Ethanol on the river
A logistics chain dedicated to biofuels is gaining momentum along the Seine axis. Only recently, a river barge operated by Sogestran and transporting ethanol was unloaded at the port of Gennevilliers. Sogepp (société de gestion de produits pétroliers is the main driver of the development. It is relying on multimodality as a low-carbon solution for the transport of energy products, which until now have been mainly transported by road.
The development of ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, is expected to play its part in the decarbonisation of industrial and transport activities. Sogepp operates a river terminal and a storage depot for liquid energy products, located on a surface of 60,000 sqm in the port area of Gennevilliers. It asked Haropa Port to relaunch river traffic to and from its facilities in Gennevilliers. The aim is to develop flows between the Normandy seaports and the Paris region. For the Paris region,12,000 t are targeted this year and a total of 20,000 t of traffic in the upcoming years.
A river transhipment terminal was completed by June last year, the regulatory authorisations and the transhipment equipment at the quay to unload or load liquid energy products followed at the end of 2022.
This river logistics project received funding from Voies navigables de France for the modernisation of unloading tools, amongst others. On the coast, the river unit delivered ethanol transhipped board-to-board in Le Havre from a maritime vessel. (sh)