November 25, 2022. After seven months of construction, Lipigas inaugurated its second refueling station for cargo trucks that operate with liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the commune of Limache, Chile. It is the first in the country open to all vehicles that operate with this fuel, that is, it will initially supply the 17 trucks of the Transviña company and also units of any other company.
The facility is added to the first one inaugurated in 2021 in Linares, Maule Region, where LNG is continuously supplied to 35 road trucks used by Transportes San Gabriel for the supply service of Cervecera AB InBev Chile and Nestlé, among other firms. Both facilities position Lipigas as the company that will supply LNG to the largest operating fleet with this fuel in Chile and South America. In addition, it will allow, for the first time, high-tonnage trucks that are part of the Lipigas distribution chain to run 100% on liquefied natural gas.
In this way, the company advances in the construction of the first clean energy corridor for the transport of heavy loads in Chile. Its plan is to install service stations at strategic points to supply trucks that operate with LNG from the north to the south of the country and then expand its extension internationally.
Esteban Rodríguez, Manager of Green Hydrogen, Biofuels and LNG at Empresas Lipigas, explained that “we plan to open two more facilities next year, one in the Coquimbo Region and another in Los Lagos; and in 2024 we want to move further north, with Antofagasta and Arica. We are also working with our subsidiary in Peru to develop LNG transportation in that country and open three new stations in 2023. The idea is that Chile’s green corridor will later be transnational, linking Lima with Puerto Montt.”
