Cryonorm
Fuelling innovation
Initially starting out as a supplier of cryogenic vaporisers for liquid nitrogen, oxygen, argon and CO2 in 1968, Cryonorm has grown over the years to occupy a leading position in the emerging LNG market, supplying complete systems. Last featured in December 2014, director of Cryonorm Systems BV, Peter Tel, explained the company’s strategy to continue offering world-first innovative solutions to help drive the LNG market forward. Since then he notes: “Despite it being a relatively short period we have successfully passed LNG bunkering systems to Skangass, which is a huge achievement and we are very proud to have reached this milestone.”
The project was the company’s first shore to ship LNG bunkering forFjordline in March 2015 at Risavika harbour in Norway. “This was a very technically challenging project and we are proud to have completed the start-up and commissioning of this system successfully. The first of its kind in the world and used for a number of shore to ship bunkering every week, feedback from the operators is that the system provides stable performance and is easy to use.” Development of the system was a response from the company to rising demand for LNG as a marine fuel and the need for small to mid-scale LNG bunkering stations.
Another first for the company was an order placed in January 2015 to supply an LNG fuelling station for trucks and ships. “The project is still under construction,” explains Peter, “but it will have combined fuelling for trucks and ships.” The order consists of a turnkey supply of LNG fuelling station with one dispenser dedicated for trucks and another for inland waterway vessels.
In February 2015 it was announced that Wärtsilä and Cryonorm had joined forces to develop an advanced LNGPac fuel system for inland waterways. “The main drive for this co-operation was to lower capital expenditure and lead times by creating a standard LNG fuel system for inland waterway vessels,” says Peter. “Wärtsilä is a strong player who can push a standard and combine this in their overall product portfolio. We have determined a number of standard vessels and best suited LNG fuel systems for these vessels.” Based on Wärtsilä’s LNGPac system, a complete system for LNG fuel handling, the new LNGPac will facilitate the use of clean burning LNG fuel by reducing costs and maintenance requirements, whilst also simplifying onboard installation. Speaking at the time, Yves Bui, general manager of fuel gas handling at Wärtsilä Ship Powering commented: “We envisage good potential for LNG as a fuel for inland waterway vessels because of its environmental sustainability and competitive pricing. By sharing the expertise of Cryonorm with the in-house knowledge and vast experience that we have gained in LNG fuelling systems, we expect to facilitate and accelerate the trend towards cleaner and more efficient inland waterway shipping.”
Adding further to Cryonorm’s recent successes is the commissioning of an indirect gas-fired nitrogen vaporiser for one its clients. “The gas fired vaporiser has a total installed burner capacity of 11MW in order to provide heat for vaporising 66,000 Nm3/hr of nitrogen and is the biggest single unit we have supplied so far,” says Peter. “Both vaporiser vessel and nitrogen coil are made from stainless steel 316L with optimised burner management for ASU plant back-up service.”
Cryonorm is at the forefront of the LNG industry in the current market and its innovation to deliver world first projects exemplifies this. “We have been pioneers in the LNG industry for the last few years,” expresses Peter. “A first of its kind LNG system for inland waterway vessels, a first of its kind shore to ship LNG bunkering system and a first of its kind combined truck and inland waterway vessel LNG filling system. Next to this it is our product quality and commitment to delivering what we promise that helps set us apart in the industry.”
Demonstrating the pioneering momentum of Cryonorm, Peter goes on to outline another significant project: “We are working on a new development to liquefy biogas into bio-LNG (BLNG). In Lelystad (NL) we have installed a test module where we take the biogas from a digester, and clean and liquefy it. Based on the very good test results we are now developing a standard containerised system for five metric tonnes per day of BLNG production.”
Occupying this leading position puts Cryonorm in a strong place in order to respond to the growing LNG market, particularly in Europe and South America. However, Peter does note some challenges resulting from the recent drop in oil prices. “The low oil price has had a negative impact on LNG projects which are not environmentally driven,” he says. Despite this, Peter remains positive about the future. “We will focus on continuing to expand our footprint in LNG projects and keep our position as a leading supplier of LNG marine fuel systems,” he concludes. With a strong attitude to product and service quality, coupled with an ever-growing innovation portfolio, Cryonorm looks set to capitalise on the growing LNG market and continue its success into the future.
Cryonorm
Services: Specialise in LNG and air gas engineering services
Issue 122 July 2015