LNG

Liqvis GmbH, the liquefied natural gas fuel subsidiary of German utility Uniper, has signed another contract with its Dutch cryogenic systems designer to establish 16 skid-mounted public LNG fuelling stations in Germany and France.

Three European liquefied natural gas fuel companies have combined to successfully test an LNG delivery by railcar to a German power plant in Bavaria owned by the utility Uniper.

Liqvis GmbH, the LNG subsidiary of Uniper, said that VTG AG successfully completed initial tests involving the transportation by rail of LNG in its specially developed tank wagons.

In addition to VTG, another company involved in the tests was Chart Ferox, which provided technical support for filling the tanks at the facilities of Brunsbüttel Ports GmbH.

Brunsbüttel is where the first LNG import terminal in Germany is under development.

The LNG tanks were then transported by rail to a Uniper power plant located about 800 kilometres away and involving a north-south journey to the city of Ingolstadt in Bavaria.

“Liqvis is using the project to investigate the option of using rail as a safe, cost-effective and ecologically sound way to transport LNG distribution centres,” said Liqvis.

“The ability to move larger volumes in a single batch by rail reduces transport emissions while taking heavy traffic off the roads,” explained Liqvis.

“Carrying hazardous substances by rail is also generally regarded as very safe,” the company added.

Liqvis noted that project partner VTG has been carrying LNG for many years.

“Now, as the first and to date - only company - in the rail freight sector, it has collaborated with Chart Ferox to develop an innovative tank wagon that can bypass shipping routes, road haulage and the pipeline network to transport LNG across Europe,” explained Liqvis.

New rail wagons

The brand-new wagons have thermally insulated tank to keep the gas at a constant temperature during filling and transportation.

“VTG already has the expertise and the logistical concepts that are needed to move LNG around Europe’s rail networks quickly, reliably and in a way that is kind to the environment,” said Heinz Jürgen Hiller, VTG’s Business Development LNG Europe.

“As a kind of ‘pipeline to go’, our LNG tank wagons can permanently supply liquefied natural gas to whole industries with a voracious appetite for energy. We are really pleased about this partnership, which plugs a gap in rail freight,” stated Hiller.

Brunsbüttel Ports, whose facility stands at the mouth of the Elbe River, was chosen as the venue for loading.

The same site had already handled the first-time filling of VTG’s specially developed tank wagon with LNG back in April 2016.

“In recent years, a strategically favorable location at the point where the Elbe flows into the Kiel Canal has combined with close proximity to the port of Hamburg and direct access to the Baltic and Scandinavian markets to establish the Elbe port in Brunsbüttel as one of the leading LNG terminals on Germany’s North Sea coast,” said Frank Schnabel, Managing Director of Brunsbüttel Ports.

Both truck-to-ship and ship-to-ship LNG bunkering have already taken place at in Brunsbüttel, and plans for the LNG import and distribution terminal are proceeding.

LNG could then be redistributed from Brunsbüttel by rail, by LNG bunkering vessels or via the pipeline network.

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.