BC LNG Stations Location

Transcription

1 EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG MOVE SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME GC.SST GA No BC LNG Stations Location LNG Blue Corridors project is supported by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The sole responsibility for the content of this document lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither the FP7 nor the European Commission is responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. Deliverable no. LNG BC D5.5 Deliverable title BC LNG Stations Location Dissemination level Written by Edgard De Seia, J. Lebrato (IDIADA) 14 November 2016 Checked by Javier Lebrato (IDIADA) 5 December 2016 Approved by Xavier Ribas (IDIADA) 12 December 2016 Issue date 12 December 2016

2 Executive Summary Deliverable 5.5, outlining the locations of the LNG stations in the Blue Corridors project, was completed over the course of months of communication with project partners to gather data and information. Although the original submission deadline for this document was June 2013 (this is why the document was initially started by ERDGAS), the project reviewers and Executive Board have extended the deadline to account for delays in the planning and approval of a number of the Blue Corridors LNG stations. As will be further explained, the stations that took longer to confirm were generally located in countries where prior LNG experience was limited. Therefore, while some are in normal daily operation, others have just started to work and refuel trucks at the time of writing this document. Due to differences in legislation, approval and prior experience in participating member states, the progress confirming station locations has varied widely. DRIVE System, SGA, GOLD Energy, Gas Natural Fenosa, GNVERT and ENI have each completed station construction within the original project schedule. GNVERT with their 3 rd LCNG station located in Lyon- ENI - in Pontedera and LIQVIS in Berlin - were the latest to have the station ready up to date. Additionally, the only pending LCNG facility is the 2 nd station GALP station, which will be located in Sines, and planned to be opened early The definitive location of the German station, initially the responsibility of Erdgas, was finally defined. After several discussions and evaluations from project coordination side with companies interested, it was decided to engage a new company in the project, LIQVIS. Originally LINDE s refuelling station was reallocated to DRIVE. This facility was planned to be built at the BruCargo zone at Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium. DRIVE tried to achieve site approval from the Brussels Airport company, but at the same time, they applied for TENT funding (European call to finance transport infrastructure) for the same station. Finally, just before the summer of 2015, it was decided that the LNG facility would be supported through the latter European programme; therefore this funding was reallocated to fleet operators who run in interesting routes. In parallel, the budget for CLOUD s station in Sines, Portugal, has been divided and reallocated to GALP and GOLD. In turn, each one will build a station, so it is good news for the LNG market in the Iberian Peninsula. There will then be four Portuguese LNG facilities supported by the Blue Corridors. Progress has been slower in certain member states and partners. Because there is no guarantee of political or economic support for LNG fuel sales once a filling station is built, it took considerable time, 2/48

3 research, and commitment to determine a suitable location. For partners in these countries that lack existing demand, it has taken longer to confirm the final station locations due to the required cooperation of one particular fleet operator as in the German case, or due to undefined regulatory approval procedures. Further complicating matters, is the delayed availability of LNG factory-made trucks from the OEMs. In countries that require Euro VI trucks with R-110 approval, it had not been feasible to construct refuelling infrastructure until the market launch of such vehicles, in December In that time the first available models had low horsepower, which limited their practical application and commercial appeal. This situation has had special impact in Germany, France and Slovenia. This is the reason why the company ENOS resigns to build its facility, thus no station will be built in Slovenia (this is why 13 facilities will be built within the project, instead of 14 as originally planned). Thanks to the recent launching of more powerful LNG trucks from Iveco side (concretely 400 hp), clients in some specific areas such as Germany and France have now started to invest and purchase LNG vehicles allowing the LNG market to slowly take off. Despite the wide disparity in progress between the different partners, all of them are on track to achieve their project goals. 3/48

4 Revision History and Statement Of Originality Revision History Rev Date Author Organization Description Curt Ganeles ERDGAS Initial Draft submitted to coordinator Curt Ganeles ERDGAS Revised first draft; updated contents Draft rejected by reviewers Curt Ganeles ERDGAS Revised and updated document; resubmitted Document approved on hold Curt Ganeles ERDGAS Draft updated with latest information Curt Ganeles ERDGAS All station locations provided Edgard De Seia IDIADA Feedback on draft Curt Ganeles ERDGAS Update draft Edgard De Seia IDIADA Revision Javier Lebrato IDIADA Update information Javier Lebrato IDIADA Modification based on the Officer s assessment Javier Lebrato IDIADA Rewrite the content, inclusion the latest info and assess the corridors availability Statement of originality: This deliverable contains original unpublished work except where clearly indicated otherwise. Acknowledgement of previously published material and of the work of others has been made through appropriate citation, quotation or both. 4/48

