The Antwerp Port Authority announced that it has signed a 30-year concession agreement with the ENGIE energy group to develop an Alternative Energy Hub.
ENGIE LNG Solutions is building the first shore-to-ship LNG bunkering facility in Belgium, at quay 526-528 in the port of Antwerp, to serve shortsea shipping, barges, dredgers and tugs.
The Alternative Energy Hub will consist of an LNG bunkering station for ships and barges and a filling station for road transport vehicles. The location will also have a CNG (compressed natural gas) filling point and rapid chargers for electric vehicles.
With construction of the Alternative Energy Hub the port of Antwerp and ENGIE are taking an important step in the energy transition and making energy consumption in the transport sector more sustainable. The concession starts from 1 October 2016 and the first phase of the hub should be operational by the end of 2017.
Using LNG means:
- 80 – 95% reduction in emissions of particulates, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides
- 50% reduction in noise
- 15 – 20% reduction in CO2 emissions.
Port of Antwerp, a green port
The port of Antwerp has long encouraged the use of this environment-friendly fuel. Since 2012 there have been facilities in the port for truck-to-truck, ship-to-ship and terminal-to-ship bunkering with LNG. Now thanks to this agreement it will be possible for all port users to fill up with LNG at any time.
As chair of the LNG Fuelled Vessels workgroup of the WPCI (World Ports Climate Initiative), the port of Antwerp has long played a pioneering role in promoting the use of LNG.The Port Authority is one of the 32 partners in the LNG Master Plan for the Rhine-Main-Danube aimed at promoting the use of LNG in the barge industry.
Source & Image credits: Port of Antwerp
