The Biomethane Liquefied Natural Gas (BioLNG) EuroNet project, a consortium comprising Shell, DISA, Scania, Iveco, CNH Industrial Capital Europe under the trademark of Iveco Capital and Nordsol, and co-funded by the European Union, has announced a commitment to the further expansion of LNG as a road transport fuel across Europe with new infrastructure that should ensure the long-term success and mass scale adoption in Europe.
Each member company will deliver separate activities that will see 2,000 more LNG trucks on the road, 39 LNG fuelling stations and the construction of a BioLNG production plant in the Netherlands.
The LNG Retail stations will form part of a pan-European network and be built in Belgium, France, Germany the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. The stations will be located approximately every 400 km along core road network corridors from Spain to eastern Poland.
Istvάn Kapitάny, executive vice president, Shell Retail, said: “LNG is an increasingly affordable fuel for heavy goods vehicles which will make it an important energy source as the transport sector evolves. Shell is committed to offering our customers more lower carbon energy and the new LNG Retail stations are a vital piece of the puzzle. I look forward to seeing this important network of stations welcome European customers in the years to come.”
Jonas Nordh, director, sustainable transport solutions, Scania, said: “This program covers filling stations, biofuel production and subsidies which are all necessary for progressive customers to invest in the trucks, despite the extra initial cost. Whilst LNG, which reduces CO2 emissions by up to 20%, is more broadly available today, biogas, which reduces CO2 emissions by over 90%, will increasingly be blended in with the natural gas and production of biogas ramped up.”
Pierre Lahutte, brand president, Iveco, said: “This project opens the possibility for a seamless transition to a circular economy approach based on generating energy from waste. This makes even negative GHG emissions and carbon sequestration possible. The project’s funding will enable us to help our customers convert their fleets to LNG through competitive IVECO Capital finance & leasing plans, increasing the number of natural gas vehicles on European roads and making progress towards a sustainable transport industry.”
The BioLNG facility will produce 3000 MT/year of BioLNG and will use biogas produced from organic waste. This will be sold to end-users via the LNG network.
Jerom van Roosmalen, founding partner at Nordsol, said: “Unlocking BioLNG will enable LNG as the future energy source for the large transport sector. Nordsol is determined to make BioLNG mainstream as a clean and safe advanced biofuel that is widely available at an affordable price. Our BioLNG concept is built around this mission and we look forward to rollout this expansion with the consortium partners.”
BioLNG EuroNet has an aspiration to rollout the expansion of LNG as a road transport fuel across Europe even further in the future.
