Oil and gas giant Shell said it has opened its first liquefied natural gas lanes in Europe, at a truck refuelling station in Rotterdam Waalhaven, the Netherlands.
The station is located near to a busy truck route, which runs through the Netherlands to Belgium, France, and the Ruhr Area of Germany, the company informed in a statement.
Heavy-duty truck fleet owners are beginning to choose LNG fuel over traditional diesel because it can be cost competitive for trucks that cover long distances. It is cleaner than diesel in terms of sulphur, particulates and nitrogen oxides, and can help reduce well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions.
The new station has a capacity of 70,000 litres of LNG, which is enough to fuel around 170 trucks per day. Customers at this first site will include waste-specialist SUEZ Environnement, Vos Logistics and ABS Trucking, according to the statement.
As customer demand grows, Shell plans to open additional LNG sites in the Netherlands. In due course, it plans to supply the LNG fuel via the new, ‘break bulk’ LNG terminal being built at the port of Rotterdam by a joint venture of Gasunie, Vopak and OMV.
Images: Shell