5 Contents Executive Summary... 2 Revision History and Statement Of Originality Introduction LNG Blue Corridors project Overview of the deliverable Types of stations and strategies for implementation Station locations DRIVE ENI LIQVIS GALP GNF GNVERT GOLD ENERGY SGA Methods Result Discussion of Results Planned configurations Reasons for deviation from description of work Delays in implementation Connectivity in each corridor Conclusions /48

6 1.1 LNG Blue Corridors project 1 Introduction The LNG Blue Corridors project s aim is to establish LNG as a real alternative for medium- and longdistance transport first as a complementary fuel and later as an adequate substitute for diesel. Up to now the common use of gas as fuel has been for heavy vehicles running on natural gas (NG) only for municipal use, such as urban buses and garbage collection trucks. In both types of application, engine performance and autonomy are good with present technologies, as they are well adapted to this alternative cleaner fuel. However, analysing the consumption data, the equivalence in autonomy of 1 liter of diesel oil is 5 liters of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), compressed to 200 bar. Five times more volume of fuel prevents the use of CNG in heavy road transport, because its volume and weight would be too great for a longdistance truck. This opens the way for LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), which is the way natural gas is transported by ship to any point of the globe. NG liquefies at 162º C below zero, and the cost in energy is only 5% of the original gas. This state of NG gives LNG the advantage of very high energy content. Only 1,8 liters of LNG are needed to meet the equivalent autonomy of using 1 liter of diesel oil. A 40-ton road tractor in Europe needs a tank of 400 to 500 liters for a km trip; its equivalent volume with liquid gas would be 700 to 900 liters of LNG, a tank dimension that could easily be fitted to the side of the truck chassis. LNG therefore opens the way to the use of NG for medium- and longdistance road transport. LNG has huge potential for contributing to achieving Europe s policy objectives, such as the Commission s targets for greenhouse gas reduction, air quality targets, while at the same time reducing dependency on crude oil and guaranteeing supply security. Natural gas heavy-duty vehicles already comply with Euro V emission standards and have enormous potential to reach future Euro VI emission standards, some without complex exhaust gas after-treatment technologies, which have increased procurement and maintenance costs. To meet the objectives, a series of LNG refuelling points have been defined along the four corridors covering the Atlantic area (green line), the Mediterranean region (red line) and connecting Europe s South with the North (blue line) and its West and East (yellow line) accordingly. In order to implement a sustainable transport network for Europe, the project has set the goal to build approximately 14 new LNG stations, both permanent and mobile, on critical locations along the Blue Corridors while building up a fleet of approximately 100 Heavy-Duty Vehicles powered by LNG. Figure 1-1. Impression of the LNG Blue Corridors This European project is financed by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), with the amount of 7.96 M (total investments amounting to M ), involving 27 partners from 11 countries. This document corresponds to the 5th deliverable within work package 5. It is a document describing the LNG stations location in the project. This document will be available at the project website: 6/48

7 1.2 Overview of the deliverable The deliverable 5.5, which outlines the locations of the LNG stations in the Blue Corridors project, was originally intended to be among the first deliverables due from the entire consortium. The data presented here is quite important for each project corridor feasibility, as the information gathered for this report lays the groundwork for nearly all of the project s next steps. Determining the locations of the filling stations is critical to creating working maps of the corridors and for developing the logistics for truck operators and for delivering fuel to the stations. However, challenges due to unforeseen market realities have delayed its completion. The data presented here has been continually updated as new information has become available. Despite of the fact that not all of the LCNG planned stations are working the remaining station will be ready shortly and unlike prior versions, this document can be considered definitive for the rest of the project as its content will not vary over the time. The locations of all the project facilities were already determined, therefore their current and future activities as well as the connectivity with the rest of stations will be carefully analysed in this report. 7/48

8 2 Types of stations and strategies for implementation The results presented in this deliverable refer to a variety of different filling station configurations, including LNG and LNG/L-CNG stations in permanent and movable arrangements. Stations can dispense gas exclusively in either liquid (LNG) or gaseous form (L-CNG), or both (LNG & L-CNG). At minimum, all stations in this project offer liquid refuelling. While the ability to dispense both LNG and L-CNG is desirable from technical and environmental perspectives, since both CNG and LNG vehicles can be serviced and boil-off gas from LNG can be handled safely without venting to the atmosphere, the higher upfront investment cost for this setup is a negative factor. On the other hand, constructing a station that dispenses both fuel types can sell fuel to more vehicles, potentially shortening the return on investment. Each of these station types can be implemented in permanent, mobile, or movable (semi-mobile) configurations, and each type offers different costs and benefits. Permanent stations tend to be the most technically advanced and can support the higher vehicle traffic. However, because they carry higher upfront costs and cannot be easily relocated once constructed, they carry a higher investment risk. Mobile filling stations operate without any permanent infrastructure other than an electricity source. The ability to operate this type of station virtually anywhere makes it an especially attractive option in regions where demand for LNG is not yet established, and the lower cost and ability to move to areas of high demand lowers the investment risk. However, refuelling takes longer than with a permanent station, only one truck can be refuelled at a time, and the smaller storage capacity can require more frequent LNG deliveries if demand is high enough, making logistics complicated and expensive. This is the reason why no partners will build this type of station. The third configuration, movable or semi-mobile, can be utilized as either a temporary solution or as long-term infrastructure. This layout combines a mobile LNG storage tank with one or more permanently fixed fuel dispensers in a modular format (the permanent dispensers and their associated wiring/piping can be installed or removed in 1-2 days) that can be implemented with either LNG or LNG & L-CNG, and offers faster filling times compared to a normal mobile station. However, fuel storage capacity is limited compared to a permanent station, and costs are higher and mobility is compromised compared to a normal mobile station. This is the solution that both GNVERT and LIQVIS applied in their stations, first as a temporary solution, and to be implemented in a permanent station later on. 8/48

