Europe’s LNG refuelling options grow to meet multimodal demand

New LNG refuelling options at Port of Antwerp

In January, Cryostar and KC LNG announced a contract to construct a new LNG ship bunkering and truck fuelling facility at the Port of Antwerp, Europe’s second largest seaport.

Denmark-based KC LNG, part of Makeen Energy, engineers and builds liquefaction, bunkering and refuelling solutions for the production and transfer of LNG.

Headquartered in France, Cryostar is a cryogenic technology provider, with centrifugal pumps, reciprocating pumps, expanders, small-scale liquefaction and heat exchangers among its product offerings.

Cryostar and KC LNG will commission the LNG facility in Q1 2020, allowing Fluxys, G&V, Titan LNG and Rolande to widen the LNG fuelling options at quay 526/528 in the Port of Antwerp. The port currently offers truck-to-ship bunkering. Both LNG-powered inland waterway vessels and LNG-powered trucks will be able to refuel at the facility.

"This project is yet another testament to the rapid development of the LNG market,” says LNG Makeen Energy group head Frej Olsen. “Easily accessible and affordable, LNG is in high demand, and we want to be at the forefront with more solutions that accommodate this demand.”

Also bolstering the port’s LNG marine refuelling infrastructure will be the 76-m FlexFueler002 LNG bunkering barge. Due for delivery in mid-2020, FlexFueler002 will become operational in the greater Antwerp port area, providing ship-to-ship LNG bunkering on a larger scale. Belgian gas distribution network operator Fluxys partnered with Dutch company Titan LNG to build the bunker barge, which is a sister vessel to FlexFueler001, which began operating out of the Port of Amsterdam in June 2019.

FlexFueler002 has an overall length of 76.4 m and beam of 11.45 m, with four vacuum insulated IMO Type C cargo tanks, each with a capacity of 370 m³. For manoeuvrability, FlexFueler002 is fitted with a bow thruster. There is also a control room and a simple accommodation at the stern.

In December, Titan LNG contracted Norwegian ship broker Fearnleys AS to run a tender for the construction of an 8,000-m³ LNG-fuelled LNG bunker vessel that would begin operation in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region in 2021. To be called Titan Hyperion, the bunker vessel will have a length of 135 m and beam of 19 m, with the ability to refuel a wide range of oceangoing LNG-fuelled vessels. Besides its bunkering duties, Titan Hyperion will also serve as a ‘mother ship’, loading LNG onto Titan LNG’s FlexFueler class barges.

Emitting virtually no SOx and particulate matter and 10-20% fewer greenhouse gases (GHG) than traditional oil-based fuels, LNG is expected to play a vital role in the reduction of GHG emissions by marine and land-based transportation.

Rail, road and marine

Europe’s second largest operator of regasification terminals, France’s Elengy believes its Fos Tonkin LNG terminal can be transformed into a multimodal LNG hub in the western Mediterranean basin, serving rail, road and marine customers.

In January, Elengy said it would continue operating its Fos Tonkin terminal in the Mediterranean until 2028, after fully booking its proposed regasification capacity for its open season in 2021.

Elengy reported the proposed regasification capacity of 1.5Bn m³ had been entirely booked after a call for subscriptions in February 2019, allowing it to make the financial commitment to extend the site’s activity beyond 2020.

Offering the unloading and loading of LNG carriers and reloading of bunkering vessels, Fos Tonkin could be a key asset to support the energy transition and the move to LNG as a fuel, said Elengy. As a result, Elengy is now working on the development of the loading capacities for small LNG vessels to provide the market with the required services to support the growth of LNG as a marine fuel. Elengy said the Fos Tonkin terminal’s location is ideal to supply LNG to ports and islands of the western Mediterranean.

The company is studying the potential of developing the Fos Tonkin terminal as a loading point for trains to supply LNG intermediate storage sites outside LNG terminals.

Elengy currently offers LNG truck loading capacity at its three terminals, Fos Tonkin and Fos Cavaou on the Mediterranean and Montoir-de-Bretagne on the Atlantic. It has loaded more than 20,000 LNG tanker trucks since 2013.