LNG

Liqvis GmbH, the liquefied natural gas fuel subsidiary of German utility Uniper, has opened its second LNG filling station near the city of Kassel on the A7 motorway and another seven are being constructed or planned.

Trucking companies in Germany do not have to pay motorway tolls if they have natural gas fuel and Liqvis said the exemption was proving effective in getting companies to switch from the more pollutant diesel.

The latest station in the state of Hesse in central Germany adds to the first one previously opened in Grünheide near Berlin.

Liqvis, based in the German city of Essen, said the Kassel station on the A7 between the Kassel-Mitte interchange and the Kassel-Süd triangle was built in just about four months and is open 24 hours a day.

Kassel previously had a mobile station to dispense LNG and that is now being moved from Kassel to Hamm in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia to expand the LNG fuel network.

“The Kassel location in the centre of Germany made the site a hotspot for long-haul heavy trucks, as previously demonstrated by the high demand at the mobile station,” said Liqvis.

“The new station will make refueling faster and more convenient for customers,” the company added.

“Two trucks can now be refueled at the same time, and in the future this could even be increased to four,” explained Liqvis.

The Uniper unit’s LNG station network will also spread into other European Union countries, including France with a facility at the Channel port of Calais.

The Calais station is already under construction and among other sites chosen for stations in Germany are Rosengarten near Hamburg and Langenhagen near Hanover.

“Thanks in no small part to the toll exemption in Germany, LNG has established itself as a fuel on the market over the last three years, which can be seen in the large increase in revenue at our filling stations,” said Silvano Calcagno, Managing Director of Liqvis.

“At Liqvis, we want transport companies to be able to plan the use of their vehicles as flexibly as possible,” added Calcagno.

“That's why we're continually working on expanding our network coverage and I am looking forward to being able to open further stations in Germany and Europe over the course of this year,” he stated.

The main advantages of truck companies switching to LNG are emissions well below the Euro VI standard and less noise from the engines.

“The ‘quiet’ LNG engine technology lowers noise levels for deliveries outside normal traffic times,” said Liqvis.

“In addition, by switching to LNG, operators can refuel their vehicles with a larger amount of natural gas, meaning that their fleets can travel longer distances,” it added.