9 The ideal setup for each partner ultimately depends on current and predicted demand for LNG and on the status of the technology in each individual country. Countries that already have a sizeable fleet of LNG trucks and offer some LNG refuelling infrastructure have already established travel routes and traffic patterns, making it easier to determine a viable location for a permanent station. 2.1 Station locations All partners have indicated 100% certainty for the locations of their planned filling stations. The next paragraphs outline the situation of the stations of each company: DRIVE DRIVE has already constructed a station in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium, which is home to high truck traffic thanks to economic activity in the port, along with excellent connections between the Netherlands and Belgium and France. The Netherlands is already home to a large, active fleet of LNG trucks, so this location will have good economic support along with good connections to the Blue Corridors ENI Figure 2.1 Kallo station, Antwerp. ENI has already constructed two stations. The first one located in Piacenza, Italy, near Milan. This station supports frequent regional traffic and allows travel on the Mediterranean corridor. 9/48

10 Figure 2.2. First LNG station in Italy, built by ENI ENI s recently inaugurated its second station in Pontadera, Italy. Not only does this location support important traffic within Italy, it is also along a key freight route between Barcelona and Livorno. LNGpowered trucks will travel via ferry between the two cities, thus opening up an interesting parallel Mediterranean corridor. 10/48

11 Figures 2.3. Pontedera station LIQVIS LIQVIS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of UNIPER Global Commodities, is preparing the construction and operation of a mobile LNG filling station at Ludwig Meyer GmbH & Co in Grünheide Freienbrink (eastern ring of Berlin). This fuelling system is intended to ensure the refuelling of LIQVIS registered Trucks with LNG as fuel. In addition to Ludwig Meyer's trucks, it is planned to acquire additional customers there and refuel. In the first phase the mobile tank plant is to be operated at this site for approximately 12 months. The maximum filling weight of the fuel system should be approximately 18T. It is based on a weekly LNG throughput of initially 15 T. In the second phase it is planned to install a permanent LNG fuelling station with a modular system on a plot in the same area in Grünheide Freienbrink. This LNG fuelling station will have a capacity up to 30T. The fuel station is to be installed on the company premises of Ludwig Meyer at the Grünheide site: Birkenstraße 3, Grünheide (Mark) 11/48

12 Figure 2.4. LIQVIS station location Direct connection to A 10 (Berliner ring): Figure 2.5. Map of LIQVIS station location 12/48

13 Location arranged in the vicinity of Berlin: Figure 2.6. City of the LIQVIS station Picture of the location for the mobile LNG fuelling unit and CNG Unit: 13/48

14 Figure 2.7. Location of the mobile station The site is cleared so that safety distances and protection zones (5m) are maintained. The company premises are completely enclosed and can currently be approached by truck (entrance I and entrance II) via two driveways. Figure 2.8. Meyer Logistics facilities 14/48

15 Scope of the installations - first phase In addition to the described LNG container, a CNG module (in planning), temporary lighting masts and a start-up protection (concrete finishing elements) are also being installed. Figures 2.9, Map of Meyer Logistics facilities 15/48

16 Location - second phase The location for the installation of a modular system will be in Grünheide Freienbrink and the distance to the Highway (A10) is still closer than for the first phase (less than 1 km). Figures Location for permanent LNG fuelling station 16/48

17 Figures Parcel of land for the permanent LNG fuelling station 17/48

18 2.1.4 GALP GALP s first LNG Blue Corridors station is in Porto, Portugal, which supports strong domestic traffic in addition to allowing travel through northern Spain and into France. This station is already built. After some minor internal issues, the facility was officially opened on 28 th May They will construct a second station in Sines, Portugal, which will provide a key refuelling point for trucks travelling to and from the seaport in that region. It is planned to be ready late Figures 2.13, Operational activities of Matosinhos station 18/48

