The Bulletin - June 2023

The Bulletin

MAGAZINE - June 2023

APEA (The Association for Petroleum and Explosives Administration)

Publications Information

Letters to the Editor

Be Clean. Be Seen. Increase Sales

Are You Concerned About Equipment Uptime? You Should Be

Fire Suppression & Environmental Risk Assessment for Coach and Bus Terminals with Electrically Powered Vehicles

Important Note to all Members regarding APEA Email

Ski Resort Refuelling Centre – Andorra Need To Quickly Refuel Your Snowmobile or Snow Plough?

Midas Mis-Fuel Avoidance

GRP Storage Tanks - Where Are They Now…?

Petrol Station Development - How Did It All Start?

The Deposit Return Scheme – Recycle Today for a Better Tomorrow

Obituary - Gerry Risbridger 6th April 1929 to 27th February 2023

News

Press Releases Branches Training

APEA Live 2023 Conference, Exhibition and Awards Dinner

Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily the views of the Association. The technical content is not an official endorsement by or on behalf of the APEA and are entirely the views of the authors.

2023 is Blue Book revision year. Each chapter is being reviewed by a committee of specialists, revisions proposed and agreed, and sections redrafted. I don’t think this will be see as many changes as we saw with revision 4 but it’s important that every section is scrutinized and updated as appropriate. Once each section has been reviewed and changes proposed then it goes out for peer review before being published. It still seems prudent to leave some developing areas to be covered by supplementary guidance at this stage – who knows where the future of “future fuels” will lead?! Personally, I think it’s fantastic that we have a member organisation that puts so much effort into developing its own industry.

There has been much discussion recently regarding “drop-in replacement” fuels – such as HVO to replace diesel or DME as an addition to LPG. I think some more investigation will be needed before the entire industry is happy that these can truly be simple like-for-like replacements.

And the EV charging saga continues with challenges getting the network upgraded while chargers are shoe-horned into the strangest of places on forecourts. We all have to remain diligent to ensure that we don’t build what appears perfectly reasonable on paper only to have the dreaded general public manage to park somewhere we hadn’t envisaged and mess up our plans!

As the summer approaches this will, hopefully, be followed by

APEA Business Manager

(contact for all APEA Business and Bulletin advertising, design and typesetting)

Jane Mardell

APEA, PO Box 106

Saffron Walden, Essex CB11 3XT

Tel: +44 (0) 345 603 5507

Mobile: +44 (0) 7815 055514

email: admin@apea.org.uk

autumn(!) and thoughts of APEA Live. Plans are, of course, well underway for that very important event but I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that it also signifies our Annual General Meeting and time for National Council elections so I’m giving you plenty of time to think about joining us.

On a completely different note, I was made aware of something by an industry colleague that I think is pretty amazing. We have spent years talking the talk about Health and Safety. Lots of different buzz words and phrases to try to demonstrate how important a life skill understanding the principles of health and safety is. We also all know that it is difficult to “teach old dogs new tricks” so let’s start young! I am guessing this is one example of something seen elsewhere in the country but what a great idea – a health and safety education centre for children. This one is in Milton Keynes provides interactive, immersive experiences for children and young people focused on key areas of safety. Their scenarios currently include:

•Fire Safety

•Home Safety

•Online Safety

•Road Safety

•Railway Safety

•Choices and Consequences

•Car Safety

•Personal Safety

•First Aid/Recovery Position

•Water Safety

•Safe Places to Cross

•Bullying & Shop Theft

I think it would be fantastic if we could help them to add construction safety. The organisation is a charity and is called The Safety Centre (Hazard Alley). I will be making them our charity for APEA Live and engaging with them to see what we can do to help. I also thought I would raise this now as I’m aware that any charity we choose may hit very close to home for some.

Publications Chairman

Andy Kennedy

Mobile: 07469 212063

email: andykennedy@apea.org.uk

Editor

Brian Humm

Mobile: +44 (0) 7507 478533

email: b.humm@outlook.com

Doreen Pooley APEA Chairman

Editorial

of Engineering Technology is adhered to. Other guidance is also available, and again should be followed to ensure a safe install and operation.

Brian Humm Editor

Welcome to you all to this sparkling new edition of the APEA Bulletin, I hope that you enjoy the mix of news and articles that we have put together for you to enjoy this quarter. Looking out of my office window whilst writing this piece, watching the rain tumbling out of the sky, in between sunshine, spring has arrived and the lighter evenings leading into summer are upon us; I believe that people are happier at this time of year, well certainly me anyway.

This edition has a look at the history of filling stations in an article produced by Jamie Thompson, a great read if you are a petrol head like me. The older filling stations, to my mind, are fascinating. During my tenure within the London Fire Brigade I was fortunate enough to look after the oldest filling station in London, unfortunately now closed, which was built in 1922 and was still being operated by the same family. Originally a stable for coach and horse stops it was converted to a petrol station when the horseless carriage started to become popular! Also in this edition is a letter that I received from a petroleum officer in Wales, Aneurin Lewis, with photographs attached of an interesting site in his area. Many thanks Aneurin, really appreciated. If members have anything interesting to share then please send it in, it will be published, and this sort of news/article is always appreciated and well received by our readers.

Work on the revision of the Blue Book is underway; members might be surprised at the amount of work involved in the review. Each chapter has its own allocated working group and discussions around the text and alterations required can, at times, be lengthy, bearing in mind that the Blue Book is used by our overseas members as well. We have to ensure that the guidance is appropriate and current; with the emergence of new fuels and electrically powered vehicles coming on leaps and bounds, it certainly has been a sharp learning curve, especially with the speed of new EV installs being undertaken by oil companies and filling station owners. This will only increase in time, and I sincerely hope that the guidance produced jointly by the APEA and the Institute

Being part of the Blue Book review team and obviously editor of this publication, I have a platform on which to address the members of the groups and say a sincere thank you for all the input that you have given to the review. The knowledge and expertise is truly remarkable. Once the new edition is available members will be notified of the release date so watch this space!

The APEA online training has been doing well. As mentioned the HSE through PELG has agreed that the online courses and the combination of the 3 day audit and 2 day electrical awareness course, once completed, can be a foundation into becoming a petroleum officer/inspector, something that has been lacking in recent years. If you look at the Health and Safety at Work etc Act it is an offence for an employer (Fire Service/Council etc.) to appoint a person as an inspector that cannot prove competence. This unfortunately has been happening for quite some time now, at no fault of the inspectors given the role, but it can now be addressed with the APEA courses. Why not have a look online and see if there is something that may interest you.

Having just completed the 3 day audit course, to 15 delegates, at Manchester Airport, it was well received and it was a nice eclectic mix of people including petroleum officers, contractors and site operators. Two days of intensive classwork culminates in a physical audit of a petrol filling station, which ensures that the classroom sessions can be explained and shown ‘live’ and everyone agrees that this enhances the learning process. At this point I would like to sincerely thank Jeff Simms, lead petrol specialist at Sainsbury’s supermarkets for his assistance in allowing the Association the use of one of the Sainsbury’s forecourts near the training venue. Cheers Jeff, appreciated.

APEA Live is also creeping up on us. Once again the event will be held at the Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes Dons Stadium on Thursday 16th November 2023. The must-go-to event in this industry, ever evolving and improving with great expert speakers, workshop area and extended break out areas for networking. Culminating in the APEA awards dinner, the dinner is always well attended, and the prestigious awards well received. Why not consider entering an award this year? Easy to enter online and you can save the entry and complete it at your leisure, you never know, this might be your year!

Must dash now, pressing work engagement. I must lastly say thank you to Jane for her production of this magazine and Jamie for his articles that are always welcome. Until next time…

Business Manager

information and nomination forms will be sent to all members with the September issue of The Bulletin in August.

APEA Awards

The APEA Awards are live and you can enter the awards by going to https://www.apealive.co.uk/2023/awards/enter-the-awards/. Deadline for entries: 23rd September 2023.

Jane Mardell Business Manager

Since the last issue unfortunately I have had to have a second decompression surgery on my spine which was in March, but this all went well I am relieved to say. I was back at work after one week, albeit gradually but recovery is a slow process. It took around 4 weeks to be able to walk again properly and go out, apparently caused by years of sport and getting older!

I have been busy working on the 2024 Yearbook which is complete, and this is on track to be delivered to members around 1st October. Organising has also started on APEA Live 2023.

The Bulletin

We are always looking for press releases and articles for The Bulletin. If you have anything you think would interest our readers, please email it to me at admin@apea.org.uk and I will forward it to the editor Brian Humm to approve.

2024 Yearbook

Thanks to all of you that completed entries online for the 2024 Yearbook and to the advertisers who, without your bookings, we would not be able to produce this publication.

