Substitution of diesel with liquefied natural gas (LNG) is something many mining companies around the world are looking at as a medium term way of reducing costs and cutting carbon emissions. That said, to succeed in mining the infrastructure needs to be in place. India is one of the major mining countries where this is coming together. A major reason is Prime Minister Modi’s vision of transforming India into a gas-based economy.
The Indian government has identified use of LNG as a transport fuel as a priority area “considering the potential of manifold benefits in terms of reducing vehicular pollution, saving in terms of import bill of the country and wide ranging benefits that may accrue to fleet operators, vehicle manufacturers and other entities in the gas sector.” Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel said in November 2020 that the intention is to have 1,000 LNG stations within three years located on all major roads, plus in industrial hubs and mining areas.
And companies are coming together to facilitate this, one of which is Vadodara, Gujarat-based INOXCVA, a global leader in cryogenic liquid storage, distribution and re-gas solutions. In 2020 it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shell Energy India Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, for partnering and developing the market for LNG supply by Road from Shell’s LNG Terminal in Hazira (District Surat), Gujarat. The MoU envisages deployment of distribution infrastructure including logistics and receiving facilities at customer end and will offer LNG access to the customers not connected to the pipelines. This will help in increasing the penetration and consumption of clean, reliable and cost-efficient LNG to commercial and industrial (C&I) users all over the country. The MoU also covers the cooperation in developing a larger market for LNG as a transport fuel for long haul heavy-duty trucks and buses.
Fast forward to April 2021, and INOXCVA announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with leading Japanese conglomerate Mitsui & Co (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd (Mitsui) for partnering by sharing technical and commercial expertise for further establishing a virtual pipeline to service the growing demand of LNG in India. The MoU entails deployment of small scale LNG infrastructure including logistics and receiving facilities at customer sites and will offer LNG access to the customers not connected to the pipelines. This will help in increasing the penetration and consumption of clean, reliable and cost-efficient LNG to various users in the automotive, mining, shipping & rail industry all over the country.
The collaboration with INOXCVA and Mitsui, a diverse conglomerate engaged in energy business globally with presence in energy value chain, including renewable and new energy, will look to capitalise the experience of both the organisations for investigating and establishing small scale energy businesses and projects in mutually agreed geographic locations, thereby making the cleaner fuel more accessible and economically viable.
Talking about the MoU, Siddharth Jain, Executive Director, INOXCVA said, “Increasing the use of LNG in the progressive and evergreen domains of manufacturing and transport is a priority for our Government, which underlines the benefits of LNG. Our partnership with Mitsui, shows our innovativeness and futuristic approach along with our commitment to the country’s vision of gas-based economy, which is self-reliant in all aspects, including energy. LNG is not only a clean and cost-effective fuel, but is also safe and reliable. We are delighted that our collaborated efforts with an adept partner like Mitsui will make this green fuel more accessible. A larger gas-based industrial ecosystem is a win-win situation for all stakeholders.”
Speaking on the occasion, Kaoru Umehara, Divisional Operating Officer, Mitsui added: “In partnership with INOXCVA we look forward to exploring how we can play a key role in meeting India’s long-term need for cleaner energy. Together we will carry out technical, economic and environmental evaluations for supplying LNG to prospective customers and industrial clusters. We believe our combined expertise will synergise well to bring the benefits of LNG at regional and national levels, and create a sustainable manufacturing ecosystem.”
INOXCVA is known for its innovative and future-ready solutions for small scale LNG applications. Since the commissioning its first small scale LNG installation at the Halol Plant of General Motors in year 2010, INOXCVA has successfully installed more than 35 such facilities across the country. LNG facilities are supported by INOXCVA’s own tanker fleet under its brand ‘GoLNG’ which have collectively logged more than 6.5 million kilometres and distributed ~100,000 t of LNG to its consumers spread all over the country propagating the use of LNG as a clean and environment-friendly source of energy. INOXCVA’s says its contribution in the global market for developing LNG as a fuel for mining trucks, marine engines, rail engines is well acknowledged.
And there is a role to play for the LNG retrofit specialists like Florida, USA-based GFS Corp, which is a market leader in its own right in adapting its EVO-MT® System for various models of 100+ t capacity mine haul trucks, as well as mining shovels – the system was first of its kind and provides a integrated, onboard liquid natural gas (LNG) fuel storage system. In 2017, GFS announced that it had an order to convert six Terex Unit Rig 4400 240 ton (218 t) trucks at Sasan coal mine in India, which is owned by Reliance Energy. This was completed then LNG rolled out to further trucks at the mine. In December 2019, India’s Cryogas Equipment Ltd announced it had installed and commissioned India’s first indigenously manufactured LNG Dispenser at Sasan. Indian Oil Corp supplies LNG to the minesite – a 1,600 km distance from IOCL’s Dahej Terminal. Cryogas recently announced in March 2021 that it has launched a new updated version of its LNG Dispenser which it says will play a significant role in the use of LNG in India for markets including mining.
GFS sees a huge potential in India for LNG retrofit to bring savings to operators, not only for larger class mining trucks but also the vast fleets of 100 ton class Caterpillar, Komatsu and BEML trucks that operate in the country. These are operating with companies like Coal India and its divisions, iron ore miners like Tata Steel and NMDC, as well as large contract miners like Thriveni Earthmovers, Adani Enterprises and Dilip Buildcon. The EVO-MT® System has been designed around an LNG on-board storage capacity equivalent to 50% of the normal diesel fuel consumed over a single shift of operation. Diesel Displacement Rate (DDR) will vary according to the specific haul profile and duty cycle of the vehicle. Typical DDR for most vehicle duty profiles ranges between 35% and 50%. Equipment converted to LNG + diesel operation exhibit diesel-like performance in such critical areas as power, response and efficiency.