19 The second LNG station will be located in Sines. Due to approvals procurement and the facility complexity the station will be built much later than expected, in Below a map of the facility drawn by GALP is shown. Figures Sines facilitiy map 19/48

20 2.1.5 GNF The filling station is strategically located at 1.2 km from the 18th exit of AP7 motorway free toll section. It is estimated that the daily number of vehicles on this motorway is at least The closest station is located in Abrera at A2 motorway from Barcelona to Lleida - Zaragoza Madrid. On this motorway, the next station is in Lleida at 170 km ahead our station. Moreover, in AP7 motorway the next station is in Tarragona at 110 km. It covers the north area roads of Barcelona (Barcelona-France-Europe trip), being able to service traffic from the industrial and logistic zones of Barcelona in addition to all the traffic coming from the Mediterranean corridor. Figures GNF facility 20/48

21 2.1.6 GNVERT Figures Rungis station GNVERT constructed three refuelling stations, in Rungis, Nîmes and Lyon. The Rungis station is located relatively close to the main leaving highway of the city, namely the A.6. In turn, there are many important roads that surround Paris that are really close to the station. The Rungis area is a well-known logistic location frequented by trucks and is a crossing point for those who transport goods to the south. There is no other fuel offered at the filling station but there is a filling station for petrol and diesel located nearby. The filling station is a LNG and L-CNG station, offering both LNG and CNG. The LNG filling station does not require an operator on site to do the filling. It is possible to pay with credit cards or a special badge. The filling station has been in operation since mid /48

22 Figures Location of the Rungis station The roads marked in red and green correspond to the high and medium rate of vehicles per road, respectively. The station is marked by a yellow cylinder. 22/48

23 GNVERT s second station is located in Lyon, France. Due to the long waiting period to get a fixed station, it was decided to place a semi-mobile one which works temporary until the fixed facility is ready. The mobile solution started to work in the second quarter of 2016, and the fixed station will be up in at the first quarter of Lyon is another major transport hub that will allow future connections to Southern Germany as well as connections to GNVERT s third location in Nîmes, France. This is a semi-mobile station already under operation since beginning of 2016 (see picture below) whose location provides a strategic connection to Italy and completes the Mediterranean corridor. Figures Nimes station 23/48

24 2.1.7 GOLD ENERGY GOLD s has constructed its first station in Carregado, Lisboa, Portugal, which provides strong domestic connections along with frequent routes to Madrid and other parts of Spain (picture below). Figures Carregado station built by Dourogas GOLD opened a second station in Elvas, Portugal, which provides critical infrastructure support to trucks travelling between Portugal and Madrid, including other points in Spain. Its second station was inaugurated on 29 th April Figures Elvas station built by Dourogas 24/48

25 2.1.8 SGA SGA has constructed its station in Örebro, Sweden, in proximity to Stockholm. It joins Stockholm to Sweden s existing network of LNG refuelling stations, and thus to the North-South corridor. Figures Örebro station 25/48

26 3 Methods The data presented in this deliverable report was gathered by survey over several weeks, then continually updated throughout the project. Each partner was requested to provide the planned station location, station type (LNG or LNG/L-CNG; permanent or mobile), estimated probability of implementation, the estimated timing for implementation, and some brief comments describing the scenario. A map including the locations of all of the BC LNG stations in addition to all existing LNG ones is also included in this section (Figure 4.1 and Figure 4.2). The Blue Corridors locations are indicated by a blue marker, the already existing LNG stations are noted by a blue project logo and existing non-project stations are noted by a square sign with a black dispenser. Most of the data for the existing LNG stations was obtained using industry records and through cooperation along with contributions from selected partners. All sites were selected based on the original locations presented in the project s proposal. Any deviations were justified and are described on this document (Deviations from Description of Work). A second map (Figure 4.3) and table (Table 5.1) showing the original proposed locations for the LNG stations to be built through the Blue Corridors project (from the DOW 2012) are also included for comparison purposes. All results indicated in this deliverable are current at the time of writing. 26/48

