AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical firm located in the UK, has partnered with Massachusetts-based Vanguard Renewables to use biogas for heat and power in all of its U.S.-based research and manufacturing sites. By the end of 2026, it's anticipated that the transformation will be finished.
For its Newark Campus in Delaware, where the business manufactures 26 medications for distribution across the United States, AstraZeneca will start purchasing renewable natural gas provided by Vanguard Renewables starting in June 2023. The site also produces pharmaceuticals for export.
By 2026, this partnership should make it possible for AstraZeneca's U.S. plants to use up to 190,500 megawatt hours per year, or 650,000 million British thermal units, of renewable natural gas. That is the same amount of energy needed to heat more than 17,800 houses across the country for a whole year.
"We recognize the interdependence between the health of people and the health of the planet, and we are committed to driving deep decarburization across our operations and value chain," said Pam Cheng, chief sustainability officer at AstraZeneca.
As part of the shift to net-zero health systems and a circular economy, "our creative partnership with Vanguard Renewables in the United States is an illustration of how we are collaborating at scale to deliver sustainable science and medicines."