The carriers of the FLO group will switch to biogas, in accordance with the expectations of the European Commission (see below). During the meeting of the FLO group at SITL 2022, Christophe Charbonnier, manager of Picq and Charbonnier transport, indeed exposed “an entrepreneurial logic to consume only biogas”.
Between 2015 and 2022, Picq et Charbonnier has already equipped itself with three CNG stations. These stations supply 65 of its 130 trucks with BioCNG and LNG. Picq et Charbonnier will therefore create, with methanizer farmer Christophe Rousseau, the Bourgogne BioGNL liquefaction plant for 2024. Up and other FLO carriers located between Paris, Lyon and Strasbourg”, assures Christophe Charbonnier.
FLO carriers from NGV to biogas
In 2023, this carrier will collect waste and effluent from farms. It will re-deliver the digestate resulting from the production of bioCNG to replenish the fields. And by then it will have acquired seven to eight cryogenic tank trucks to distribute bioLNG. Christophe Charbonnier will thus have gained “energy independence by controlling our cost of biogas production, the consumption chain and our selling price. »
All-inclusive transport prices
The Houtch group is taking a similar step. It thus has three CNG stations offering 20% bioCNG. An LNG station is currently under construction. And 50 of its 150 heavy goods vehicles run on gas. “We are going to make land available to the municipality. A methanizer will be built there and connected to the Engie network,” explains Thibaut Bacquet, QSE manager at Houtch. “Production will cover the needs of our 150 heavy goods vehicles. We will thus control the fuel and the delivery of the goods. We will therefore be able to set an all-inclusive price for our customers over several years. This will assure us of their clientele”, welcomes Alain Houtch, co-director of the group.
The Houtch group does not rule out practicing an energy mix. “Either CNG for regional transport, LNG or B100 for long distance. And electric for urban deliveries, adds Thibaut Bacquet. Diesel, in our country, is on the way out. »
Methanizers to get out of Russian dependency
On March 8, 2022, the European Community included a new objective in its REPowerEU program: to build 5,000 methanizers to overcome Russian dependence. The goal: to convert 100% of slurry, 50% of solid manure and agricultural residues, 7% of food waste and 20% of wastewater and crop silage produced in Europe into methane.
In France, methane production should reach 40 TWh/year in 2030, i.e. 20% of French consumption, to exceed the share of imported Russian gas in 2021. The 365 French methanizers produced 4.4 TWh in 2021 on their potential of 6.4 TWh per year. The Energy Regulation Commission (CRE) would thus envisage 1,330 additional methanizers connected to the distribution network. These methanizers would provide the annual production of 34 TWh which would complete the 40 TWh that France needs.
