IVECO Sets History-making Tone at IAA with Diesel-free Stand
IVECO is displaying multiple natural gas powered vehicles as part of its sustainable solutions range at IAA in Hannover this week. Their offering is described as covering the requirements of every business and every mission. It includes many award-winning vehicles, such as the Daily Blue Power ‘Van of the Year’ 2018, the Crossway LE NP ‘Sustainable Bus of the Year’ 2018 and the Stralis NP 460 ‘Low Carbon Truck of the Year’’ 2018. IVECO is making history at the 67th edition of the IAA Commercial Vehicles (IAA), the most important international event in the commercial vehicle industry. It is showcasing its full commercial offering of alternative traction vehicles on a 100% Diesel Free indoor stand, creating a Low Emission Area at the exhibition. It is also hosting a dedicated Round Table focused on “The energy transition towards a sustainable future” and workshop events in collaboration with industry experts, customers and technical partners, to discuss the energy transition and related topics. Pierre Lahutte, IVECO Brand President, commented at the press conference held today on the stand: “IVECO is the first manufacturer in the history of the IAA to present a stand without a single Diesel Engine – neither on the vehicles or their bodies. The transport industry is changing, as the pressure on Diesel mounts and the energy transition gains momentum. Our display demonstrates that IVECO’s Electric, CNG and LNG offering is available today and offers a viable alternative to Diesel vehicles in all missions – from urban high-value, low energy intensity people transport to long-distance heavy-duty haulage. In addition, natural gas offers the possibility for a seamless transition to biomethane and renewable energy, achieving zero emissions and opening the door to a circular economy approach that can go so far as achieving negative emissions and carbon sequestration.” Also present on the stand, and speaking at the press conference, is global energy supplier Shell, which shares IVECO’s belief that de-carbonisation of the transport sector requires a range of fuels and technologies. As part of their collaboration with the brand to promote the development of the electric and natural gas refuelling networks in Germany, Shell is also displaying on the stand a CNG/LNG filling station and an electric charging station. IVECO sees natural gas as a key energy source which provides a mature solution for sustainable transport of people and goods. Through its display and workshops, IVECO is highlighting the considerable environmental advantage of natural gas, which is able to deliver massive reductions in the most polluting emissions: 90% for NO2, 99% for particulate matter, 10% for CO2 with natural gas which rises as high as 95% with biomethane well to wheel. A circular economy based on the generation of energy from organic or agricultural waste is possible with biomethane. This can be done at an organic waste treatment centre, which generates natural gas and fertiliser from door-to-door collection, green waste, institutional catering and municipal waste. This approach can be taken even further, when methane is generated in a biodigester on a farm, using crops and agricultural waste. As they grow, the crops absorb CO2 and convert it into carbohydrates, fixing the Carbon and releasing Oxygen into the atmosphere. In the farm’s biodigester, the crop residues decompose through an anaerobic digestion process, producing biogas. This is purified into biomethane, which can be transported to filling stations and used to fuel natural gas powered vehicles for goods transport. This process also produces a nutrient-rich substance that is used as a fertiliser compost, returning nutrients to the land, increasing its organic matter content and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. As a result, this circular economy approach goes beyond reducing CO2 emissions well to wheel, as it fixes carbon in the ground, reducing CO2 in the air and making the cycle carbon negative. Visitors to the IVECO stand will be able to see that this circular economy is already a reality, with the examples of the city of Lille, which operates a fleet of IVECO CNG buses fuelled with biomethane generated from municipal waste; the project led by Pot au Pin, Air Liquide and Carrefour based on biomethane from agricultural waste; and the opening of the world’s largest biogas plant in Norway by Biokraft. Through its presence at the exhibition, IVECO aims to promote the use of sustainable technologies. In addition to the vehicle display itself and the various events it is hosting, it has dedicated an Educational Area on the stand to informative panels and videos on four key themes: ‘Gas and biogas – the sustainable transport solution today and tomorrow’; ‘Our contribution to CO2 reduction’; ‘Sustainable solutions for fleet