The artwork is at the printers and the Yearbooks will be distributed on 1st October. If you have not received your copy by the end of October please let me know and I will chase up your delivery. We only have a limited number of spare copies so you need to contact me by the end of October if you have not received your copy.

Individual/Retired members in the UK and Corporate members overseas will be sent their Yearbooks by standard Royal Mail. Corporate members in the UK will receive their 5 copies by courier which are tracked, so we can follow up any non-deliveries.

APEA Live 2023 – 16th November

Anyone wishing to book a place at the Conference, Exhibition or Awards Dinner should go to https://www.apealive.co.uk/2023/. Please note there are discounts for ‘early bird’ booking. I will be managing the APEA participation and AGM part of the event and

Website Banner Advertising

You can place your banner on the APEA website. This is £200 plus vat for one year. Please contact me at admin@apea.org.uk if you wish to make a booking.

Membership information/Your membership account

You can place your banner on the APEA website. This is £200 plus VAT for one year. Please contact me at admin@apea.org.uk if you wish to make a booking.

Membership information/Your membership account

Please go to your membership account at www.apea.org.uk where you can do the following:

•Download a membership certificate in pdf format

•View previous purchases and invoices

•Change your membership

•Change your email address, contact details and password

•Change your Yearbook entry

•View your downloads

I was hoping that at the time of writing this report that the membership auto renewal system would be working correctly; nearly there, we are having a few glitches so please bear with us. Any problems please email me at admin@apea.org.uk. We had to ask you to manually complete your membership renewals from 14th March 2022 for one year due to new SCA regulations.

Training Courses

All training courses can be viewed and booked on the APEA website at www.apea.org.uk. If you are interested in booking a bespoke training course please email Tom Daly (Chairman of Training Committee) at thomasdaly@apea.org.uk.

New Members

There have been 37 new members joining during January, February and March, details on page 10.

General Assistance

If you need any assistance with general or technical matters, please do not hesitate to contact me at admin@apea.org.uk or on 0345 603 5507. There is comprehensive contact information on the APEA website too at www.apea.org.uk.

Jane

0345 603 5507 www.apea.org.uk

New Members (January - March)

Corporate Membership

Callum Hussey

Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading

Darren Slade

NG Bailey Group

David McGhie

Individual Membership

Alex Hopkins Bestway Retail Ltd

Andrew Murphy bp

Andrew Perry

Amey Secure Infrastructure

Barrie May

London Fire Brigade

Christopher Abela

Clare Shorter Medway Council

Colin Thompson

TPI Ireland Ltd

Danny Moreland

Darren King

Darren Leake Fuel and Electrical Solutions Ltd

Dessie Aughey

Air-Serv Ireland

Gerry Brady tsg ireland

Gordon Sykes West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

Harriet Fox

Essex Trading Standards

Ian Perkins Independent Petroleum Services

Ian Somerville

James Bryce

EG Group

Jewel Isiekwe

Motor Fuel Group

Lee Blackburn

West Yorkshire Fire Service

Liam Carthy

Liam Carthy Consulting

Marc Wimble

London Fire Brigade

Mark Phillips Suresite

Matt Garner

LCM Environmental Services Ltd

Megan Walker

West Yorkshire Fire Service

Mick Flood

Mick Flood Electrical

Nigel Foster

IMF Solutions Limited

Patrick Oneill

Pf electrics

Paul Lennon

Peter Lee Williams

Atex Audit

Robert Collins

London Fire Brigade

Russell Davidson

Wayne Williams

Ash Control Systems Ltd

William Knatchbull

London Fire Brigade

Yakub Patel

Publications Information

4th Edition of the Guidance for Design, Construction, Modification, Maintenance and Decommissioning of Filling Stations“Blue Book” (Revised 2018)

ISBN 978 0 85293 888 1

Price for hard copy

APEA Member rate - £75

Non APEA Member rate - £150

Price for pdf version (please note the pdf version is licensed to the purchaser only and cannot be shared or printed)

APEA Member rate - £75

Non APEA Member rate - pdf £150

If you wish to purchase the guide please go to the APEA website at www.apea.org.uk and click on the “Publications” page. You can select to pay by credit/debit card.

The APEA also publishes the Code of Practice for Ground floor, multi storey and underground car parks. This can be downloaded directly from the APEA website and is available to members at £11.00 and £21.00 to non APEA members.

Electric Vehicle Charging Installations at Filling Stations

Price for hard copy

APEA Member rate - £32.50

Non APEA Member rate - £50

Price for pdf version (please note the pdf version is licensed to the purchaser only and cannot be shared or printed)

APEA Member rate - £32.50

Non APEA Member rate - pdf £50

This Code of Practice is an authoritative guide to all installations of electric vehicle charging equipment. It has been updated in line with recent changes in BS 7671 (IET Wiring Regulations) and reflects some major developments in this area including vehicle to grid, smart integration and inductive charging.

As part of the rapid growth and development of the whole electric vehicle charging infrastructure, filling stations are seen as an obvious place to provide charging facilities. However, it is recognised that difficult safety and logistical issues are linked to such installations.

When the 4th Edition of the Code of Practice for Electric Vehicle Charging Equipment Installation was published, significant technical discussions were still underway about this area to help finalise and clarify the safety issues that needed to be addressed. The work behind these meetings was led by APEA (the Association for Petroleum and Explosives Administration) who represent the major stakeholders in this sector. APEA and the IET are therefore now issuing this joint publication to help provide important guidance in this area.

ISBN-13: 978-1-83953-315-0

Publication Year: 2020

Pages: 30

About The Bulletin and how you can submit copy to be included

•The Bulletin is published four times a year with a print run of 2200

•Free issue to APEA members (approx 1200 members worldwide)

•Has international distribution and readership

•Respected source of industry specific news and information

•Contains relevant articles, news items, press releases and reports from UK and overseas

•Individual, Fellow and Retired members receive one copy each and Corporate members receive 5 copies each per quarter

The editor of The Bulletin, Brian Humm, is always on the look out for new material, so if you have something you want to be included, please email it to the APEA office at admin@apea.org.uk and it will be forwarded to Brian for approval.

Please email the text in Word format and any images as separate high resolution pdf or jpeg files to admin@apea.org.uk.

We are always pleased to receive contributions from our members and it ensures that The Bulletin remains an interesting and informative read.

Priority is given for press releases and articles submitted by Bulletin advertisers to be included.

Deadline dates for copy and advertising artwork 2023/2024

Please note the deadline date for the March 2024 issue is early due to Christmas and New Year holidays.

Bulletin Advertising

If you would like to book advertising in The Bulletin, please email your requirements to admin@apea.org.uk or call the office on 0345 603 5507. Please ensure you send your artwork to admin@apea.org.uk.

Priority is given for press releases and articles submitted by Bulletin advertisers to be included.

Discounts are available for booking in more than one issue, please contact Jane Mardell at admin@apea.org.uk for more information. Bulletin advertisers that book in 3 or more issues in one year also receive a 50% discount off rates for advertising in the annual Yearbook, see table below.

Letter to the Editor

Good afternoon Brian

I have just read the latest edition of the APEA Bulletin magazine and saw the article on submissions.

I have just completed an inspection on a garage in Bala, North Wales.

You will see that the pumps are located on the pavement – vehicles pull up on a yellow line, and a swing arm is utilised to cross the pavement!! At the side of the property you can see that the pipe is against the building and the pump handle rests on a metal handle with a cable tie to keep it in place.

Vehicles were parked up against the vent pipes and over the fill point manholes. The interceptor had never been emptied and after reading your article highlighting PA systems (there wasn’t one) I asked how they would get the attention of customers. The answer was to knock on the window of the house which was behind the pumps!

Regards

Aneurin Lewis – Compliance Officer/Petroleum Enforcement, Public Protection, Trading Standards

Be Clean. Be Seen. Increase Sales

By Cheryl Ashton, Marketing Coordinator, TSG

The majority of site owners understand the importance of regular cleaning on and around the forecourt and in the store. There are many simple tasks that can be completed by staff as part of a daily routine, such as litter picking, making sure the display stands are dust-free and well stocked, attending to minor spills, emptying bins and maintaining the cleanliness of public spaces including washrooms. The execution of these mundane chores is essential for any retail environment to maintain standards and ensure the satisfaction and safety of customers. But let’s take a broader perspective and explore those challenging areas that may need a more professional touch.

Canopies and fascia panels

A forecourt canopy that is well-illuminated and displays eyecatching branding acts as a magnet to passing motorists who are looking to refuel or maybe even stock up on essentials from the convenience store. When kept in tip-top condition, the canopy will help to attract visitors from miles around, increase site traffic and boost profits. However, due to their inaccessible nature, canopies and fascia panels are often neglected and as a result, may incur an unsightly build-up of grime and particulate deposits from the effects of air pollution and exhaust fumes.

