Released last year (2018), KC LNG’s Y-piece is an adapter that allows two tank trailers to be connected instead of one, doubling the capacity of the LNG fuelling process.
If that is not enough, its design allows the owner to add a second Y-piece and bunker with up to four trailers at once, which puts the bunkering speed at 400% of traditional truck-to-ship bunkering.
New product doubles LNG bunkering efficiency
KC LNG hopes that this will help to make the adaptation of LNG, the cleanest fossil fuel available, feasible for more companies.
It now has a world record case study to support this vision, with Elenger of Estonia taking its LNG (liquefied natural gas) bunkering to the next level using the Y-piece solution: the company was able to achieve a complete bunkering operation with four tank trailers in less than 90 minutes.
The feat was accomplished by Elenger on 6thSeptember at the port of Hanko, in Finland.
In just one hour and 23 minutes, Elenger was able to transfer 172m3 of LNG to the tank of M/V Auto Energy, a car carrier owned by UECC, from a total of four tank trailers (two at a time) – with optimal safety and no complications. This is a world record bunkering time and an enormous time saver for all parties involved.
Source: KC LNG
KC LNG’s Y-piece fits any kind of trailer and enables continuous operations as empty trailers can be swapped without the need to halt the process. The pay-off is a dramatic increase in bunkering efficiency and a lot of saved time and money for ship-owners and fuel suppliers
LNG bunkering: Technology innovations drive development of LNG infrastructure
LNG is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to reducing emissions and climate impact in the shipping industry, as it is by far the cleanest burning fossil fuel available. Currently, one of the barriers to widespread LNG usage in shipping is the cost. By cutting down bunkering times dramatically, the Y-piece helps to break down this barrier and make LNG a more economically viable fuel.