A unit of Germany’s Uniper SE has secured a supply agreement for LNG made with renewable natural gas (RNG) for its heavy vehicle fueling network, calling imports of the super-chilled fuel “no longer competitive” for decarbonizing the transportation industry.
German firm Revis Bioenergy GmbH plans to begin supplying Uniper’s Liqvis GmbH later this year with liquefied natural gas made from methane captured from organic sources, also called bio-LNG.
Liqvis operates a growing number of LNG filling stations across key logistics hubs in Germany. After introducing bio-LNG, management said the firm plans to replace all of its distributed fuel with RNG.
Liqvis managing director Sebastian Gröblinghoff said while LNG is important o decarbonize Germany’s heavy transportation industry, but European gas price volatility endangered its ability to be cost-effective.
“Particularly our customers in the forwarding and logistics sector, who have relied on LNG-powered vehicles, have come under severe economic pressure,” Gröblinghoff said. “Together with Revis Bioenergy GmbH, we have succeeded in concluding a bio-LNG supply contract, which makes us less dependent on price developments on the European gas exchanges, while at the same time enabling more sustainable competitiveness with diesel fuels.”
Revis specializes in gathering and marketing fuels made from organic sources that meet the European Union’s emission standards. The firm plans to begin commissioning in the summer for what may be Europe’s largest RNG production hub dedicated to creating commercial fertilizers.
After European gas prices rose last year, the region’s manufacturing hubs began curtailing energy usage due to high prices. Last month, insurance giant Allianz SE reported European firms considered affordable natural gas supply to be one of the top risks to their businesses during the year.
Analysts have suggested higher than expected storage levels at the end of winter could encourage a slight uptick in European industrial demand during the winter, but gas prices are still expected to remain elevated at an average of about $22/MMBtu throughout the year.
