The first in the Baltic States station of LNG will be opened
At the end of 2018 the first filling station for LNG vehicles will start operating on the Polish-Lithuanian border on the Via Baltica highway near Kalvarija. It is expected that in the course of its further development, natural gas will be supplied to industrial consumers located nearby. The project is realized by subsidiary enterprise of JSC “SG dujos” – JSC “Vivagrid” at its own expense, the cost of the project is 1.5 million Euros. The land plot is already selected and purchased, and the project design works are conducted. It is planned that after the project implementation, the vehicles belonging to European logistics companies and transporting goods to Lithuania and other Baltic states or crossing the Baltic region in transit will be able to fill in LNG at this gas station.
“Our goal is to connect the transport corridors of the Northern European, Baltic and Central European countries and try to ensure that the vehicle that was filled in our LNG station could easily cover the distance of 1 thousand kilometers to the next point of refueling. We hope that following the example of other EU countries, our initiative will be supported by all parties concerned – the public sector, the major national cargo companies and the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers”, – says the General Manager Virginijus Korsakas.
The European directives require from the Member States to guarantee, before 2025, the presence of LNG stations every 400 km of the main highways. These stations should ensure the continuous movement of vehicles operating on liquefied natural gas.
“In Lithuania we see a huge untapped potential of natural gas as a fuel for vehicles – three years ago we became the first state in the region with a liquefied natural gas terminal, the capacity of which is still used only to a minimal extend. After introducing this year into service the land terminal for liquefied natural gas, we tried to make this potential more affordable for Lithuanian and European logistics companies delivering the goods for long distances. Lithuania has heightened the interest of such LNG vehicles’ manufacturers as “Scania” and “Iveco”, who are expanding their activities in this region, paying special attention to the technologies of liquefied and compressed natural gas, as well as hydrogen fuel. Every day we feel an increasing interest in the possibility of refueling the LNG transit trucks of the leading Lithuanian and foreign cargo companies. Therefore, after creating the necessary infrastructure of LNG refueling, the next step will be to increase the interest of logistics companies in the use of this economic and environment-friendly alternative fuel, to motivate them adapting the existing truck fleets to the use of liquefied natural gas”, – V. Korsakas says.
The company “SG dujos” strives to develop actively and purposefully the infrastructure of alternative ecological fuel in Lithuania. Moreover, it is the founder of the creation of a system of natural gas as a motor fuel in Lithuania. In general, the company has already invested more than 13 million Euros in the development of alternative fuel infrastructure in Lithuania, most of this amount is the company’s personal funds.
In the year 2007 the company built the first CNG filling station in Klaipėda; in 2013 in Pabradė the company opened the first in the Baltic States Hydrogen fuel research laboratory; and in 2015 “SG dujos” introduced in Marijampolė, Ukmergė and Telšiai the first in Lithuania and the Baltic States filling modules for hydrogen and natural gas. Altogether, the company has opened six CNG filling stations in Lithuania: in Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Kaunas, Ukmergė, Marijampolė and Telšiai. 155 public transport buses are served in these parks.
“As partners in the development of alternative fuel solutions in the transport business, we welcome the fact that the LNG filling station will be opened on the “Via Baltica” highway on the territory of Marijampolė Municipality. It means that we will become a part of the European LNG infrastructure – the European Blue Corridor. A part of the liquefied natural gas infrastructure, and Lithuanian and other Baltic logistics companies can start implementing projects that will provide a real possibility of using the effective gas-engines. This initiative corresponds perfectly well with the recently introduced Scania’s new solution – 410 hp 6-cylinder engine that operates both on compressed and liquefied natural gas and is a perfect solution for long-distance routes”, – says the head of “Scania” Jenny Engvall.
“We are glad that the private sector is engaged in such initiative. This decision is crucial both for the nature conservation and the development of alternative fuel vehicles in Lithuania. The “Iveco” concern considers the development of gas-powered vehicles as one of the most important priority and is already manufacturing them on standard production lines. It can also offer all types of commercial vehicles operating on natural gas – in the CNG and/or LNG consistencies. We are the world leader in the field of natural gas and we intend to maintain this position in future. We welcome the decision to establish the first CNG/LNG filling station, which will be a very important part in the development of the well-known European gas filling network of the Blue Corridor”, – says Ernestas Yakubonis, the head of “Iveco” representative office in the Baltic States and Finland.
In the year 2017, “SG dujos Auto”, a subsidiary enterprise of “SG dujos”, has signed a cooperation agreement with “Scania” concern – the Hydrogen fuel research laboratory, that was established by “SG dujos Auto” in Pabradė, will create and develop new products for the Swedish concern. This year, the Lithuanian Confederation of Entrepreneurs announced the innovative project of hydrogen-enriched natural gas development as the “Energy Project 2017”.
Source and more information: JSC "SG dujos"