Furthermore, dirt and cobwebs will collect on the canopy lighting making the site dull and uninviting, particularly if coupled with defective lighting that is in need of replacement or repair. All of these factors can negatively impact forecourt traffic and subsequently reduce both fuel and shop sales.

Enlisting a team of professionals, experienced in the petrochemical industry, can help to restore the canopy, lighting and fascia panels to their former glory and present a professional image for the site.

Signage

A business with clean, current and well-maintained signage is perceived to be reliable, proficient and trustworthy, whilst unkempt signs in poor condition can shake confidence and adversely influence the consumer experience.

There are four principal styles of signage; branding, promotional, directional and safety, all of which are business-critical in their own right. Branding illustrates integrity and showcases the commitment of the business to offer quality products or services. Promotional signs capture the attention of both regular and transient customers to provide them with details of current marketing campaigns, helping the forecourt stand out from its competitors. Directional and safety signs are purely functional but nonetheless fulfil an essential role in day-to-day operations.

Signage provides a clear indication of what customers can expect from your business and should be kept in pristine condition to project an authentic brand identity. Signs are a significant investment for every forecourt and as such should be regularly cleaned and maintained to extend the lifespan and prevent longterm damage.

Taking a pragmatic approach to sign maintenance will safeguard

the site’s reputation and reaffirm its presence within the local community.

Forecourt & dispensing equipment

Forecourts and dispensing equipment are notoriously difficult to keep clean and tidy. The busier the site, the more likely it is that the concrete surface will suffer oil and fuel spills, especially surrounding the refuelling islands. The area can also become littered with gum and other hard-to-remove waste which ultimately leads to customer complaints and dissatisfaction. Furthermore, a dirty forecourt can result in similarly dirty foot traffic entering the convenience store, making it a challenge to live up to customer expectations. A professional deep clean will breathe new life into the business and help to preserve its value.

Dispensers will benefit from a daily polish to remove fuel drips and fingers prints etc. However, a more intense cleaning regime is required to keep the equipment pristine. Additionally, careful attention should be paid to the dispensers’ branding decals which can soon become torn or shabby and ought to be replaced as required.

DRB’s Prevention and Protection Package

DRB’s project team has over 40 years of experience in all aspects of the petrochemical industry, specialising in cleaning, site décor, branding, signage and electrical services.

DRB’s service is beneficial for all forecourts nationwide, from independent dealers with a single site through to major retail

networks. A comprehensive clean can revitalise ageing sites and provide them with more kerb appeal, whilst newer or refurbished facilities will be able to maintain their unblemished appearance. Services include:

•Full professional site clean (including car wash & perimeter areas)

•Site décor

•Signage replacement/repair

•Electrical lighting replacement/repair

•Electrical testing

•All trades covered in one visit to minimise disruption

How it works

Each establishment must first undergo an extensive site survey to identify the areas of concern that would benefit from DRB’s professional cleaning and maintenance service. Recommendations on the service level required will be made based upon DRB’s findings. Site owners are then able to add or remove elements from the plan before the final course of action and preferred timescale is agreed.

There is a multitude of support levels available with a DRB protection and prevention service contract since they are all tailormade to suit core business requirements. The DRB team will guide customers through the options available to create the ideal package for their site or network.

For more information on DRB (a TSG company) and its services, please visit: DRB UK - TSG UK Company (drb-uk.co.uk).

Are You Concerned About Equipment Uptime? You Should Be

By Philip Reese, Evenlode Roadside

You can have a maintenance solution that keeps your network running.

Every operator should have a focus on achieving the best possible uptime of their equipment. Whether this is food and drink, valeting, fuel equipment or establishing your EV footprint, reliability has been the topic of much discussion in recent months.

Customers have high expectations for equipment availability as and when they need to use it. As a society we have now become accustomed to having everything available at the touch of a button or a swipe of a screen.

Maintaining your uptime (or reducing and eliminating downtime) is important for many reasons, including:

-Revenue generation

-Inconvenience

-The expectation that after 100 years of refuelling, that your visit to site will be quick

-Ease of use

-Brand reputation

-Minimising break fix costs

Bad news travels faster than good news, and a bad reputation sticks. If a customer has a bad experience, it can take some time to re-build their belief in your offer, assuming they come back at all.

New technologies

The internal combustion vehicle and hence the forecourt model has been generally very stable for the past hundred years. Very few other types of technology have been so constant for so long. However, there is a growing possibility that the world may undergo significant and rapid change.

The quickly changing narrative for new technologies such as EV is the first really seismic change that the forecourt industry has been faced with. Growth rates for EV adoption are beginning to gather pace, for new sales at least. Whilst the overall market penetration is still around just 2% in early 2023 (volume of overall vehicles on the road), it is forecast to grow nine-fold by 2025, and that’s less than 3 years from now.

In terms of the technology adoption curve, and despite the sudden kick start to these changes, the evolution is still very much in the first phase – “innovators” - and is only just beginning to move towards the “early adopter” phase.

This matters on a number of levels regarding:

-The uptake of EV vehicles

-The number of chargers actually required now, in the medium and longer terms

-What a more mature market with ageing EV’s and infrastructure might look like

Whilst the “innovators” have willingly moved readily, before the “early majority” will engage with the uptake they will need to be convinced that the new technology is right for them, and, that the infrastructure in place is reliable.

The ability to achieve best practice maintenance and maximise uptime is extremely important. It especially matters to those who wish to see cleaner technologies succeed and it also matters to the operators who wish to see a good return on investment, a strong brand image and satisfied customers. But what factors affect this uptime?

Why does equipment fail?

At some point all equipment fails, and it fails for various reasons. This can include impact damage, wear and tear, weather damage, interaction with the public, poor design, cheap components, and so on.

New technology has to contend with all of these factors, and it also has to contend with the often incalculable element of human interaction, especially where the equipment or technology is new or unfamiliar. New can also mean unproven. New can often mean a lack of real time reliability in the real world. “Innovators” are unique personalities and are always strong advocates for the new technology, and potentially more risk oriented. They often fit the mould of having a technology or engineering mindset and will be tolerant of minor mishaps. Of course, much of the general population does not fit this characteristic.

Why are new technologies hard to get right?

There are many reasons why new technologies often experience teething issues which can negatively affect their reputation for reliability for a long time:

-Over Optimism. “What can go wrong?” Everything in the testing environment worked fine but that is very different from the field.

-The overselling of “zero maintenance needed” and remote diagnostics. When this does not occur, neither the planning of resource nor the required budgets are in place.

-The speed of getting to market and fear of not “getting left

behind” can mean critical issues can quickly manifest themselves across a wide portfolio of sites where equipment is installed with no remedy to resolve it readily to hand.

-Supply chains for new technologies are typically immature, and relationships have often not been forged or stress tested.

-As demand ramps up exponentially, purchase choices are often based more on what is available rather than the optimum selection process. This can lead to a non-standardised offer and complications in the supply chain process.

-Where people are striving to connect new equipment there can be an incompatibility of multi systems language or code feeding into a single software management solution.

-New technology evolves fast, meaning the rate of obsolescence is rapid. Much of what is installed today could easily be obsolete or unsupported in just a few years’ time. The demand for faster charging of EV’s is a great example of this.

Early innovator periods typically also result in investment flooding in, as happened with technological jumps in the past, such as the dot-com bubble. Whilst ultimately the technological step change will stick in some way, many of the early companies are not the ones who ultimately survive.

Why does it take so long to get equipment fixed?

The challenge in getting equipment fixed is not just resource driven, in terms of; what is my engineer density, do I have the right

skills in the field for new technology and how quickly can they drive to site? It is also driven by the availability of spare parts and a reliance on other third parties’ software to help bring the equipment back to life through remote rebooting of IOS upgrades.

With new equipment that has a heavy reliance on software operating systems (as opposed to nuts, bolts and belts) there are more challenges:

-Arrangements for reporting the fault. How does the customer experience get relayed to the operator? Is equipment downtime monitored remotely? Are you relying on a customer to call a help line? Do the site staff report the issue centrally? Or can all four things happen at the same time?

-The workflow for arranging for repair or reinstatement – who or which system does what and when? If multiple systems are being used for managing a repair are they all connected, do they communicate together or is everything still held together by emails and phone calls?

-The supply chain is not aligned with the operator’s need for prompt rectification – this can include coordination of warranty, competence issues, parts availability, resourcing, readiness, no expectation of failure and communication.

