste-to-energy infrastructure globally. Overlaps with Doranova on AD construction but competes at a much larger project scale and broader waste-processing portfolio.

Direct peers

• HoSt Group: Dutch EPC delivering AD/biogas plants for agricultural, industrial, and municipal waste streams. Highly comparable in modular dry and wet AD technology positioning and in international project delivery.
• Xergi: Danish EPC contractor specializing in anaerobic digestion plants for manure, food waste, and industrial residues. Closely comparable as a Northern European AD constructor with similar feedstock focus and KVR-style turnkey delivery model.
• Weltec Biopower: German full-scope biogas plant EPC that supplied early Doranova projects (including Jepuan Biokaasu). Competes head-to-head on agricultural and industrial AD builds in Northern Europe with overlapping feedstock, digestion, and project delivery capabilities.
• PlanET Biogas Global: German AD plant EPC focused on agricultural, industrial, and bio-waste feedstocks. Closely comparable as a turnkey biogas constructor using both wet and dry digestion technologies and offering similar permitting, design, and commissioning services.
• Bright Renewables: Netherlands-based EPC providing turnkey biogas/upgrading plants and gas treatment equipment. Comparable as an integrated EPC + AD/biogas technology supplier covering wet and dry feedstocks at multi-MWe scale.
• EnviTec Biogas: German AD plant designer and operator with multi-MWe biomethane plants across Europe. Comparable as a full-stack EPC and O&M player in the same agricultural and bio-waste AD niche as Doranova's three concepts.

Emerging players

• BTS Biogas: Italian AD plant EPC with focus on agricultural and bio-waste feedstocks including dry digestion. Comparable to Hardferm in tackling high-solids and challenging substrates, though with smaller international footprint than Doranova's.

Regional players

• WELTEC's AD subsidiary AAT Group: Czech-based AD plant EPC serving Central and Eastern Europe with wet, dry, and plug-flow digestion. Comparable technology stack to Doranova's three concepts but with a regional focus outside Finland.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Doranova