CONFERENCE DAYS: From the Champagne of Fuels to the E-Problem Solver

An exciting topic at Shell’s slot during the CONFERENCE DAYS 2023: “A glimpse into the future: Which propulsion for which applications?”. The three Shell experts Martin Pernsteiner, DLNG Retail Project Manager Europe Shell Germany, Thea Wrobbel, Business Development Manager Shell Germany, and Fabian Höpfner, Business Development Manager Shell Germany, spent an hour discussing alternative drives and fuels for heavy-duty transport under the moderation of Lea Neumeier, CRT Business Development Manager & Senior Marketing Implementer DACH/UK EuroShell Germany. However, the moderator clarified right at the outset: There will not be one solution for all.

“We want to be flexible and diverse,” said Neumeier.

The aim is much more to find the right solution for each customer use case. Therefore, the first question to the audience was obvious: What does your fleet actually look like?

LNG: For heavy transports

LNG expert Pernsteiner then took the helm for the LNG and Bio-LNG segments.

“To briefly classify: We are here in heavy-duty transport – the heavier, the better – and in long-distance transport,” the Shell employee briefly clarified.

Bio-LNG differs in only one – very important point – from “normal” LNG: Considering its entire lifecycle, more CO2 can be saved. With fossil LNG, up to 20 percent CO2 can already be saved compared to diesel, with Bio-LNG CO2 can be reduced by up to 100 percent, depending on the feedstock. In the Netherlands, a live Bio-LNG mix with a 30 percent CO2 reduction is already in use. In Germany, a pilot is running, among others, with partners like Evonik, DHL, Volkswagen, and Edeka. “The big swing will come in the middle of the year,” said Pernsteiner.

Shell plans to open a gas liquefaction plant for Bio-LNG at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rheinland.

“It has a volume of 100 kilotons – which will make it Europe's largest liquefier and sufficient to supply our 36 filling stations in Germany and keep 5000 trucks on the road.”

The slot participants view LNG more critically. One participant asks in the chat:

“Bio-LNG cannot be the solution, the actually producible amount is far less than five percent of the total demand!”

We have just acquired one of the largest bio-methane producers in-house, reports Pernsteiner. And adds:

“If you look at the quantities in Germany, Germany could become a Saudi Arabia for long-distance transport.”

Of course, this has not been implemented yet, but there are still potentials to be tapped here.

E-Trucks: It Still Needs to Be Plannable

This also applies to the electrification of fleets. In the field of electric trucks, "a tremendous amount is happening," reports Thea Wrobbel. However, at the moment, the rule still is: The more plannable, the better. Trucks that are on set routes, preferably driving in urban areas during the day and charging slowly at night, are the best e-candidates. But even here, Shell is continuing to expand. For example, SBRS GmbH, a provider of charging infrastructure solutions for commercial e-vehicles, was acquired in the summer. The company implements infrastructure solutions for e-mobility fleets and aims to support the expansion of charging solutions for e-buses, e-trucks, and e-vans. Wrobbel finds:

"This is our problem solver."

No matter what customer and no matter what difficulties exist on site – SBRS has a charging solution. However, it should not be underestimated that about 20 percent of the charging demand is en route.

"Here we naturally have the problem that parking spaces are generally scarce."

Additionally, the infrastructure needs to be built up to meet the increasing demand.