-Commercial viability of rectifying. Who pays? If the usage of the equipment is low and input energy costs high is there misbalance between potential revenue and the cost of repair in an immature market? Is there sufficient commercial tension

between operator and maintainer, not to mention enough scale, to result in efficiency? How much pain can be tolerated before the gain kicks in?

Considerations for site operators

As time progresses all of these factors will only be compounded as the expansion of new technologies continues at pace. Should the inevitable market consolidation occur (where some start-up companies rise and others fall) where will that leave the maintenance of the new equipment?

It is quite possible that as obsolescence naturally occurs, there will also emerge a need to start considering the replacement of the “new” equipment within this decade. This will present its own challenges, including availability, selection, coordination, resourcing, and disruption. It is also quite possible that if equipment needs to be replaced before the early adoption phase reaches its anticipated end (and expected volume of usage), that the initial investment and payback calculations for some of the new technology may prove to have been somewhat inaccurate.

Given the likely volatility of the emerging equipment market, there are lots of questions that operators will therefore have.

-Who’s going to be responsible for maintenance and uptime?

-What’s the impact going to be on your site if the OEMs and Charge Point Operators are not set up for maintaining their equipment?

-Who suffers the consequences of downtime – is this covered in your contracts? How do you manage your customer perception? And protect your brand?

-When is the best time to enter the market in the innovation and adoption lifecycle?

Solutions

Whilst these early challenges are affecting the reliability of the networks being run by new entrants to the vehicle fuelling market, these challenges do of course offer opportunities for progressive and experienced operators and retailers, who are well versed in delivering a convenient and reliable customer offering.

The factors that influence the success of a maintenance management regime are well versed, and Evenlode Roadside has extensive and lengthy experience of delivering for operators, including over 3,000 roadside retail sites in multiple countries. Our people are all very experienced in the roadside sector having worked directly for, and delivering bottom line value to, operators. We have a proven approach to delivering an operator focused wrap-around service, which goes beyond a reliance on systems and technology applications, to deliver excellence across multiple service lines and equipment times, including in other complex industry sectors, inclusive of:

-Workflow optimisation

-Supply chain selection & performance

-Commercial controls and sustained cost savings across capex and opex

-And a focus on delighted customers

Please see www.evenloderoadside.com for more information and examples of what we can help you to achieve. We have also produced a “How-To Guide to Maintenance” which is exclusively available to Operators.

Fire Suppression & Environmental Risk Assessment for Coach and Bus Terminals with Electrically Powered Vehicles

By Graeme Warnell, Director, EV-EXBOX

At EV-EXBOX we are becoming more and more aware of the huge knowledge gap there is regarding the risks posed by battery powered vehicles. We fully support the transition to clean fuel vehicles and do not claim EV’s bring more risks than ICE vehicles, but they do bring NEW risks.

From public charging to petrol filling stations, supermarkets, cars showrooms and workshops these risks have either been ignored or as we found out from talking to many operators, they were simply unaware.

As fleet electrification moves from cars to commercial vehicles and large passenger vehicles the batteries become much bigger.

As I travel around the UK, I always stop to look at how we are transitioning from diesel and petrol to electric vehicles. As a keen environmentalist I always try and use public transport whenever I can.

However, when I look at the change in vehicle type from diesel to electric or hybrid, I do not see the type of infrastructure, fire suppression, environmental or public safety changes I would have expected.

I remember the strong smell of diesel in bus and coach depots as I travelled around the country by bus and coach as a student back in the 90’s. As an engineer I remember visiting these sites and sometimes almost not be able to stand up due to the amount of diesel and oil that was underfoot in the bus and coach repair bays.

But as we have moved away from the flammable, slippery, polluting diesel did we really think its electric replacement was totally risk free?

Between 2021 – 2022 I recorded at least 3 bus depots fires all of which caused significant or sometimes total destruction of the facility. The failure of the battery whilst under charging is thought to have caused each of the fires.

As the UK rolls out more and more electric buses and demands faster and faster charging the risk of these fires will inevitably increase. Vehicles and charging infrastructure will get older, small bumps, potholes, speed ramps, seemingly innocuous road traffic accidents may all be impacting the integrity of the battery.

At this point it is important to note an electric or lithium-ion battery fire is very different to a fire in a petrol or diesel vehicle:

1.Explosive gasses are released

2.An explosion typically precedes a fire

3.The fire can easily burn at up to 2000 degrees

4.The battery emits highly toxic fumes

5.The fires are notoriously difficult to extinguish

6.Thousands of litres of toxic firewater are generated

Lithium-ion battery fires are unique and present many challenges to firefighters. The lithium-ion battery fire itself is the result of thermal runaway within the battery. This can only be stopped by cooling the battery. If you extinguish the flames of a battery fire without cooling the battery instead of flames the thermal propagation will result in the release of an explosive vapour cloud. Even batteries as small as those found in e-scooters have caused significant explosions.

What is even more important to remember is that when an electric or hybrid vehicle is parked next to traditional diesel-powered vehicles the end result is a very complex multi class fire.

The following events are rare but as we continue with the electrification of buses incidents like this will become more common.

United Kingdom – Potters Bar 2021

An eyewitness said he heard an “unbelievable noise that sounded like a jet” and he saw a bus had “exploded into a ball of flames”. The fire was believed to have been caused by a battery exploding in one of the electric buses while it was charging.

People reported that the toxic smoke cloud could be seen 18km away with local residents being told to avoid the area and keep windows closed.

A total of six buses were on fire – two electric-hybrid, and four diesel-powered.

Transport for London had to remove 108 London buses from service following the blaze, with a knock-on effect disrupting nine local bus routes.

Stuttgart – Germany 2021

A large fire event occurred in Stuttgart Straßenbahnen’s (SBB) bus depot which destroyed 25 buses on Thursday 30th September. An assessment by the police reported that the fire was probably caused by an electric bus during the charging procedure.

The blaze completely destroyed 25 buses and SSB employees received medical attention during the fire.

At present when I visit any bus, coach, private and public charging facilities I see charging locations have been set out for vehicle access, nicely landscaped, well lit and new chargers installed, but nothing more. So, if you are operating a bus or coach depot either privately or as a local authority you should really be checking the following:

1.Have I adjusted my fire safety plan in line with a lithium-ion battery fire?

2.Have I engaged with the local fire and rescue authorities for their opinion?

3.Do I need to re-assess my evacuation procedures?

4.Can the structural integrity of the depot survive this type of fire?

5.What additional structures may now be at risk due to explosion or excessive heat?

6.How do I control fire water on my site, can I isolate my drains and what retention capacity is there?

7.How do I warn neighbouring properties or businesses of the hazard?

8.What are the risks of the fire spreading or affecting others beyond the site boundary?

The list is not exhaustive, and each location will have its own

Guangxi Zhuang - China 2021

A blaze from one electric bus spread to four other buses on a university campus in southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

After just a few seconds, smoke was seen billowing out from one of the buses. Almost instantly, it exploded in a ball of fire. This caused a second bus to catch fire. The inferno then spread to a third electric bus and before long, a fourth was engulfed in flames as well.

In the event of a fire your only current form of defence will be to call the fire and rescue services who will use well in excess of 10,000 litres of firewater to try and suppress the fire. This firewater will be highly toxic and should never be allowed to enter storm drains, sewers or the environment. If it does you can be prosecuted for it. In addition, if your new charging points have not been included in your fire and risk assessment for the site and they impede previously determined emergency exit routes, or access to firefighting equipment the Health and Safety Executive will definitely be interested as to why.

unique risks and challenges. So, this gives everyone a clear decision to make; are we proactive in managing risk or will we be reactive and look back after a serious fire at all the things we could have done?

The transition to clean energy vehicles has to consider more than just getting the chargers into the ground and switched on as part of the design and construction of charging facilities. We need to keep these sites environmentally sound and safe for their entire lifecycle.

At EV-EXBOX we can help EV charging locations mitigate these risks through our public safety, firewater pollution control and fire suppression surveys and systems. We are also here to help in the surveying of existing EV installations and to input into the development of future sites.

If you would like to discuss electrical charging at any of your facilities, please contact:

Graeme Warnell email: info@ev-exbox.com Mobile +44(0)7766107088

Important Note to all Members regarding APEA Email

By Alex Boudry, APEA Chairman of Events and Marketing Committee

It has come to the APEA’s attention that some members may not be receiving important APEA emails due to issues with the way the Association’s emails were authenticated.

This may have caused our email domain (@apea.org.uk) to become blacklisted by recipient’s email servers and firewalls, causing our emails to end up blocked by spam filters and not get through to your inbox.

We have now fixed the authentication issue, but due to the way that some email systems work, APEA emails may still not get through to some members automatically.