27 4 Result Table 4-1 LNG stations status and glossary Participant Corridor Address/location Nearest BC stations Location confirmed? Process stage Timing for implemen tation Notes DRIVE WE & SONOR Steenlandlaan 3, 9130 Kallo - Antwerp, Belgium Rungis to 310 km Y In service In service Official inauguration May 14, Permanent station. ENI MED Via Caorsana N. 41, Piacenza, Italy Livorno to 180 km Lyon to 390 km Y In service In service Official inauguration April 29, Permanent station. ENI WE Area Servizio Pontedera Nord, Livorno, Italy Piacenza to 180 km Y In service In service Official inauguration November Permanent station. LIQVIS SONOR Birkenstraße 3, Grünheide (Mark east of Berlin ) Germany Antwerp to 690 km Orebro to 850 km Y Temporary movable station ready Q The movable station is already built and will start the operation late GALP ATL Matosinhos/Porto(A 4 km 3,8), Portugal Carregado to 240 km Y In service In service Official inauguration November Permanent station. GALP MED Port of Sines, Portugal Carregado to 120 km Elvas to 180 km Y Construction Q Under construction. Permanent station. GNF MED & SONOR Santa Perpetua de Mogoda, Barcelona, Spain Nîmes to 320 km Sines to 830 km Y In service In service Official inauguration December Permanent station. GNVERT SONOR & WE Lyon, France Nîmes to 220 km Piacenza 390km Y In service In service In service since mid Initially mobile station. GNVERT ATL Rungis (Paris), France Antwerp to 310 km Lyon to 450 km Y In service In service Inauguration in December Permanent station. 27/48

28 GNVERT MED & SONOR Nîmes, France Lyon to 220 km Barcelona to 320 km Y In service In service In service since beginning of Initially mobile station. GOLD SONOR Estrada Nacional N1 Carregado (placa norte) (Lisboa), Portugal Sines to 120 km Elvas to 160 km Y In service In service Official inauguration October Permanent station. GOLD SONOR Elvas, Portugal Carregado to 160 km Y In service In service Inaugurated in April 26of Permanent station. SGA SONOR Örebro, Berglundavägen 1B, Pilängen, Sweden Berlin to 850 km Antwerp to 1080 km Y In service In service Official inauguration April 29, Permanent station. More information about the exact routes of each corridor can be found on the official project website ( ) Glossary Participant Name of project partner Process Stage Either: Exploring (assessing a location s viability); Planning (designing the technical layout of the station); Pending approval (waiting for approval of station design/location from local or national authorities); Project approved (location approved, but not yet under construction); Construction (station is under construction); In service (station is in operation) Corridor Which of the four Blue Corridors the station will be built along. Either: SONOR (North-South corridor, ATL (Atlantic Corridor,; MED (Mediterranean Corridor), or WE (West-East corridor) Nearest BC station Distance between that station and the nearest project one Notes Address/location Location confirmed Street address and/or GPS coordinates of the planned LNG fuelling station Whether or not station will definitely be constructed at this location (related: Estimated Probability for Implementation ) Timing for Implementation Expected date when fuelling station will be operational. Any comments provided by partners to accompany the data provided here 28/48

29

30 Figure 4.1. Map showing project LNG stations

31 Figure 4.2. Map showing planned (blue point), in service (blue project logos) project station. Stations out of the project are noted as a square sign with a black dispenser. To have a clearer idea of the project station, please visit the official project website 31/48

32 Figure Map showing originally proposed station locations 32/48

33 5.1 Planned configurations 5 Discussion of results The results presented in table 4-1 demonstrate many common trends among the partners planned filling stations. Most of the partners will construct permanent stations. Additionally, most of the partners plan to implement stations that will dispense LNG and L-CNG at permanent stations. Despite higher upfront costs, this setup is desirable because: The station s revenue potential grows by servicing CNG cars and trucks in addition to LNG models. The Iveco Stralis LNG truck, the most common Euro VI model in the project, comes factoryequipped with CNG backup tanks. It is beneficial to be able to refill the CNG cylinders as well. L-CNG systems provide a mechanism to safely transfer boil-off gas from LNG storage tanks into CNG storage, rather than venting gas directly to the atmosphere. This improves environmental performance and maximizes revenue from what would otherwise be a waste product. 5.2 Reasons for deviation from description of work When comparing Figure 4-1, the map showing the locations of the fuelling stations for the LNG Blue Corridors project, to Figure 4-3, which shows the original conjectured locations given in the project s official proposal, there are some clear differences. However, these changes do not affect the viability or scope of the project or the ability to achieve its goals. It is important to note that although the original DOW provided for the construction of 14 stations, Figure 4-3 indicates some 20 stations, significantly more. Clearly, some of these initially anticipated locations were based on pure conjecture, as in some cases there are already existing stations in the locations indicated. In other cases, some locations indicated in Figure 4-3 were disqualified due to problems with obtaining permission from the relevant authorities. Ultimately, the goals of the project (to develop a network of LNG fuelling stations to allow for Trans- European, long-distance heavy-duty vehicle transportation using natural gas) must be aligned with the reality, which is that it is unlikely that a filling station will be built in a location without consistent demand from LNG trucks. Some stations were relocated to better match traffic flow patterns and to better serve important fleet operators or logistic centres. While this may sometimes result in less than ideal coverage, the commitment is necessary. Once a basic infrastructure is implemented that allows 33/48

