Having an entry shortlisted for the Global Tank Storage Awards is always something to be celebrated, but one company, Rubis Terminal Infra, has not one, but two terminals shortlisted in the 2022 awards.

Wagram Terminal near Strasbourg in France has been shortlisted in the Terminal of the Future category, awarded to a terminal which is demonstrating its dedication to preparing for the energy transition and focussing on sustainability. Rubis Terminal Rotterdam in the Netherlands, meanwhile, is shortlisted in the Terminal Innovation category, which is awarded to a terminal using new technologies to ensure efficient operations and the best customer service.

Tank Storage Magazine spoke to Gérard Lafite, chief operating officer of Rubis Terminal Infra, to find out more about the terminals, the company as a whole and of course, the awards entries, prior to the ceremony on 24 May 2022.

‘We decided to run for the awards considering that, for both locations, the different categories highlighted were implemented for many years, respectively seven years for Wagram Terminal and 12 years for Rubis Terminal Rotterdam, well before the wide awareness in our business field on these environmental matters. In addition, our approaches are different from our peers and by many aspects, on the edge of the general practices,’ Lafite explains.

FROM ASPHALT TO AN ESSENTIAL CONNECTION

Rubis Terminal Infra started life back in 1877 as a company supplying asphalt for the streets of Paris. 20 years later, it began distilling bitumen. In the 1920s, it moved away from distributing coal to distributing fuel, and in the 1950s increased its storage activities and diversified its product mix to include oils, molasses, and fuels. In the 1990s, already ahead of the curve, Rubis Terminal started blending biofuels and storing chemicals. Rubis Terminal Infra now has more than 1,000 tanks, ranging from several hundred to 90,000 m3, a total of almost4 million m3. It serves fuel and biofuel producers, chemical groups, agricultural cooperatives, refiners, distributors, hypermarkets and traders, storing local and imported products, and providing an essential link in logistics chains, particularly in France, Spain and the Antwerp-Rotterdam-Amsterdam (ARA) region.

‘We offer sustainable storage solutions for everyday life. We also provide additional services such as blending, additivation and markering colouring, and provide bulk transport link as close as possible to the product’s destination,’ says Lafite. ‘We connect industries with people through safe storage solutions. We preserve essential products in sustainable ways. We endeavour to anticipate future trends and contribute to a rapidly-changing sector. We are agile, and quickly adapt to new challenges. Those two terminals are a good example of this.’

WAGRAM TERMINAL

Wagram Terminal, which is split over two sites, stores refined petroleum products and biofuels in 46 tanks with a total storage capacity of 550,000 m³. It has one jetty on the Rhine and rail, road and intercontinental pipeline connections. It mostly serves Alsace and eastern France.

Rubis Terminal Infra took over the site in 2013, after the closure of the Strasbourg refinery. The company carried out a refurbishment to create a new, and flexible depot for fuel distribution.

‘Wagram Terminal is outstanding in our industry by its ecological approach. We provide to our customers ecologically responsible services, using new techniques and technologies to recreate natural mechanisms, getting back to nature within the frame of an industrial activity,’ says Lafite.

And it is most certainly ‘getting back to nature’. The terminal has created a wildlife sanctuary on some of the depolluted industrial land in restricted access areas.

‘Our experience is unique in restoring a soil with industrial use for several decades to natural biodiversity,’ says Lafite, adding: ‘The results from the studies testify a remarkable progress in species diversity. We live up to our commitment to creating a more sustainable industry.’

RUBIS TERMINAL ROTTERDAM

Rubis Terminal Rotterdam is located in Botlek Chemiehaven, and stores and transships biofuels, chemicals and petrochemicals. It has 42 tanks with a total storage capacity of 253,000 m3. It has five jetties for vessel loading and also has rail, road and pipeline connections. Since 2008, the terminal has grown by staged expansion projects, and Lafite says it has ‘put its name firmly on the map of the area with a compact, flexible and customer-orientated team.’

Rubis Terminal Rotterdam was built as ‘zero emission’ terminal, ahead of the environmental legislation at that time. Every truck, ship, barge or railcar arriving at this site is connected to multiple vapour treatment systems, and as a result, there are no direct emissions of vapours into the atmosphere which would behave as greenhouse gases.

From its opening, the terminal operated a regenerative thermal oxidiser (RTO) and a metal fibre oxidiser (MFO) for various vapours to treat in addition to more common aqueous scrubbers. Later, it added a second-generation vapour treatment system in the form of a recovery thermal oxidiser producing steam for heating. Recently, a thirdgeneration scrubber was inserted upstream of the recovery thermal oxidiser, which reduces the footprint of heat sustaining gas.

Rubis Terminal’s customers, especially for chemical products, require vapour treatment and support the efforts it makes to protect the environment with reliable solutions.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

In line with other terminal companies, Rubis Terminal Infra is seeing increasing attention on environmental protection and energy transition matters from its customers, and the vapour treatment offered at Rubis Terminal Rotterdam is just one popular service. The company has determined its strategy and its role with regards to the energy transition.

‘We distinguish a short term and mid- to long-term vision. On a short-term basis, we will focus on our transition from oil to biofuels (bioethanol, biodiesel) and chemicals. Inevitably, the market for traditional fuels will reduce and biofuels and chemicals will partially compensate the loss,’ says Lafite.

As well as storing new products for the energy transition, Rubis Terminal Infra is looking to reduce the overall carbon footprint of its storage activity by reviewing operating practices to save energy, and by finding circular economy opportunities. Wagram Terminal in particular will adapt to facilitate logistics chains related to climatic adaptation.

‘On a long-term basis, we will work on the feasibility to store products like ammonia, hydrogen, and ‘green chemicals’. Also, we will tend more toward renewable energies with potentially extending from our role as storage operator to provide more services within the logistical chain, such as smallscale production of renewable energies from solar panels, and energy recycling systems,’ says Lafite.

LOOKING AFTER COLLEAGUES AND CUSTOMERS

With all the focus on ensuring its terminals are fit for the low-carbon future, Rubis Terminal Infra has not forgotten the importance of healthy corporate culture and a happy workforce. Lafite explains that the company actively promotes fairness and mutual respect in all relationships.

‘Our code of ethics bans discrimination based on origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, state of health and/or disability, political opinions, religious beliefs, or family situation. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any violation of this principle,’ says Lafite.

Rubis Terminal Infra is also rolling out the ‘Integrity Line’, an initiative to help ensure protection for its staff against potential discrimination.

‘Integrity Line is a platform we use for our employees as well as our external and casual contractors to issue alerts for discrimination, corruption, fraud, conflict of interests, and anti-competitive practices. We ensure confidentiality, and there is no reprisal, harassment, or discrimination for issuing an alert,’ Lafite explains.

While staff are vital to any company, so are the customers, and Rubis Terminal remains committed to providing the best service it can in an increasingly volatile world. ‘We are in a service industry, more than our own actions, we are and will support and help our clients to follow the path of the energy transition with providing them the services they need,’ says Lafite.

For more information: www.rubis-terminal.com