We would ask all members who think they may have an issue receiving regular emails from the APEA to follow the 4 steps below:

1.Check your spam or junk folder: Before you take any other action, check your spam or junk folder to see if the emails from the APEA are already there. Sometimes legitimate emails get

flagged as spam and end up in the spam folder. In most email clients you can right click emails in the spam or junk folder and set as “not-spam” or “not-junk”. This should move the message to your inbox and will increase the likelihood of future emails from us also getting past the filter.

2.Whitelist our domain (@apea.org.uk): If the emails are being blocked by your spam filter, you can try adding our domain to your whitelist or safe senders list. This will tell your spam filter to allow emails from our domain to pass through. Whitelisting the domain can be done through your email client’s settings or your email server’s control panel. If you’re not sure how to do this, ask your IT team or check your email system’s help documents regarding junk/spam settings.

3.Adjust your spam filter settings: If the sender’s emails are still being blocked after whitelisting their domain, you may need to adjust your spam filter settings. Depending on your email client or server, you may be able to adjust the sensitivity of your spam

filter or create rules that allow emails from our domain to bypass the filter altogether.

4.Contact your email service provider or IT team: If you’ve tried all of the above steps and you’re still having trouble receiving emails from the sender’s domain, you may need to contact your email service provider or IT team for assistance. They can help you identify any issues with your spam filter or email settings, and work with you to get the domain unblocked.

We at the APEA, like all modern organisations, use email as one of our prime communication methods. Members receive regular emails regarding upcoming APEA training sessions, membership notifications and other important messages about APEA services and opportunities. Not receiving such emails can have serious consequences for the level of value that you as members receive from the APEA, so if you think you are not receiving our emails, we would ask you to follow the advice above.

Ski Resort Refuelling Centre – Andorra Need To Quickly Refuel Your Snowmobile or Snow Plough?

By Oscar Garcia, KPS

This project at a ski resort in Andorra (Pyrenees) involved the design and installation of a new diesel pipeline system for the resort’s private snowmobile, snow plough and maintenance vehicle refuelling centre. KPS piping was specified for the project by a trusted regional contractor and KPS-certified installer.

Key Requirements:

•Reliable and compatible with the low temperatures consistent with this operating environment.

•Easy to install.

•Electrostatically safe (conductive piping).

•Double wall piping with an interstitial space.

•Installed by a certified installer.

The KPS Solution:

•KPS conductive 2” (75/63mm) double wall piping proved the perfect solution for this project, enabling the fuel flow rate required to supply diesel to the fleet and exceeding safety requirements.

•KPS conductive pipes are electrostatically safe (like the metal piping used in the past) avoiding potential static charge buildup (which can lead to sparks). In fact, KPS developed the first conductive HDPE piping system in the world.

•KPS 75/63 double wall piping system provides an extra layer of safety due to the interstitial space between the inner and

KP 75/63 double wall pipe coils were installed in a concrete trench around the ski resort

KP 75/63 double wall and KP 63 single wall piping connected to the above-ground tank. A leak detector is also connected to the interstitial space of the double wall pipe

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outer pipes. This interstitial space can be monitored by a leak detector to prevent leaks and contamination, a big concern for the resort.

•KPS pipes are tested and approved according to EN14125. This testing standard facilitates an operating temperature range between -20ºC to 50ºC making KPS the ideal choice for the harsh winter environment consistent for this region.

•KPS offers technical support from the beginning to the end of every project. Services offered including relevant product drawings, site surveys (on request), on-site training and pipefitter certification. The wealth of technical support readily available to KPS-certified installers ensures they are optimally equipped and trained in the installation and effective use of KPS plastic pipe systems.

For more technical case studies, visit: www.kpspiping.com/fuel-transfer-system

KP 75/63 coiled pipe is optimal for long pipe runs, negating the requirement for additional/unnecessary welding sockets

KPS piping connects the aboveground tank to the outdoor refuelling area.

KPS conductive piping can easily be earthed to prevent electrostatic discharges. The yellow cables required for this are connected at the end of the pipe run

KPS piping connects the above-ground tank to the outdoor refuelling area.

Midas Mis-Fuel Avoidance

By Sean Berry, Design & Marketing, Berrys Technologies Limited

Mis-fuelling is the most publicly elevated and financially damaging risk involved in owning and operating a forecourt. When incorrect fuel is unloaded into a petrol station storage tank, the impact is detrimental. A domino effect of damage, rippling through from site

owner to brand and even down to customer. A mistake worth avoiding. If you have the technology to do so…

Berrys Global Innovations, a subsidiary of Berrys Fuelling Technologies, provider of all things Forecourt – from underground Sumps and Pipework to Collapsible Tank Ventilation, produced a solution that can completely eliminate errors in fuel unloading. Midas - an electronic valve that can differentiate between petrol and diesel fuels; ensuring stations are risk free from receiving incorrect product, saving the downstream petroleum sector hundreds of thousands of pounds each year; in uplift, maintenance, and insurance claims. As oil companies and supermarkets look to decrease costs in their on-site operations, Midas is proving an investment for the future. With over 700 sites equipped with Midas cross-over technology across the UK, Berrys sees a world where every retailer across the country will install the system, in order to future proof the refilling of storage tanks, for years to come.

Engineered to suit all fill styles, Midas is present throughout 16 countries, and available in 5 different models. Customers have a choice in permanently fitting a valve to the unloading station or a

more economical solution; having transportation trucks carry the portable edition.

The portable Midas acts as an accessory to driver’s delivery hoses, designed to seamlessly fit in with their existing unloading routine. Simply activate the unit and instantly calibrate using RFID technology; after this, the delivery is no different to usual. Midas recharges using the free-flowing energy of the fuel, so never have to be pulled off trucks for recharging!

Despite government claims to restrict emissions and limit the sale of petroleum products, fuel will inevitably continue to be delivered where there is demand. The future of these deliveries is dependent on this technology, enhancing the process to be more reliable and economical, protecting drivers, securing forecourts and saving customers.

GRP Storage Tanks - Where Are They Now…?

By Simon Procter, Tanks & Pipeworks Ltd

Over the last twelve months we have been involved with refurbishment work on buried Fibreglass petrol and diesel underground storage tanks and thought fibreglass fuel tanks deserve some focus since they are still in service on many sites 30 years after installation. Like steel tanks they can be cleaned, inspected and up cycled as they provide a sound structural base from which to build the patented FASS-UK “Try-line” leak detection tank lining system.

Fibreglass tanks are a very sound construction. As a designer I like the way that you can almost create any shape and form using fibreglass matting and just add resin and a catalyst which creates an exothermic reaction to harden off the resin and set the shape. The strength, properties and flexibility of the finished product can be designed in by varying the thickness, resin type or glass fibre reinforcement. In the home it is likely that your bath, shower tray, sink and pond liner could be made from glass fibre or similar composite nontoxic material. The toughness of the material is well proven in marine use which include yachts, submersibles, surf boards and water skis. Similar composite products were used in the space programme as an ablative material to take the heat away from the Apollo command module as it scrubbed off its incredible speed during reentry to earth.

Process:

There are processes/methods to make GRP storage tanks. One is to lay up Fibreglass matting and resin inside a mould to the required thickness or number of layers; this is similar to how we, at FASSUK, build our TRI-LINE system using the original tank as the mould whether it is a steel tank or a GRP tank - the finished product on the inside is shiny, squeaky clean and extremely resistant to internal pressure.

The other way GRP tanks can be made is to cast the shape on to a rotating mandrel where a glass fibre filament and the correct amount of resin is added as it is wound in a spiral and built up in layers to the required thickness - as a steel man I would describe the finished product as a cross between a continuous casting and a flow forging.

So, in basic terminology, the glass fibre yarn would be fed off a big cotton reel, through a resin bath to saturate the threads and the thread would feed on to a guide head which moves at a controlled rate back and forth along the rotating mandrel to build up the thickness of the tank. Like everything these days there is likely to be a computer programme behind the process so that every product you produce is a consistent and exact size, shape and

mass. I expect the quality control for these products to be very high.

A key difference between steel and Fibreglass petrol tanks is the shapeFibreglass tanks are generally externally ribbed, a bit like vacuum tankers, and they have nicely shaped spherical ends and baffles like a football cut in half. Steel tanks have shallow domed ends and have no external profiles - the bodies have the appearance of a big tube, the properties of the material versus the design scope dictate the final shape of the product.

