INTERNATIONAL
Pioneering LNG truck fleet refuels for the very first time in Argentina
The successful refueling of LNG took place at the Anchoris Thermoelectric Power Plant, Mendoza province, and the fleet consists of six Scania G340 trucks specially equipped to run on this green fuel. It is the first time that a truck fleet refuels LNG in the country. Owned by the Mendoza-based carrier Andreu, the new fleet will transport the trailers of the Virtual Gas Pipeline, the system with which Galileo Technologies distributes natural gas in a liquid form.
“When this truck fleet serving Galileo hits the Argentinean roads, we will demonstrate that LNG is the most suitable fuel for freight transport, since it is national, clean and economic,” said Osvaldo del Campo, President and CEO of Galileo Technologies, on the occasion of the announcement.
Equipped with two cryogenic fuel tanks that allow to refuel 265 kilograms of LNG, the trucks have a range of 1,100 kilometers. During their trips, which include mountain and gravel routes, the new trucks will tow the trailers with which Galileo takes LNG from wells scattered in Mendoza and Neuquén to the recently opened Anchoris Thermoelectric Plant, which uses it as fuel.
With the replacement of diesel trucks with new ones powered by LNG, Galileo Technologies expects to achieve higher levels of environmental and economic efficiency in each trip, such as lower exhaust emissions and lower fuel costs, which will be reduced by up to 50%.
Andrés Leonard, General Director of Scania Argentina, also commented: “It is the first time that heavy vehicles running solely on natural gas, and more specifically on LNG, enter the country. We are proud to be pioneers not only of introducing a new technology to the country, but also because it collaborates directly with the reduction of environmental impact.”
“Committed to innovation and being more efficient and sustainable, we decided to invest in the purchase of these trucks accompanying Galileo in this challenge,” added Eduardo Andreu, Director of Transports Andreu.
In the medium term, Galileo Technologies will launch a Blue Corridor of LNG stations so that the fuel is available on the Argentine routes. The plan will include the supply of LNG dispensers for logistics centers. These dispensers will operate without connection to the natural gas grid and will be supplied by Galileo’s Virtual Pipeline, under a SCADA remote monitoring system.
“In 1984, we successfully promoted the use of CNG. Now, with our own technology, we will extend the use of LNG as a professional and high-powered fuel to expand the productive frontier of the country,” concluded del Campo.