Rolande enters German LNG-fueling market

The Dutch liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueling infrastructure specialist Rolande has entered the German market with its first facility in Ulm.

Rolande plans to expand the German network with new stations in Dortmund, Duisburg, Grasdorf, Lübeck and Ziesar. New facilities will be operational before the end of this year.

Rolande is planning further expansion of the network in Germany for 2021. Each of these filling stations is already equipped for later use of bio-LNG, the company said in its statement.

The Ulm facility features two LNG pumps and two CNG pumps. It has a daily capacity for up to 150 vehicles.

Rolande noted its network will further enhance the German LNG fueling infrastructure that currently counts 21 operating public filling stations.

The filling station in Ulm is part of the Connect2LNG project. European Commission is financing the project through its CEF program. The aim of the Connect2LNG project is the development of a European LNG fuelling network by commissioning five stations in Germany and France.

Additionally, Germany is subsidizing the use of LNG and CNG as fuel. Trucks that run on compressed or liquefied natural gas are exempted from the German road toll until December 31, 2023.

Moreover, the operators profit from state subsidies for purchases of new vehicles until the end of 2020.