34 major operators to purchase and implement LNG trucks, the gaps can be filled. Nevertheless, travel between all stations will still be possible with the release of trucks with longer driving ranges. Geographical considerations have also affected the final locations of the stations. Because the LNG trucks that are available early in the project have low power outputs, mountainous regions, especially when towing heavy loads, are especially challenging. Currently, until the launch of the new 400 hp LNG truck from Iveco, some important markets have not started to build LNG stations. This is clearly the case of Germany, whose first LNG trucks were presented during the IAA event held in Hannover this year (2016). As soon as there is a more powerful solution to clients, the first station is deployed. From now on, it will be surely easier for companies to convince clients to start to purchase LNG vehicles in Germany due to the current availability of more-than-330hp trucks. Overall, the project has only fractionally deviated from the locations suggested in the project proposal. Table Table showing original proposed locations for LNG filling stations Country City, Locations France Paris, Lyon, Metz, La Crèche Germany Karlsruhe, Hannover, Munich, Berlin Italy Sweden Spain Portugal Lisbon, Faro Piacenza, Roma, Verona, Parma, Livorno Malmö, Jönköping, Stockholm, Örebro, Lidköping Cadiz, Pamplona UK/Ireland M25 London Orbital, M4 South Wales, South of Dublin, M6 Manchester NL/Belgium Rotterdam, Venlo, Antwerp Croatia Split Slovenia Postojna Table 5-1, above indicates all of the potential locations identified as viable options in the Project proposal. The following countries have deviated from the choices listed above: Germany, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia, and Italy. Germany: The places proposed on the initial draft were of course taken into account. The company in charge of building the station chose Berlin because it suits the initial project idea, compatible with vehicles running along the NoSor corridor and also due to the willingness of 34/48

35 an important German fleet to buy 20 LNG trucks (of which 14 will be economically supported by the project). Spain: The station that has been implemented in the LNG Blue Corridors project is located in Barcelona. The deviation from the original proposal is justified because there is particularly high demand for LNG fuel in the north-east region of Spain, and this location provides important connections to the stations in France and Italy along the MED-BLUE Corridor. Portugal: One station has been built in Lisbon, in line with the original project proposal. Sines is home to more LNG truck traffic and activity than Faro, and is also home to an LNG terminal. Building four stations enhances the geographic distribution of the stations within Portugal. Italy: Livorno (Pontedera) was chosen over the initially proposed locations due to a strong customer base and industry presence there, existing LNG-related activities in the port of Leghorn, compliant local administration, and most importantly, a direct connection with ferry traffic to/from Barcelona. In addition to travelling by land, LNG trucks will travel by boat between Barcelona and Livorno, thus opening a new pathway along the Mediterranean corridor. Trucks will travel from there on to Rome. Notably, the originally planned UK station will no longer be constructed as part of the Blue Corridors project. Also, it was planned to locate one station in Zaventem, Belgium, near Brussels, beside other two stations more in the Benelux area, but due to the reasons explained above, the station will not be funded by this project. Furthermore, ENOS will not construct a station in Slovenia and no station will be placed in Croatia. Nonetheless, this should not affect the viability of the Mediterranean corridor, although its length was significantly reduced because of that. Despite deviations from the original project proposal, it is safe to say that the overall viability of the project is unaffected, although the delay of some refuelling point makes the demonstration phase be reduced meaningfully. For instance, the Sines station will be in service barely one year for project purposes. Despite of that, the current coverage allows for travel along the entire planned Blue Corridors, and as such, these locations fulfil the project goals. 35/48

36 5.3 Delays in implementation A variety of factors have delayed progress in certain countries. In countries with no precedent for the use of LNG as a fuel, there is often no established procedure to grant permits for station construction projects. Consequently, it takes considerably more time, effort, and even creativity to secure approval for and guarantee the final location of a filling station. Similarly, without any existing economy or demand for LNG as a fuel, it is substantially riskier to construct a filling station without first building a committed relationship with a logistics carrier. Without such a commitment, the financial risk is much greater. Certain partners have needed this confirmation before proceeding with construction, which is the source of some delays. The most significant obstacle has been the lack of available trucks homologated to Euro VI standards with EU-28 approval, which has singlehandedly resulted in delays and deviations from the work schedule indicated by the Description of Work (DOW). This has caused a cascading series of delays. Without homologated vehicles to sell to fleet operators, it is difficult to secure an anchor customer for the refuelling station; without an anchor customer, construction cannot begin on the refuelling station. The stations that are already in operation generally have local Euro V truck fleets to support them; in countries where the registration of Euro V trucks was not possible, Euro VI models, not released until June 2014, were required. In still other countries, UNECE R-110 homologation is required to validate the safety and performance of the Euro VI trucks. While the resolution was approved in July 2014, the first R-110 approved trucks did not reach the streets until early The uncertainty regarding the production of these vehicles has caused further delays in certain areas, especially in Germany and France. The German case deserves special attention. As explained in paragraphs above, the German clients specially demanded a more powerful truck; otherwise the market was hardly going to develop. Based on that, and alongside the new Iveco truck equipped with an 8,7 L engine, this market is finally taking off, at least the interest is now more solid and real than before, and therefore the gas companies are preparing their strategies to engage new clients and deploy adapted solutions (in terms of station location, capacity, etc.). Furthermore, although maybe it is not as relevant as the more powerful engines matter, it is worth mentioning that as for 2017, LNG trucks will be allowed to transport dangerous goods in Germany, unlike in previous years. 36/48

