Flogas Britain, one of the UK’s leading liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) suppliers, has started work on what will become the nation’s largest LPG storage terminal, with the capacity to store 34,564 tonnes of LPG.
The project, which sees the conversion of the former National Grid LNG (liquefied natural gas) facility at Avonmouth, Bristol, will significantly increase Flogas’ LPG storage capability, improving the UKs gas infrastructure, and providing greater security of supply to commercial and residential customers nationwide, as demand grows.
Formerly owned by the National Grid, the Avonmouth facility is being converted for LPG storage by TGE Gas Engineering GmbH, as part of a £40 million investment by Flogas Britain.
Work has now started on detailed design, with physical works expected to start on site in early 2021, and full takeover planned for Summer 2022.
Once completed, the site will be filled, and operationally ready by Winter 2022, further strengthening Flogas’ distribution network, which is already the most comprehensive in the country, and adding further stability to the UK’s LPG infrastructure.
The project comes at an important time, facilitating the crucial role LPG plays in the Governments’ Clean Growth Strategy, transitioning the UK’s off-grid businesses and homes from high carbon fossil fuels to an excellent low carbon alternative.
The new Avonmouth facility is in line with Flogas’ 2040 vision to build a lower carbon future for off-grid homes and businesses. The site will be “bio-ready” from the outset, capable of storing bioLPG, a chemically-identical, renewable alternative to LPG. As a ‘drop in’ fuel, bioLPG can be blended with or replace LPG, without the need for changes to infrastructure, boilers or equipment.
Lee Gannon, Flogas Britain’s Managing Director, said “The conversion of Avonmouth marks the largest single investment for Flogas Britain and symbolises our growth ambitions and aspirations.
“It will create an unparalleled, dependable nationwide supply of LPG, demonstrating our unwavering commitment to security of LPG supply and to the Clean Growth Strategy, highlighting the vital role LPG plays in securing a lower carbon future.”
Paul Horton, Flogas Britain’s Chief Operating Officer, added “This is an essential part of our strategic plan as it not only guarantees a secure source of product, but also provides resilience for our core customer base, and future-proofs supply with the ability to store bioLPG. We are incredibly proud to be embarking on this journey with our partner TGE Gas Engineering and investing in the UK economy.”
Commenting on the decision to award the Avonmouth conversion contract to TGE, Horton added: “We selected TGE for the project due to their experience on a global scale of building and commissioning similar LPG and LNG storage facilities. TGE have excellent references within the UK and worldwide, which impressed the Flogas team.”
Thomas Wehrheim, CEO of TGE Gas Engineering said “Having been engaged to complete the FEED study during the project development stage, we are delighted that the relationship with Flogas will now continue into the EPC execution phase”.
Markus Ecker, Director of Technical Sales for TGE added “Our early involvement as FEED contractor has allowed us to develop a sound technical and commercial solution that meets the needs of our customer, Flogas Britain”.