Performance:

The performance of any tank depends on the standard of construction and the materials that you use. For buried steel tanks the UK and European standard is BS EN 12285-1 which is a very comprehensive build plan that any steel fabricator can use with the caveat that this is a harmonised standard used across Europe so you build to the standard without deviation. The idea is that you can

purchase a tank to this standard from any participating country and it should be exactly the same. For performance you have to consider corrosion rates on the inside versus how aggressive the stored product is going to be in contact with the steel. You are permitted to add internal coatings which would give additional corrosion resistance over time.

The outside of a steel tank is corrosion protected and if double walled then generally dried air pressure or vacuum leak detection systems are used to monitor for any leaks on new tanks.

As a comparison there are many single walled Fibreglass petrol tanks still in use and there were also double walled fibreglass petrol tanks developed that generally use vacuum leak detection systems; at FASS-UK we use vacuum leak detection for our TRI-LINE system.

On a recent Fibreglass tank ‘up cycle’ our site team discovered that a double walled fibreglass tank had been glycol filled using the old-style steel tank liquid leak detection system. Our team pumped out the liquid before installing the TRI-LINE

installing the TRI-LINE with our vacuum monitoring system. When working on old tank farms there can always be something odd that you have not commonly discovered.

When using Fibreglass products corrosion is never going to be a consideration, we are more interested in chemical resistance. The chemical resistance stands and falls on the quality of resin that is used. America has been using Ethanol based fuels for a lot longer than the UK so many of the Fibreglass petrol tank products and processes are generally under licence from American manufacturers who have many years of experience to sell on.

As a young technician working at Joseph Ash one of my responsibilities was to design and build vats for the pre dipping pickling processes within the galvanizing process. So, we built open topped externally stiffened steel vats which could be 15M long x 1.5M wide x 2.5M deep as an example and these vats held hydrochloric acid which was used to strip the mill scale from steel products prior to hot dip galvanizing. We needed a tough material to line these vats with a high chemical resistance so we successfully used fibreglass linings which layered up to a decent thickness resisted the knocks from the steel beams and maintenance to the lining could easily be carried out.

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From a tank manufacturer’s perspective in the late 1980s and early 1990s when fibreglass petrol tanks appeared as direct competition to our steel tanks and having prior knowledge of successfully using fibreglass to create composite tanks, we thought they would start to corner the market for filling station tank farms. This has not happened and looking back there was some market share between steel and fibreglass tanks for a period of time. I think generally now

the trend is to install steel double walled tanks for new petrol filling station tank farms. Back in the day Fibreglass was very high-end technology versus steel which was a relatively cheap and easy to fabricate. We always used to say you can build a steel tank with a barn and a welding set (many steel tank manufacturers started out in large engineering sheds and barns). So, I think long term it came down to economics and installation knowledge.

Installation:

Installing steel tanks in the ground is relatively straight forward and they will resist the knocks and the dinks and still hold test - steel is a very forgiving material. The method used for installing steel and fibreglass tanks in the ground is very similar. Both tank types are strapped down and installed in a pea shingle surround; however, I think the differences are to install your GRP tank. You really don’t have the same strength or mass to assist compared to steel. So your installers need to wear their soft gloves and avoid cross winds - GRP tanks are sensitive to windage, each tank needs to be correctly cradled during the lift and carefully placed into position within the excavation rather than just offloaded!

When it comes to strapping down with pea shingle installations the straps must be non-corrosive and also be designed to last the expected life of the tank and also have the correct breaking strain for the tank size (the straps are normally heavy duty or doubled up and calculated for the job).

The strap is embedded into the concrete foundation at the bottom of the excavation (cast in the correct positions) and there is always a layer of pea shingle between the tank and concrete slab to avoid point loading. After strapping down the GRP tank has to be stabilised as it is back filled with pea shingle usually with a water fill to maintain the roundness of the tank. Once back filled the tank farm is very stable.

This is an important note for buried tank installations – the tanks

are living in a giant soakaway drain and the only restraint to keep the tank farm buried when empty is the strapping system which includes the base slab. So, the straps form part of the base slab and all the pea shingle and ground cover is acting with gravity to keep the tank farm in the ground - as long as the strapping system holds - so an extra strap on your tank is only a very marginal extra cost within the grand scheme.

Finally, installers always ask about floatation of a tank (probably the guys that did not purchase the extra strap!). We are talking about displacement and like a ship the displacement of a tank is its total mass, when the force acting upwards equals the force acting down - that’s the stage at which moving forward your tank farm is going to float (Archimedes syracuse - 287 BC). Therefore, due to a much lower mass the Fibreglass tank is going to float before the steel tank.

To finish I heard a story of a contractor that installed a tank farm on a motorway site and the thought was ‘lets go home and strap the tanks tomorrow’ - tomorrow they came to find the tank farm floating around the parking area like ships in a storm!

Simon Procter B Eng (Hons), C Eng, MIET, MIMechE, MEI

Tanks and Pipeworks Ltd, Phone: 01474 855587

Email: office@fassuk.com

Web: www.fassuk.com

Petrol Station DevelopmentHow Did It All Start?

By Jamie Thompson, Chairman of the APEA Technical Committee

It is perhaps an education for us all to look back at the development of the petrol station; what was there before, how they progressed and indeed what we may see in the future.

Perhaps there are some lessons to be learnt from our history as we appear to be in the early process of eventually doing away with petrol filling stations.

In London and indeed throughout the UK in the late 1800s we were used to having horses as the main method of transport. If you wanted to travel far you used stagecoaches across country and, in the metropolitan areas, we used horse drawn buses for the population and carts for other goods. There was, however, a major environmental problem which was especially prevalent in Metropolitan areas like London.

In fact, The Times announced in 1894 that unless something serious was done by the Authorities about it, London’s streets would be under 9ft of manure within 50 years!

An environmental problem for the authorities and the population and perhaps this sounds a little familiar today.

filling stations where they did not have to use cans to top up their car tank but they could use a petrol pump.

It was at that time when enough cars warranted it that petrol filling stations were developed; in London, records showed that many “one tank and pump” installations were constructed. Here, an early

The environmental saviour at that time was not the Government or local authorities but the introduction of the motor car; with its “clean burning” engine it became London’s answer to the “manure crisis” which was affecting the population.

The development of the petrol filling stations soon followed, from filling cars by can, to filling from brick stores situated in the old Mews sites where horses were still stabled, until eventually the first filling stations were designed to accommodate the eventual increase in availability and ownership of motor vehicles.

The 2-gallon cans (now museum pieces) were transported to cater for those who were filling their cars using cans of petrol, and carrying extra fuel in cans on their running board in case they ventured out where filling stations were not available.

Soon when petrol stations with hand operated pumps were first built the oil industry had to inform customers to call in to their

pump and tank and an old pump - not sure the Petroleum Inspector would be keen on such an arrangement today!

Some fuel tanks in those early days had delivery by horse drawn tankers and London had many records showing this distribution

and eventually road tankers, using first steam then petrol engines demonstrate the wide distribution necessary as filling stations expanded.

Many such one pump and tank installations were installed during that period but after the first world war the multi pump filling stations we recognise today were first built. A remarkable feat but records show that 100 petrol stations were constructed in the London area alone in a two-year period and the regulatory authority at that time were

Brixton

This self-service operator had a pleasant responsible job in a weatherproof kiosk with the entire forecourt constantly in view. When the amber light glows and the buzzer sounds, she merely pushes a button to release the pump. She knows the filling has commenced when the red light glows, and when the motorist

switches off, she takes out the ticket which is printed automatically and can even have the customers change waiting before he arrives at the kiosk. The ticket which she then gives to the motorist shows the pump number, volume (to 1/100th of a gallon) and the total price (to ½ d.) she then clears the pump to await her next customer.

the Public Control Department of the London County Council. Their Petroleum Inspectors soon became familiar with the technical problems and solutions and the need to protect the public from fire and explosion.

Perhaps some of the designs were cautious in design with walls and gates surrounding the sites and numerous staff serving customers with uniforms and satchels to collect the money.

Many of those first larger multi pump sites in London were built by the Anglo-American Oil Company and although you would not recognise it today some of those sites still have a petrol station in the same position.

It should also be remembered that not only cars ran on petrol but buses and lorries also ran on that fuel and it was only much later that diesel fuel started to be used in greater quantities.

At the peak period around 50,000 fuel stations were licensed by the Petroleum Licensing Authorities, many being used by industry, bus companies, the utilities, local authorities, police, fire brigades etc and of course the public filling stations.

At a time in the early 1960s the industry was beginning to change with independent station owners first looking at self-service as a viable option to employing staff to serve customers. It was a practise that was happening in other parts of the world, but it was the independent retailers in the UK who started to persuade the authorities that this could be done safely.

Before the major oil companies changed to self-service it was operators such as Gerald Ronson of Heron and Alan Pond who had already began a successful operation which was to eventually change the way petrol stations operated in the UK.

