LNG als Prozessenergie – die wirtschaftliche Alternative

The worldwide supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is steadily increasing owing to the growing number of new natural gas fields being tapped. By 2017, the already significant capacity in the Pacific region is expected to increase by almost 50 per cent, with capacity in the Atlantic region set to rise by 18 per cent. At present, LNG is used mainly in shipping or – in regasified form – fed into the natural gas network. However, it is also an interesting proposition for manufacturing companies that are not connected to the public supply grid. This is because LNG is ideally suited for generating process energy. LNG-powered plants are generally more cost-effective than those that run on heating oil or diesel. In late 2014, Primagas was the first company in Germany to plan and implement an LNG plant – for an industrial customer in Saxony-Anhalt – and to take over the supply of LNG as process energy. Since then, the energy source has proven its worth in further application projects.