After several fruitful collaborations, the Antwerp logistics company Luik Natie decided to collaborate again with ENGIE for the connected installation of 3800 solar panels, a 1.2 MWh battery and charging stations for electric vehicles. The work will begin after the summer and will finish in the course of next year. ENGIE will build and implement in the coming months an innovative energy management system at the Luik Natie site in Antwerp. This system will enable it to optimally consume the green electricity produced on the site and to be less dependent on the electricity grid. This project is an important step for ENGIE, which has the will to support its customers in the energy transition and for Luik Natie who has the ambition to be a CO₂-neutral company.

After several fruitful collaborations, the Antwerp logistics company Luik Natie decided to collaborate again with ENGIE for the connected installation of 3800 solar panels, a 1.2 MWh battery and charging stations for electric vehicles. The work will begin after the summer and will finish in the course of next year. ENGIE will build and implement in the coming months an innovative energy management system at the Luik Natie site in Antwerp. This system will enable it to optimally consume the green electricity produced on the site and to be less dependent on the electricity grid. This project is an important step for ENGIE, which has the will to support its customers in the energy transition and for Luik Natie who has the ambition to be a CO₂-neutral company.

Luik Natie can already count on energy from a wind turbine. CEO Stefaan Verhelst wants to become soon the first player in the port who is completely CO2 neutral.

3,800 solar panels, with a total capacity of 1.2 MW and an area of ​​6,000 m², will be installed on the roofs of the Luik Natie logistics company. The new facility will produce 1,170 MWh per year, the equivalent of the annual consumption of 335 households and will prevent the emission of 535 tons of CO₂ each year. ENGIE Fabricom will place the panels and will take care of them for 10 years. ENGIE finances the panels via a third-party investor model. Luik Natie will become the owner of the panels after 10 years. The green electricity produced by the solar panels, as well as that produced by the wind turbines already in operation on the site, will be fully self-consumed by Luik Natie.

For this specific energy management system, ENGIE will install a custom battery with a capacity of 1.2 MWh. This battery will be connected to the refrigerated warehouse of Luik Natie and will manage the intermittency of the local production of green electricity and reduce the dependence on the electricity network. ENGIE Laborelec is responsible for the design, specification and monitoring of the battery. A state-of-the-art energy management system will guide the consumption of the most energy-intensive equipment according to the local production of green electricity. When there is a lot of wind and sun, the electricity produced can be stored and consumed later. When there is not enough electricity, the consumption of Luik Natie can momentarily be diminished.
The battery is also financed by ENGIE via the third-party investor system. Luik Natie will become owner after 10 years.

Finally, ENGIE will install on the site of Luik Natie two electric charging stations of its subsidiary EV Box. This state-of-the-art infrastructure is an integral part of the energy management system: with a capacity of 88 kW, it is connected to the solar panels and the battery.

Philippe Van Troeye, CEO ENGIE Benelux: “This project fits perfectly with our ambition to offer the energy transition ‘as a service’ to our customers by managing for them the complexity of this transition and developing integrated services. Here, it is an innovative system of energy management that includes solar panels, battery and charging stations. We are proud of the confidence that Luik Natie is giving us again to help them realize their ambition to be totally carbon neutral. ”

Stefaan Verhelst, CEO Luik Natie: “Luik Natie wants to differentiate himself in the logistics sector and as a key player in the Port of Antwerp, becoming 100% CO₂-neutral. As a sustainable company, we really want to make a difference for our employees, our customers and the environment. We are proud to play, in collaboration with ENGIE, a pioneering role in the efficient storage of the energy we sustainably produce on our site “.