There were of course those in authority who needed to be convinced that this would be a good and safe way to operate. A group of petroleum regulators, along with engineers from the Institute of Petroleum, accompanied a group visit to Hamburg in Germany where they were able not only to observe self-service sites but also some sites which were unattended and had note and coin acceptors, quite a revolution at the time!

Perhaps as innovations continued in the 1960s by the oil company marketers, Green Shield Stamps sales promotions etc the industry seemed confident that everything would go on for ever, but changes were coming - fuels changed, unleaded fuel and the word ‘Environment’ became the new objective.

It will be interesting to see if the development of Electric Cars which Governments seem keen to promote brings about the demise of liquid fuels. I believe there will be alternatives and the change is likely to be slow, similar perhaps like the change from horses to the motor car all those years ago.

The Deposit Return Scheme – Recycle Today for a Better Tomorrow

By Cheryl Ashton, Marketing Coordinator, TSG

The considerable number of discussions on sustainability in the news, on social media and in everyday conversation indicate that it is not a passing fad, but a trend to be taken seriously. Now, more than ever before, sustainability is one of the biggest challenges facing our planet and one that needs us all to play our part to ensure its success.

Nowadays, most single-use drinks containers are recyclable, but

far too many of them end up in landfills or, worse, discarded as litter. The mountain of empty plastic/glass bottles and aluminium cans continues to grow and the consequences for our land, water and wildlife are disastrous.

Environmentally conscious consumers may seek out a public recycling point to dispose of their drinks containers, but this is just a drop in an ocean already full of plastic. In the UK, consumers get

through billions of single-use containers every year and sadly, only a fraction of these are recycled.

Litter left in our countryside, streets, parks and rivers isn’t just an eyesore, it costs taxpayers millions of pounds in clean-up costs year after year. Broken glass bottles and shredded cans pose a major threat to animals, people and vehicle tyres, whilst plastic bottles typically take a minimum of 450 years to decompose, if at all.

Deposit Return Scheme

Mounting concern for the environment has prompted the introduction of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme* (DRS), to offer a simple and effective way for consumers and retailers to help alleviate the country’s litter crisis. At the point of purchase, a small deposit of 20p is added to the

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retail price of a drink in a single-use container, which is subsequently refunded when the customer returns the empty bottle or can.

DRS is set to challenge the UK’s throwaway culture and represent a significant step toward tackling climate change.

Reverse Vending Machines

The reverse vending machine is a user-friendly innovation that effectively manages the efficient disposal of waste drinks cans and bottles ready for recycling.

The customer simply has to deposit the container into the RVM, where it is scanned and verified before being compacted and discarded in the collection unit. A printed voucher for the value of 20p is then issued to the customer and can be redeemed in the store. This initiative will no doubt encourage more consumers to recycle their empty drinks containers and be rewarded for doing so.

Many retailers have already opted to invest in an RVM to demonstrate their commitment to the cause and support the DRS. In all probability, these proactive retailers will attract the custom of like-minded, ecofriendly shoppers wishing to actively engage in the project, and as a natural consequence improve their own community.

To Summarise

In recent years, there has been a global focus on climate change,

with the idealistic aim of achieving net zero by 2050. A good number of retailers have already embraced this ambition by adopting a climate strategy to improve operational processes and reduce their carbon footprint. Of course, DRS alone isn’t going to solve all of the UK’s waste problems, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

TSG UK supports the DRS

TSG UK has teamed up with Trovr to supply and install RVMs to fuel retailers across the UK.

As the largest service and equipment provider in the industry, with more than 30 years of experience, TSG UK is best known for the installation and maintenance of traditional fossil fuel stations. This new initiative is completely in line with TSG’s sustainability strategy, as the UK progresses towards a greener, cleaner future.

For more information on the complete DRS solution, visit: Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) | (tsgsolutions.com). *England, Wales and Ireland will follow in 2025

Obituary - Gerry Risbridger

6th April 1929 to 27th February 2023

By Annie Risbridger Hind, Risbridger Ltd

I am sad to be writing this on what would have been my father’s 94th birthday. Gerry Risbridger was surrounded by family on his last day. He had spent several weeks in hospital, with failing health, before happily returning home for the last ten days of his extraordinary life.

Following on from his father William, and the second generation

leading our company, Gerry made a huge contribution to the safety and efficiency of both industries in which we work. He strongly believed that well-designed products and modern manufacturing methods would enable our industries to be world beating.

During his working life Gerry continuously updated his own knowledge and ensured that our company invested in new and

better systems. He was an innovator in everything he did, including working on and training others to use the first computer numeric controlled machine tools and accounting systems in the 1980s.

Case Histories – Just a few of the Forecourt Products designed by Gerry.

Suction Plate Deflectors: A simple device to prevent debris from the bottom of fuel tanks being sucked up and contaminating fuel dispensed to customer’s fuel tanks.

Angle Check valves: Designed and manufactured in angle and horizontal formats, these were the early forerunner to under dispenser check valves, sited on the storage tank top. They allowed the suction lines to remain primed, saving time in dispensing fuels. They were sold all over the world, and then were mostly replaced by Under Pump Valves. Again Gerry was involved in their design, as well as the Shut-off Valves which were designed to replace the tank top angle check valves and help in testing the suction and vent lines.

Under Pump Valves: Originally a triangular valve to fit to the pumping unit triangular fittings. They also allowed the suction lines to retain prime, but this time by holding the fuel under the valve by vacuum. This allowed loss of prime to be a signal that there may be a leak in the suction line, whilst also preventing loss of product into the ground.

Flame Arrestors: These were originally designed by Gerry for Esso Petroleum, installed in the fill lines and there to prevent the possibility of ignition of vapour in the fill lines.

Lever Nozzles: Gerry designed a lever nozzle, mainly used on commercial not retail installations They were made and sold for many years until copied, made abroad and we were unable to compete.

Swing Arms: A clever way to allow petrol hoses at street-side dispensers to be swung out for filling of vehicles and swung neatly back to the wall of the building for storage.

De-watering Tubes: Ingenious way of pumping water out of the bottom of fuel storage tanks to prevent it being dispensed as fuel!

Gerry was heavily involved in working with Rolls-Royce, British Airways and many others in developing our Aircraft Ground Servicing equipment. This came about by one of our customers in Shell, putting his colleague in Aircraft Lubricants in touch. They needed a fool proof way of getting their ‘super clean’ lubricants into aircraft systems. After producing the ‘super clean’ fluids and carefully canning them, they found that maintenance engineers were opening them with a rusty screwdriver and tipping the then contaminated fluid into reservoirs.

At home, Gerry carried on using his engineering skills, enjoying renovating tractors, and horse trailers, and making hay in the paddocks. He often helped others in the area with similar tasks.

When my sister and I were in our twenties, Gerry and his tractor were, on more than one occasion, called upon to drag our petrol-head friends’ cars from ditches when they spilled off country lanes! Luckily no one was hurt, only the driver’s pride!

Gerry worked at and in Risbridger for over 65 years. He was a great mathematician and brilliant engineer. Even the night before he died, he was making diagrams to explain a concept to us.

Working for many years with his brother Barry, Gerry made so many contributions to innovation and improvements in the forecourt industry. He was justly recognised with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the APEA conference and dinner in 2022.

Gerry Risbridger will be sorely missed by his family, staff, and friends. A modest and quiet man he would be humbled to know that his impact and legacy will live on.

Tesco reaches 600 stores with EV charging points

Tesco’s Kirkwall store has become the 600th location in the United Kingdom to have electric vehicle charging points installed.

Since the retailer launched the network alongside Volkswagen and Pod Point in 2019, the charging points have provided 43,218kWh of energy to date - enough to power more than 4,000 homes for a whole day. The installation at the store on the remote Scottish island of Orkney is the culmination of a programme which has seen more than 2,500 EV charging bays installed at 600 stores across the region over the last three years.

The partnership was announced to improve the charging infrastructure as the UK prepares for an electric future. According

to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, at the end of February 2023 there were 693,307 battery-electric cars in the UK, an increase of 610 per cent on the number of BEVs in 2019.

“From Orkney all the way to Southampton, we’re helping customers to make sustainable choices by giving them somewhere easy and convenient to charge while they shop with us. Hitting our target of 600 stores with EV charging is a great milestone – and our work doesn’t stop there, as we’re now installing our first 75kW rapid chargers too,” said Jason Tarry, CEO at Tesco UK.

Tesco’s chargers have been used more than 6,000,000 times already saving more than 24,000 tonnes of CO2.

Dorset man fined for unsafe fireworks

The organiser of a fireworks display has been fined for failing to take appropriate safety measures.

