LIQAL has been awarded a contract for turnkey realisation of a refuelling station for LNG (liquified natural gas) and LCNG (liquified-to-compressed natural gas).
The refuelling station, set to be inaugurated in the first quarter of 2019, will be located at the Texaco service station adjacent the E40 highway in Heverlee, Belgium. The station will be deployed by natural gas fuel station operator Drive Systems, in cooperation with EG group (Texaco).
LIQAL, a Netherlands-based company, specialises in in design, engineering, production and turnkey realisation of complete fuelling systems and fuel dispensers for LNG and hydrogen.
The new facility in Heverlee is the first highway site for LNG in North-West Europe and the development is receiving funding for the EU through its Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme.
“This support was very welcome, as the number of vehicles on LNG or CNG is still low, for now. 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.
Belgium policy supports the replacement of diesel to clean transport fuels. More vehicle owners and haulage companies are now making the switch to clean and affordable CNG and LNG.
“Alternative fuels such as LNG are the future for road transport, but they must be easily accessible,” said Benny Smets, CEO of Ninatrans.
“The LNG station at the Texaco site on the E40 highway, close to our HQ, perfectly fit in our strategy to decarbonise activities. We decided to order 10 additional LNG trucks, and more units will be added as we replace the older diesel trucks,” Smets continued.
The station, which will be integrated into the existing Texaco full service station, will have an LNG storage capacity of 80,000 litres, a dispenser to supply LNG to trucks and two LCNG dispensers to serve compressed natural gas-powered vehicles at both the north- and the south side of the E-40 highway.
“We are delighted that, yet another station operator acknowledges the benefits of our technology and integrated approach. 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 fuelling facility, we further strengthen our leading position in North West Europe,” said Joost Jansen, Business Development Manager at LIQAL.
The site will have a dedicated dispenser to full up CNG tube-trailers for CNG daughter stations operated by Drive systems