37 5.4 Connectivity in each corridor Below it is analysed how well connected the stations of each corridor are, considering the nearest station within the same route and if it is doable distance with the current LNG trucks models. This is shown by green and yellow arrows on each map, depending on the feasibility of each stretch (green = feasible, yellow = hardly feasible). Mediterranean corridor (MED corridor) Figure 5.1. Mediterranean corridor As this corridor will not have a LNG facility in southern Spain region (Malaga), as originally planned, currently the corridor starts in Barcelona, close to France. In any case, for further possible LNG investment, if one station had been built in Malaga, trucks would have had serious difficulties to reach the next project station on the Mediterranean route. Figure 5.2. Distance between Malaga and Barcelona GNF stations The distance between the theoretical station located in Malaga, and the project station located in Barcelona is around 1050 km, which cannot be covered by LNG trucks at least not with the previous LNG truck configuration. Some trucks can now be equipped with a double LNG tank increasing the 37/48

38 range. In this case, it would be easier for a LNG vehicle to go to Madrid first due to the LNG network already there - and later heading for Barcelona station. The distance between the other three Mediterranean stations is doable by trucks. Between the GNF Barcelona station and the GNVERT Nîmes facility there are just 320 km roughly, and between the latter and the ENI Piacenza station the distance is 450 km; these two are totally acceptable distances and in line with what it is recommended in the Directive of Alternative Fuel Infrastructure 2014/94/UE, that says that there should be less than 400 km between LNG refuelling points. Figure 5.3. Distance between Mediterranean stations However, since no station will be built in Slovenia, this corridor is shorter than originally planned. If there had been a LNG facility in Jesenice as initially planned, the distance between this and the Italian station would have been perfectly doable by trucks, with 400 km in between. Despite this, the Mediterranean route demonstrated in the project is solid, mature and already provides a real solution for fleets. 38/48

39 Atlantic corridor (ATL corridor) Figure 5.4 Atlantic corridor This project corridor involves just two project stations, namely: one of the GALP stations located in Matosinhos and one of the GNVERT stations located in France. Theoretically this corridor also reaches the UK, although no station will be built there. Figure 5.5 Distance between two Atlantic corridor stations The present distance between the Portuguese and the French stations is around km, which cannot conceivably be covered by LNG trucks. Despite this important impediment, fleets are currently 39/48

40 using this Atlantic route thanks to other non-project stations existing, as indicated on the map below, located in the northern Spanish area. Nonetheless there is an important lack of infrastructure in France (dashed circle marked in yellow) that covers around km 2 that, from the project perspective, must be covered to make the ATL corridor feasible. Figure 5.6 Distance between two Atlantic corridor stations Figure XX. Non-project LNG stations are marked in squared signs with black dispenser. Currently there are some obstacles that LNG truck drivers are facing in the upper side of the Atlantic route. Obviously the lack of LNG infrastructure in the UK means European fleet operators cannot drive their trucks in long hauls. However, apart from this, there are other barriers in the corridor that fleet operators run up against when it is time to cross borders heading for the UK, such as the restrictions of LNG vehicles to cross the Channel Tunnel. All in all, this corridor is not sufficiently covered with the mentioned project stations alone. 40/48

41 Figure 5.7 LNG uncovered area in UK 41/48

42 North - South corridor (No-So corridor) Figure 5.8 South-Nord corridor This is the longest route within the project and, as analysed below, can be reinforced in terms of infrastructure in certain corridor areas. In the south stretch of this corridor, if it is considered that it starts in Portugal, instead of south of Spain, the Portuguese area is well-covered: between two stations involved in this route (Carregado and Elvas) there are just 170 km, therefore the distances in this stretch are totally attainable (left-hand picture below). However, if only the project stations are considered, it exists an important distance between the Elvas stations and the following one in the corridor, namely, GNF facility located in Barcelona: around 800 km between them that could be covered by a LNG truck (right-hand picture below) but it is clearly a too much distance compared to what is recommended. 42/48

43 Figure 5.9, Distances between NoSor corridor stations Currently, fleets can reach the Barcelona station following this North-South corridor thanks to the nonproject stations existing in the central area of the Iberian Peninsula. See picture below. Figure 5.11 First stretch of NoSor corridor The medium part of the corridor passes through France and the Benelux southern area. Fleets that are currently using this corridor daily have two possibilities to get to Belgium from Spain. 43/48

