November 23, 2020. The European Biogas Association (EBA), Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE), the Natural & bio Gas Vehicle Association (NGVA Europe) and SEA-LNG published a joint paper, which demonstrates the concrete benefits of using BioLNG to decarbonize hard to abate transport sectors through the provision of the latest facts and figures.
Ahead of the upcoming Smart Sustainable Mobility Strategy which will be published by the European Commission in December, the paper calls upon the European Institutions to recognize the potential for BioLNG to meet greenhouse gas (GHG) targets, and continue to acknowledge the benefits available today of LNG and BioLNG in maritime and road transport to reduce GHG as well as local pollution emissions harmful to the heath of EU citizens.
The joint paper highlights the true potential for BioLNG to decarbonize heavy-duty transport and shipping in a fast and cost-effective way. It illustrates how BioLNG can help the EU reach its 2030 climate targets and become climate neutral by 2050. Since the BioLNG production process captures carbon, the BioLNG value chain generates negative carbon emissions. Hence, by running EU trucks on 100% BioLNG, it is possible to remove CO2 emissions from the atmosphere.
The EU production of BioLNG is set to increase tenfold by 2030. EU LNG heavy-duty transport is expected to reach 280.000 units in the same period. Using a 40% BioLNG mix with LNG will help reduce the CO2 emissions from those trucks by 55%. This can be achieved using only 10% (40TWh) of Europe’s total BioLNG production (380TWh). In the shipping sector, 50% of large container vessel orders today are LNG fueled or ready for conversion to LNG. 20% of BioLNG mix in maritime transport would reduce CO2 emissions by up to 34%.
BioLNG can be transported using the existing LNG infrastructure with no further technological adaptations or additional costs. For this reason, the support of LNG infrastructure is fundamental to ensure the deployment of Bio-LNG in the coming years. Today, the EU has 53 ports where LNG bunkering is available and over 330 filling LNG stations. This number will increase exponentially in the coming years. In the case of LNG stations, it will be six times bigger, reaching 2.000 LNG stations by 2030. The use of the current infrastructure also boosts cross-border trade of BioLNG in Europe.