management’ in collaboration with technological partner Michelin; and ‘TCO, efficiency and productivity’. For suburban public transport, CNG is the solution on display, with the IVECO BUS Crossway Low Entry Natural Power, Sustainable Bus of the Year 2018, which stands out for its design with the tanks integrated into the roof space and autonomy up to 600 km. For urban and suburban goods transport, IVECO is showing different models of Daily Natural Power, also part of the Daily Blue Power family – four of them featuring the class-exclusive Hi-Matic transmission. The Daily Hi-Matic Natural Power is the first Light Commercial Vehicle equipped with a 3.0 litre CNG engine with an 8-speed automatic gearbox in the industry. The models on display showcase the wide variety of missions the Daily Blue Power family can cover with its extensive offering: a chassis cab equipped with a Lecapitaine refrigerated box for the rental fleet of Le Petit Forestier, the European leader in refrigeration rental; a 7 tonne chassis cab equipped with a Junge platform and curtainsider; a chassis cab equipped by Fassi with a Maxicargo tipper trailer and crane for Ville de Paris; a van equipped with a Kerstner deep cooling fridge in the 40th Anniversary Limited Edition livery and a van equipped for parcel deliveries by Spier with a personalisation designed by Garage Italia Custom to commemorate the Daily’s anniversary. For urban and regional transport missions, CNG is the technology that meets the combine requirements of efficient transport across longer distances and deliveries in city centres. IVECO is showcasing two Eurocargo focused on municipal applications, both in CNG version and already compliant with EURO VI Step D emissions standards, one year ahead of time. One of the models on display is equipped with a 3-way tipper by Meiller. The second model on display is the result of IVECO’s collaboration with a technological partner to address the emissions of both truck and body: it is equipped with a sweeper body developed by Johnston Engineering that combines the truck’s CNG engine with a hydrostatic transmission, achieving a dramatic reduction in emissions – see NGV Global article here. IVECO also partnered with Carrier Transicold for an industry first: the brand new 26-tonne 400 hp Stralis NP rigid equipped with a Frappa body and featuring Carrier Supra® CNG technology. This groundbreaking solution is a 100% Natural Gas, 0 % Diesel, 100% Simple truck with refrigerated body. Contrary to standard trucks for temperature-controlled goods transport, which have two diesel engines – one to power the truck and one to run the cooling group compressor which is far less regulated – this Stralis NP only uses Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Both the vehicle and the cooling group run on Stoichiometric natural gas engines equipped with 3-way catalysts. This results in ultra-low NO2 (-90% compared to diesel) and Particulate Matter (-99%) emissions that are well below regulations limits. For CO2 emissions, the reduction is as much as 95% with biomethane. For long-distance missions, IVECO’s solution is LNG technology. In this sector, it leads the way with the Stralis NP, the first natural gas truck specifically designed for long-haul transport on the market, and in particular with the Stralis NP 460, which last December was elected Low Carbon Truck of the Year in the UK. IVECO is showcasing this offering with models in articulated and rigid versions, including AD and low tractor trucks. Also in this sector, IVECO is presenting another industry first resulting from an important partnership: the unique 400 hp Stralis X-Way Natural Power equipped with a CIFA electric concrete mixer that offers a 100% zero Diesel, zero oil solution. The truck runs on bioCNG and is equipped with the Energya hybrid plug-in concrete mixer developed by CIFA. The mixer is operated by an electric engine powered by a lithium battery. It also features a Kinetic Energy Recovery System that recovers the truck’s energy when it is decelerating. The other Stralis NP models on the stand include the first 460 hp LNG truck for swap body missions equipped by SDG / Spier for Fraikin’s rental fleet; the first 6×2 LNG tractor with 750 km autonomy, a 4×2 LNG tractor with 1,600 km autonomy, and a low tractor in LNG version with 1,150 km autonomy. All the vehicles on display in the 100% Diesel Free – Low Emissions Area are a tangible demonstration that IVECO and its partners are delivering on the promise to deliver sustainable transport and solutions. https://www.ngvglobal.com/blog/iveco-sets-history-making-tone-at-iaa-with-diesel-free-stand-0920 Bangladesh puts aside Gunvor, Vitol LNG projects as others ramp up Bangladesh has put aside two smaller liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects with trading houses Gunvor and Vitol to focus on two larger LNG import terminals, one of which