Gas specialist LNG Rolande and authorities at Gate terminal in Rotterdam have completed refuelling of the first LNG-powered truck at the site.
Rolande oversaw the refuelling of the IVECO Stralis NP 400 truck alongside Dutch transport firm Chr. Vermeer Transport and hailed the operation as a milestone for European LNG bunkering in relation to International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) regulations.
“Until now it was simply not possible in practical terms to transport LNG to an LNG-powered truck. Both sides hope to show by this that there are no obstacles left for transporters to make a transition to LNG due to ADR,” a spokesperson for Rolande commented.
Target on carbon positive trucking
Alongside its own onboard tank, the truck also has the capability to haul a customised LNG trailer making it possible to transport additional LNG.
“LNG lorries are quieter and have lower emissions of particulate matter, NOx and CO2. With the step towards Bio-LNG, where the LNG is produced from residual streams such as waste, manure or sludge, CO₂ emissions are even minimized and may even be "carbon positive" in certain cases,” Rolande said in a statement.
Truck loading grows to 750 in first half
Earlier this year, port operators Gasunie and Royal Vopak, the two firms behind the joint venture Gate Terminal, started commercial operations of two new truck loading bays at the site, outlining a strategy “to deliver LNG to retail stations, industry and ships”.
The terminal has total annual throughput capacity of 12 billion cubic metres of natural gas and reported approximately 750 trucks loaded in the first half of 2017, a 50% increase in truck loadings in year-on-year comparison.
“The functions of the LNG-terminal are as follows: supply, a buffer between the flow and continuous supply of natural gas, evaporation, drainage. LNG will be regasified on the terminal, and pressurized for supply to the Dutch gas transport sector,’ a spokesperson explained.
Electricity for the Gate Terminal is supplied by E.ON Benelux with water pumped from the E.ON Maasvlakte Power Plants sea water cooling outfall basin for use in gasification processes.
