Shell completed the inauguration of its first LNG Retail station for trucks in Hamburg, Germany. This significant milestone illustrates Shell’s commitment to LNG in the road transport sector within Europe given the increase in freight traffic on European roads.

“We are driving the diversification of our fuel portfolio through the development of an LNG station network in Germany to offer customers cleaner burning energy solutions that can help reduce emissions”, said Dr. Thomas Zengerly, Country Chairman, Shell Germany. “With a capacity of almost 30 tons, more than 200 trucks per day can be refueled with LNG at this site. We will continue to work with truck manufacturers, customers and policymakers to promote the use of LNG as a cleaner-burning and more affordable transport fuel.”

The new LNG station is located in the south of Hamburg at Georgswerder Bogen near the Hamburg Süd motorway interchange and not far from the Hamburg Süd motorway triangle. This is an important refueling spot for freight transport near the Hamburg Port.
The transport sector generates around 20% of energy-related CO2 emissions in Germany. E-mobility can help to reduce emissions for passenger cars and vans, but heavy-duty transport requires more powerful, high-range combustion engines.

LNG offers significant advantages by way of CO2 emissions and air pollutants when compared with diesel. Virtually no particulate matter is produced, and fuel costs tend to be lower as well as less noise being generated by the engine.

Today, around 5,000 LNG trucks from the manufacturers Iveco, Scania and Volvo are already on the road in Europe. A significant increase is expected between now and 2030. This will be spurred by funding from the federal government. “LNG plays an important role in the fuel strategy of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. We are therefore pleased that Shell is engaged in building up the tank infrastructure,” said Guido Beermann, state secretary in the Federal Ministry for Transport and Digital Infrastructure at the inauguration in Hamburg.

Jens Kerstan, Senator for the Environment and Energy of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg: “LNG can be a building block for less exhaust gases and better air in Hamburg. I very much welcome the fact that the first public gas station for liquefied natural gas in Germany is here in Hamburg. As a city, we are already at the forefront of e-mobility and we want to continue to be so with other environmentally friendly drivetrains and fuels. I also see a potential for LNG in Hamburg in the case of ships, where LNG can drastically reduce particulate emissions and make a real contribution to climate protection. In climate protection, time is over to talk in the subjunctive with words like could and should. The Paris climate goals are obligatory and binding, so much needs to happen very soon.”

Shell continues to expand its European LNG station network and Hamburg is the ninth Shell LNG station in northwest Europe. Seven sites are already open in the Netherlands and one site in Belgium.

Source: www.shell.com