Gerard Willemsen, from Peter Shipyard, was the first speaker at the session and addressed the company’s monofuel LNG technology for inland tanker. Specifically, he spoke about the new ‘LNG Greenstream Tanker’, which is a double hull tanker vessel with six cargo tanks. Willemsen said the use of LNG has grown due to reduction of CO2, SOx and NOx. “It is much cleaner for the environment than oil,” he added, and informed Peter Shipyard’s technology is under construction and is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2013.
René Sejer Laursen, from MAN Diesel & Turbo, also took part of this session with his presentation about dual fuel technology, engine performance and economy. “We expect a good future for LNG in ship operations,” he said while described the company’s dual fuel ME-GI engine solution and main features. It reduces CO2 emissions by 23% and its design offers 50% higher fuel efficiency, he stressed. “Its high fuel flexibility helps bring up the market,” added Laursen. He finally remarked the LNG engine has the shortest payback time compared to other technologies, such as LPG, DME and MeOH.
Moreover, Jan van Houwenhove from Cryonorm Consortium focused on the first inland ship on LNG in the world, developed by Cryonorm System (part of the consortium). He provided an overview regarding the economic feasibility of the dual-fuel ship that took nine month to be built. “Initially, the saving on fuel costs was estimated at 20-25%, now it is between 25-30%,” he explained. Houwenhove also offered key information about the permissions needed to deploy LNG-powered ships in inland waters.
On behalf Gas LNG Europe (GLE), Wim Groenendijk spoke about the views of the European LNG terminal operators with respect to small-scale LNG. He detailed the different uses and services regarding small-scale technology and mentioned ferries in the Baltic Sea, small cities supplied by LNG trucks in Spain, LNG HDVs in Europe, US and China, LNG locomotives in Japan. Besides, GLE’s executive predicted a rapid growth of small-scale terminals in the near future and concluded: “LNG in shipping is becoming more competitive compared to conventional bunker fuels and should be seen as a key solution.”
Finally, Gernot Puali, chief engineer of the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (CCNR), spoke about safety regulations for inland vessels. Before, insisting “LNG as fuel for inland navigation is taking off,” he gave an overview of the Rhine Police Regulations (RPR) and the Rhine Vessel Inspection Regulations (RVIR), in both cases regarding the design, equipment, operation and environmental protection. But mainly, he provided key recommendations to obtain approval for inland LNG ships and remarked that CCNR’s main priority is promoting an improved safety.
“Combined session: LNG for marine/inland navigation and road vehicles”
From Volvo, Lennart Pilskog focused on LNG for on-road heavy transportation. He stressed the dependence on trucks for many operations, mainly for goods haulage, and that there are two ways to bridge the gap and meet challenges: alternative fuels and energy efficiency. In this sense, he underlined the company’s methane-diesel product already offers high fuel efficiency. Volvo FM MethaneDiesel was introduced in Sweden, the Netherlands and UK.
Stefan Behrning, from TUV, presented “Cryogenic tank technologies & safety: Vehicle & storage tanks,” where he provided a European approach to LNG experiences and standards (mainly in North America). He also spoke about the approval of storage tanks automotive sector, which is not covered by any European regulation and still requires national authorizations. For this, Behrning mentioned the LNG task force that prepares a proposal for a R110 amendment covering LNG applications, to be presented in October in Geneva.
Willem Kuipers, from LNGTR&D, also spoke at the combined session with a presentation about Dutch/European LNG projects for marine & road vehicles: potential contracts and funding for 2013. He said his company supports programs covering offshore LNG, small-scale LNG, sustainable LNG and LNG metrology. LNGTR&D roadmaps focus on the implementation of LNG in the market and the Innovation Contract LNG 2012. For 2013 contract, Kuipers forecasts high quality project proposals.
To conclude the last session at NGVA Europe’s LNG event, Arjan van Ginkel from Micro Motion spoke about LNG bunkering solutions and measuring technology for cryogenic fuels for ships. He listed some of the key factors causing the so-called LNG hype, such as environmental impact andrising bunker prices. “There is a huge growth predicted for LNG as marine fuel,” he said and also underlined that development of LNG terminals is crucial for it. In addition, he stated expectations for 2020 include 4,500 new vessels consuming 4.8 million ton of LNG annually.
After lunch, all speakers, moderators, members of discussion panels and the event’s hosts and organizers gathered outside Hotel CASA 400 for a vehicle technical demonstration, which included Iveco Schouten and Clean Air Power’s Volvo trucks.