44 First, if they go through the central French area, on this region as in the Atlantic corridor case, it is entirely not covered. In this case, LNG trucks could drive from Barcelona to Paris station, but with some difficulties, as this distance surpasses 800 km. As soon as they get the Paris station, it turns out rather easy to refuel later at the Antwerp station, as there are not even 300 km in between. Figure 5.12, Distances between Paris station and the nearest facilities However, if it is considered that the corridor goes from Barcelona to Antwerp trough Nimes and Lyon, the distance in between can be run by a LNG truck: - Nimes Lyon: 250 km in between roughly. - Lyon Antwerp: 580 km in between roughly. The feasibility of this corridor in its northern part is not as good as in other regions, although it has been considerable reinforced lately because of the German station. The region where the LIQVIS stations are deployed resolves partially this connectivity issue when heading for Sweden in a short term, but not for a long run perspective (in the years to come). Firstly we have to bear in mind that the LIQVIS station located in Berlin and supported by this project is the only public station in Germany for the time being. As far as the project coordination is aware, there is another public facility, also built by UNIPER (Parent company of LIQVIS) at the Iveco factory in Ulm, but it is a private facility. Germany is the biggest European country in terms of extension and plays a really key role when connecting all European countries by road. For the project purposes, the station in Berlin is quite useful and will help fleet operators not just to be able to reach the Orebro facility, but also for the German fleets to do round trips always refuelling in Berlin. Moreover, due to its location, close to the borders 44/48

45 with Poland, probably LNG trucks will do interesting journeys in this country, where just one LNG public station has been built so far (between Srem y Zaniemysl). Bearing all this in mind, in terms of project connectivity of each corridor, the LIQVIS station can be considered not acceptable from a project perspective, as the nearest locations are Antwerp (690km) and Orebro (850 km). These distances are much longer than recommended (400 km). Presently, the location of a single LNG station in Germany hardly makes the SoNor corridor feasible. In general terms, the areas recommended to be covered from the project coordination are many. Figure Distances between Paris station and the nearest facilities Other areas such as Bremen, Hannover and Hamburg could be perfect locations when it is time to beef up this corridor. An extra station would probably have depicted a different scenario within the German SoNor stretch (just for the project connectivity, of course not for the entire market) since the distances in between have been reduced. But even then, the Orebro station would be located roughly 850 km away. In the long run, in order to truly strengthen this corridor, the construction of a LNG refuelling point in Denmark is key to making the connections with the southern Swedish facilities possible. 45/48

46 West East corridor (WE corridor) Figure 5.15 West East corridor This corridor could involve three or even four stations, namely: - Antwerp - Lyon - Piacenza - Pontedera In general terms, this can be considered a well-covered corridor in terms of stations, with the known exception of the UK. The distance between the two Italian stations is feasible (less than 150 km). From these two to the next corridor station (Lyon), there are 400 km in between, and in turn, from this to Antwerp, as already said above, the distance is 580 km. All of them are currently being covered by LNG trucks. So this part of the corridor is already being used successfully. However, the part of the corridor corresponding to the UK zone is not covered at all due to the lack of project stations nearby. One station in the UK, as was originally planned, would resolve this problem completely. Bearing in mind an operation ratio of 400 km (in order for LNG trucks to be able to do round trips) if one station was located in Nottingham or nearby, it would cover most of the British territory as depicted on the map below. 46/48

47 Figure 5.16 West East corridor. UK area and circle radius of 400 km. 47/48

48 6 Conclusions The differences in progress among partners in the LNG Blue Corridors project mirror previous experience in development of LNG as a transport fuel in the participating member states. Countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Belgium/Netherlands generally have more experience with LNG, and the representatives from these nations have generally progressed much further with their stations. Confirming station locations has been challenging in counties lacking a pre-existing political or economic framework for LNG as a fuel. In some countries, particularly France, challenges and delays in obtaining regulatory approval have slowed progress. Most of all, market conditions have been a limiting factor. Weak demand for alternative fuel transportation solutions and limited vehicle offerings (only 330 horsepower) have slowed developments. This was clearly the case of the German market. As a matter of fact, as soon as a more powerful engine was put at clients disposal, they decided to start to invest. Despite these setbacks, the LNG network seems to be more solid now than last year, not just because of the project facilities, but also due to the raised awareness. As a consequence of this in the LNG business at European level, as of today there are more than 1,500 LNG trucks (present in 8 EUcountries) and 90 LNG stations roughly based on the latest statistics (60 just counting private facilities, of which 13 belong to this project 21%). These figures are almost double that of some years ago, demonstrating that LNG is an emerging HDV fuel. 48/48