31/10/2019 News
PitPoint Opens Europe’s First Permanent LNG Bunker Station
Cologne, October 31, 2019 - Today PitPoint opens Europe’s first shore-to-ship Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunker station for inland shipping at the Niehler Hafen in Cologne. The opening of this station represents a concrete step towards facilitating clean maritime transport. The new LNG bunker station is part of PitPoint.LNG’s plans to develop a European LNG infrastructure for heavy-duty transport by road and water and is co-financed by the European Union. The strategic location of the station between Basel and Rotterdam and good access to the location were the main reasons for choosing the Port of Cologne.
LOWER EMISSIONS AND IMPROVED AIR QUALITY
LNG is the cleanest fuel currently available for (heavy-duty) maritime transport. The biggest benefit of using LNG lies in the reduced emission of fine particulates and NOₓ. Based on current European emission standards (CCNR II), LNG-fuelled engines produce 20% less CO₂, at least 80% less NOₓ and more than 99% less fine particulates than diesel-powered engines. The significant reduction in these harmful substances will have a direct positive impact on air quality. LNG is also seen as a transition fuel and as a step towards even cleaner and CO2-neutral bio-LNG.
FASTER TRANSIT FOR LNG-FUELLED VESSELS
With the new shore-to-ship bunker station in place along Europe’s busiest waterway, another positive step has been taken in developing the LNG infrastructure required for facilitating the uptake of LNG as fuel for maritime transport. The new shore-to-ship bunkering station significantly expedites the bunkering process. Where LNG-fuelled vessels were required to submit a request and schedule an appointment to purchase LNG from a truck-to-ship bunkering station, shore-to-ship bunkering can now be done faster and easier via the station’s powerful pumps. Moreover, the shore-to-ship bunker station is open 24/7, with professional service engineers available to provide bunkering services. In the near future, the station will be able to fuel two vessels at the same time.
"We are very proud to welcome Europe’s first permanent LNG bunker station at our port in Cologne. This is another building block in our approach to focus on sustainable and environmentally friendly transport. LNG is known to be a reliable and clean alternative fuel, which helps reduce pollutant emissions in particular. That is why we see the use of LNG as an important step towards a sustainable future for logistics."
- Jan Sönke Eckel and Wolfgang Birlin, Managing Directors of port operator RheinCargo
The opening of the LNG bunker station is an important step forward for transport by water. LNG meets the most stringent emission standards and makes cleaner transport possible. The bunker station is the result of a supply chain collaboration. Together with shippers, port companies, shipping companies, transport companies and support of the European Union, we have worked hard to make European inland shipping more sustainable. Our goal? Harness LNG to pave the way for 100% clean transport by 2030.
ABOUT PITPOINT B.V.
PitPoint is an independent market leading provider of alternative fuels in The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. It provides clean fuel solutions, being CNG (including greengas), LNG, hydrogen (H2) and electricity to its customers in road and marine transport. PitPoint has the mission to actively support the use of clean fuels towards clean transport in 2030.
In May 2017, PitPoint was acquired by the Total Group. Total’s ambition to become the responsible energy major and PitPoint’s mission to create a cleaner planet for future generations are well aligned. The integration of PitPoint accelerates Total’s strategy to expand its low-carbon business.