ENN, a Chinese natural gas infrastructure company, has opened a new open-access natural gas vehicle refuelling station for HGVs in the UK, strategically situated just off the A1(M) and A14 near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. ENN’s containerised station includes eight tonnes of LNG storage, integral cryogenic pump and dispenser, and market-leading net metering and billing systems.
The station design uses a modular approach: extra storage capacity can be added as and when required, as can additional dispensers and cryogenic pumps, and the station can also be expanded to enable refuelling with compressed natural gas (CNG).
The station is the second in ENN’s UK network of such stations – following a closed-access LNG refuellling facility that ENN successfully operates on behalf of logistics giant Kuehne + Nagel – and a further 10 locations for future stations have been identified and secured as part of ENN’s rapid growth in the UK.
The Huntington opening marks the beginning of a partnership between ENN and Pro-Petro Ltd, which operates HGV diesel refuelling facilities around the UK. Both parties are experiencing an increase in market share and are jointly looking to acquire further sites. As a transportation fuel, LNG reduces costs and carbon compared to crude oil-based products, and has huge potential to reduce the environmental impact of logistics operations.
The new station has arrived along with the news that ENN has been recommended for over €5 million (USD5.7 million) of funding by the European Commission through its Connecting Europe Facility programme, to assist with establishing a Europe-wide natural gas refuelling network. ENN will match this figure, which will enable the network to grow rapidly, with another three similar facilities opening in the UK before the end of 2015.
The fully integrated 45’ ISO containerised “plug and play” liquefied natural gas (LNG) refuelling station is similar to 200+ facilities which already operate successfully across China, and has been specifically designed in accordance with local user requirements, technical certifications, and health & safety requirements for the UK. This compact, unmanned system dramatically reduces lead times for the installation of refuelling infrastructure, and, with the latest technology, provides a fast and reliable solution for natural gas vehicle refuelling.
ENN has an existing network of more than 600 LNG fuelling locations in China, USA (BLu LNG), Canada (ENN Canada) and Europe (LNG Europe). This network has grown by 30% in the last twelve months and continues to expand.
“ENN has ambitious plans to rapidly develop a network of natural gas refuelling stations in Northwest Europe, and will open several more stations in the UK, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany in 2015 and 2016” says Michael Liu, General Manager of ENN Europe. “Our aim is to ultimately provide seamless LNG refuelling throughout the UK and the whole of Europe.”
(Source: ENN)