is already in use while the second will start up in March. Bangladesh has turned to LNG to offset falling domestic gas output to feed industrial demand and electricity generation in a nation of 160 million people where a third have no power supply. It aims to import 17 million tonnes a year of LNG by 2025, which in today’s terms would make it a top five importer. This attracted commodity merchants Vitol, Gunvor and Trafigura in their bid to muscle in on the global LNG business. Bangladesh began importing LNG on a regular basis this month after the arrival of a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) in April in Moheshkhali port by Cox’s Bazar. A second FSRU project, operated by Summit Corp with Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp as partner, will start operations in March and double the country’s import capacity to 7.5 million tonnes a year. Bangladesh had also touted several smaller projects, drawing interest from Vitol, Gunvor and Trafigura, as well as energy giants like Exxon Mobil. It is now changing tack. “These small projects are not a priority anymore,” said Mohammad Quamruzzaman, managing director of the Rupantarita Prakritik Gas Co, the unit in charge of LNG imports at state-owned oil firm Petrobangla. “These are costlier than the bigger ones. Why should we go for the costlier option when there is no urgency right now? One bigger-capacity FSRU has started operations and another is expected to be commissioned by March,” he told Reuters. CHASING DEALS Trafigura and Gunvor had vied for smaller LNG projects close to Chittagong, an industrial region north of Cox’s Bazar. Bangladesh said in May it had terminated talks with Trafigura. Vitol was chosen above Exxon to develop a small FSRU by the ageing Sangu gas platform in the Bay of Bengal. Vitol said on Thursday it had no comment when asked about LNG plans in Bangladesh. Gunvor appeared to have progressed the farthest with its plan to import LNG for a fertiliser complex. Belgian shipping firm Exmar said in May that Gunvor had chartered its small FSRU for 10 years. When asked about the Gunvor project, Quamruzzaman said its chances were “very slim”, although he said all the LNG projects could be revived at anytime. A Gunvor spokesman said: “Our project has not been dropped.” Exmar said this month the FSRU was at a shipyard being modified. A senior Petrobangla official said the terms for the Gunvor deal was for LNG priced at 11.95 percent of Brent crude plus a fixed $0.93 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) and an additional $1.075 per mmBtu as infrastructure cost. When Brent crude prices are at $70 a barrel, that translates to $10.37 per mmBtu and at $80 a barrel, it is $11.57 per mmBtu compared to $11.40 per mmBtu for October delivery on the spot market last week. LNG-AS “The deal with the trader (Gunvor) was almost finalised but it got delayed,” the senior official said. “Now the big FSRU came online and we doubt this (the Gunvor deal) will happen.” https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/bangladesh-puts-aside-gunvor-vitol-lng-projects-as-others-ramp-up/ CNOOC sells access to LNG terminal as China opens up vast energy market China’s CNOOC sold access to its Yuedong liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to state-owned Zhenhua Oil and private logistics firm Longkou Shengtong Energy, its first such auction as the country pushes to liberalise its vast oil and gas market. In the auction on the Shanghai Petroleum and Gas Exchange, Zhenhua Oil and Longkou agreed to pay CNOOC Gas and Power Group 0.265 yuan ($0.04) to CNOOC per cubic metre of imported LNG for access to the terminal, Zhenhua Oil, a subsidiary of Chinese defence conglomerate Norinco, said in a statement. The total value of the deal was 26.5 million yuan ($3.87 million). CNOOC has also sold LNG in auctions on the Shanghai bourse this year but this is the first time it has auctioned space at a receiving terminal. The sale marks the latest move by China, one of the world’s top gas importers, to liberalise natural gas prices, open up access to oil and gas infrastructure and shore up supplies as the peak winter demand season approaches. Other state-owned companies such as PetroChina have leased terminals to third-party users before in private deals. The auction from CNOOC, however, gave third-party players equal opportunity to bid for access. “This is the first time that LNG terminal leasing rights were put up for auction,” Zhenhua Oil said in the statement, adding that Zhenhua is looking to meet rising gas demand from China as it expands into LNG trading. The deal comes just months after Zhenhua set up a business to invest in LNG terminals and trade the fuel. Zhenhua Oil plans to import 100 million cubic meters of LNG to Yuedong in between Oct. 24 and 26, it said. The company will pick up its cargo from the terminal by trucks, Zhenhua said.
