First LCNG highway station under construction in North-West Europe
The Dutch company LIQAL has been awarded a contract for turnkey realization of a refueling facility for LNG and LCNG, to be located at the Texaco service station adjacent the E40 highway in Heverlee, Belgium. The station will be deployed by Drive Systems (natural gas station operator) in cooperation with EG Group (Texaco). The construction, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019, is receiving funding from the EU through its Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) program. The site, which will be integrated into the existing Texaco full service station, will have an LNG storage capacity of 80,000 liters, a dispenser to supply LNG to trucks and two LCNG dispensers to serve CNG vehicles at both the north- and the south side of the E-40 highway. In addition, it will have a dedicated dispenser to fill up CNG tube-trailers for CNG daughter stations operated by Drive Systems. In order to ensure reliable operation, LIQAL included features like its advanced online monitoring- and trending system, MID-certified LNG fuel dispenser with heated and purged nozzle docking bay and on-the-fly saturation in its proprietary station design. The station consists of standardized, prefabricated systems in order to keep project investment costs and lead time for onsite erection to a minimum. “This initiative shows the commitment of the European Commission to roll out alternative fuel infrastructure along the main corridors,” said Philippe Desrumaux, Director of Drive Systems. “Their integrated approach, from design, production and realization onsite, including the technical operation of the station, was the deciding factor for contracting LIQAL. Moreover, they are able to deliver the station within the challenging timeframe as requested by us”. As Belgian policy supports the transition of diesel to clean fuels, more and more vehicle owners and haulage companies make the switch to affordable CNG and LNG. Drive Systems anticipated to this trend by building Belgium’s first ever LCNG station that started operation in 2014.With the realization of this new fueling facility in Heverlee, which is the first highway site for LNG in North-West Europe, Drive Systems has another first. “Alternative fuels as LNG are the future for road transport, but they must be easily accessible,” commented Benny Smets, CEO of Ninatrans, transport company that will refuel at the new station. “The LNG station at the Texaco site, close to our HQ, perfectly fits in our strategy to decarbonize activities. We decided to order 10 additional LNG trucks, and more units will be added as we replace the older diesel trucks.” Joost Jansen, Business Development Manager at LIQAL, added: “It is great to be given the opportunity to build this new highway location. With the addition of this site in Heverlee, being LIQAL’s fifth Belgian fueling facility, we further strengthen our leading position in North West Europe”.