For its 2nd episode, EXEGY Beyond sets sail for the Port of Rotterdam, the biggest in Europe, to discover the 100% EXEGY® extension project of the Gas Access to Europe (GATE) Terminal, one of the major European liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.
The extension, started in late 2023 by the teams of ENVI—joint venture between ENTREPOSE Contracting and VINCI Construction Grands Projets, both subsidiaries of VINCI Construction—on behalf of Gasunie and Vopak, co-managers and initiators of the GATE Terminal, consists of the conception and construction of a 4th LNG storage tank with a surface area of 180,000 m³ for the Dutch terminal, which will be added to its first three tanks in classic concrete, themselves built by VINCI Construction Grands Projets from 2007 to 2011, allowing for the supply of an additional 4 billion m³ of LNG every year. 1 To achieve this, ENVI uses EXEGY® formulations for the entirety of the project, with 95% of very-low-carbon concretes and 5% in low-carbon types. Made of binders composed of CEM I/52.5 N and CEM III/B 42.5 N, the concretes are used for the different structural elements of the tank—namely the raft foundation, the wall, the haunch (a framework), the roof and the platform—as well as the crane foundations, and the low-carbon blinding concrete utilized for ground preparation. As for the concretes’ strength classes, they range from C20/25 to C50/60, whereas their exposure classes are mainly XS1, XC4 and XF1.
the 4th Tank of the GATE Terminal
This ambitious initiative is the outcome of the VINCI Construction Grands Projets teams’ strong involvement in the process of significant reduction of carbon dioxide emissions initiated by VINCI, and of a fruitful collaboration with Heidelberg Materials Netherlands, which brings the carbon footprint reduction of its concretes to the forefront of its priorities.
For the project, the concrete engineering teams of the Direction of Engineering and Technical Resources of VINCI Construction Grands Projets have adapted the qualification process of the concretes used to meet the scope statement requirements and adapt to the Netherlands’ context, all the while providing to project owners concretes demonstrating the triple performance of EXEGY: carbon efficiency, technical effectiveness and economic profitability.
The concrete decarbonization trajectory on VINCI Construction Grands Projets operations is monitored by a steering committee, which determines, as early as the study phase of operations, the low-carbon concrete rate to reach to maximize their usage. For this purpose, engineers examine the specificities of the construction works and the local context (such as material availability, regulations and market demand). In 2024, VINCI Construction Grands Projets has used 52% of low-carbon concretes internationally for its projects.
Expected for delivery on July 1st, 2026, the 4th tank of the GATE Terminal is a testament to the great possibilities of international low-carbon concrete development, thanks to the project combining carbon performance, significant concrete volume and technical complexity.
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