It’s extremely fortunate that no-one was hurt during this distressing incident, but the risk and fear of harm caused could not be ignored or taken lightly.

A business owner who failed to take measures to protect the public during a firework display has been ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling more than £7,000 following a joint investigation by Dorset Council Trading Standards, Food, Safety and Port Health teams.

Craig Richard Robinson (46) of Ringwood pleaded guilty at Poole Magistrates Court on 30th January to failing to take measures to prevent, limit or protect persons from fire or explosion.

Robinson organised a firework display at Ringwood Raceway on 6 November 2021 which was watched by up to 2,000 people. A defective firework fell into the back of a pick-up truck containing unused fireworks. These were then ignited, causing a large explosion. Dorset Council officers noted that the fireworks should have been better protected, and although the resulting explosion did not cause any injuries, it did create a risk and fear of serious harm.

In court, the defence stated that Dorset Council had conducted a thorough and robust investigation into the incident, and the evidence shown was compelling. The prosecution was able to show widely circulated videos of the event before the sentencing, which

included the fire in the van for which the defendant had pleaded guilty. Robinson, who is the sole director of Ringwood Raceway Ltd, was fined £3,780, plus a Victims Surcharge of £190 and court costs of £3,700. This totalled £7,670, to be paid by the defendant in monthly instalments of £500.

Dorset Council safety officers have since worked closely with Robinson to improve his risk assessment following the incident, meaning last year’s firework display was able to proceed with no safety issues.

Cllr Laura Beddow, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Culture, Communities and Customer Services: “I’m very pleased with the sentencing. It’s extremely fortunate that no-one was hurt during this distressing incident, but the risk and fear of harm caused could not be ignored or taken lightly.

“The appropriate measures were not taken by the organisers to prevent uncontrolled fire and explosions, and at a public event –especially one involving fireworks – this was unforgiveable and deserving of further legal action.

“I want to thank the Dorset Council officers in our Food, Safety and Port Health, Trading Standards and Legal teams for their hard work on this case. Through their thorough and robust investigation and resulting prosecution, we’ve been able to demonstrate how seriously we take the safety of Dorset residents.”

By JTS Staff Journal of Trading Standards’ in-house team.

First Hydrogen partners with Rivus

First Hydrogen Corp. partners with Rivus to start operational trials with fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV). Rivus is a UK-based fleet management company that works with 120,000 light commercial and heavy goods vehicles each year.

Rivus is the first company to participate in vehicle trials with First Hydrogen’s Generation I zero-emission LCV’s, co-ordinated through the UK Aggregated Hydrogen Freight Consortium (AHFC). The consortium works together with large UK fleet operators to accelerate the commercial rollout of fuel cell vans and trucks and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. The findings will contribute to

First Hydrogen’s overall evaluation and mileage accumulation programme, which supports vehicle optimisation and determines total cost of ownership.

The trials enable fleet managers from sectors including grocery, express delivery, utilities, healthcare, and roadside assistance, to experience the benefits of FCEVs within their own operations. Upon completion of the trial, Rivus will produce its own independent report analysing the performance of the hydrogenpowered LCV, which will be available to fleet managers and Rivus customers.

Couche-Tard acquires assets from TotalEnergies for $3.1bn

Canadian c-store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard acquiring and taking control of four TotalEnergies networks in Europe in a deal worth $3.1 billion.

The first part of the transaction involves the sale of all service stations TotalEnergies has in Germany (1,198) and the Netherlands (392). Couche-Tard will look to boost the convenience business

while TotalEnergies focuses on electric mobility and hydrogen fuelling.

In Belgium and Luxembourg, both companies will form a joint venture (TotalEnergies 40%, Couche-Tard 60%) that will own and operate 619 service stations. The French multinational is a market leader in these two countries. The partnership seeks to accelerate

the transformation of these assets into service hubs.

All service stations will remain under the TotalEnergies brand while the fuel is supplied by them, with a minimum period of five years. The $3.1 billion deal includes the sites and the B2B fuel card activities. The French player will still own off-station EV charging, hydrogen retail and wholesale fuel business, as well as the AS 24 service station network for trucks.

“We see this as a strong geographical fit with our existing European network, which will allow us to grow together in some of Europe’s strongest economies and move forward in our vision to become the world’s preferred destination for convenience and mobility,” said Brian Hannasch, President and CEO of Couche-Tard.

Couche-Tard, which has over 14,000 c-stores globally, has been looking to expand in Europe since its bid for Carrefour failed in 2021 due to opposition from the French government. The convenience giant operates under the Couche-Tard and Circle K brand in the United States, Canada, Scandinavia, the Baltics, Ireland, Poland and Hong Kong.

“In Europe, the transformation of mobility is changing the way customers use service stations. This deep trend means that new services and new activities need to be developed, notably in the

stores. Service stations must expand from just selling fuel to become full-fledged service hubs. For this reason, TotalEnergies has decided to partner with Couche-Tard and tap into its recognized expertise in operating convenience stores in service stations,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies.

The move by TotalEnergies follows the European Union’s legal actions to become the first carbon-neutral continent, including the recent vote to end new sales of combustion-engine vehicles by 2035.

“These major trends are prompting TotalEnergies to make decisions regarding the future of its retail networks in Europe, which will see their fuel-related revenues decline, while electric vehicles will charge more often at home and at work, and less often in service stations,” states the company.

Since 2015, TotalEnergies has divested its service station networks in Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The focus for Europe will be to develop its new mobility business by deploying chargers on roads and cities as well as hydrogen infrastructure. The company already has plans to create a network of hydrogen stations for trucks in partnership with Air Liquide.

Musket, Hoyer sign European diesel procurement partnership

Musket Corporation, the trading and logistics arm of the Love’s Family of Companies, and Hoyer Trading & Supply GmbH, the supply arm of the Hoyer Group of Companies, announced a strategic partnership to procure diesel in Europe. As the European diesel market shifts away from traditional supply chains, both companies will use their downstream fuels expertise to provide supply in a challenging landscape.

The Love’s Family of Companies is headquartered in Oklahoma City and employs more than 39,000 people across the United States. Besides operating a network of over 600 locations across 42 states it also includes two Houston-based companies: Musket Corp. and Trillium Energy Solutions. Musket specializes in commodity supply,

trading and logistics across North America. “We share a common culture that is driven by a focus on long-term value and investment in customer needs. We’ll leverage our newly formed Musket subsidiary in Geneva, Switzerland, to make sure this partnership is successful,” said Frank Love, co-CEO of the Love’s Family of Companies.

Hoyer is a traditional, independent family-run company since 1924 and headquartered in Visselhövede/Lower Saxony, Germany. With nearly 2500 employees across 100 national sales offices the company runs approximately 250 own retail stations and supplies B2B and B2C customers with the source of energy they need via its own logistic fleet of over 1300 vehicles.

California to phase out all existing single-wall underground storage tanks and lines on petrol stations

Regulators from the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and US EPA’s contractor, Redhorse Corporation, will discuss with stations owners the forthcoming deadline of 31 December 2025 for the closure or the upgrade of underground storage tanks (USTs) with single-walled components, as required by California statute.

Discussion will include: an overview of which USTs and piping will

be affected. The CA State wide statistics describing the singlewalled USTs that till remain to be closed, challenges to timely UST closure, and SWRCB’s grant/loan program.

An appropriate named programme RUST (Replacing, Removing, or Upgrading Underground Storage Tanks), is available to assist eligible small businesses with paying for the costs of complying with the deadline.

Petronas, Phoenix enter service station partnership

Petronas and Phoenix Petroleum are partnering in the Philippines to boost operations in fuel retailing and associated technology solutions. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will give Phoenix access to Petronas’ branded fuels and fluid technologies while allowing the Malaysian oil company to expand its footprint into the Philippines.

“Petronas is excited at the prospect of delivering an elevated fuel experience to customers in the Philippines. From our winning fuels derived from the Fluid Technology Solutions to our state-of-theart digital and sustainable solutions, we will continue to innovate our range of offerings to deliver a seamless experience to more road users around the world,” said Ahmad Adly Alias, VP of Refining, Marketing, and Trading Downstream Business at Petronas.

ENOC reaches 10 eLink stations

ENOC Group has opened its first eLink station of 2023 in the Kalba region, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates. The digital mobile fuel supply service has enhanced the convenience of motorists in the area and strengthened its environmental credentials.

The new mobile site has the capacity to fuel up to 500 vehicles per day and up to four vehicles simultaneously. It also provides an ecofriendly lighting solution to customers with the installation of solar lights.

This marks ENOC’s 10th eLink station in the UAE set up to cater customers in the residential area nearby the Amr Bin Al’s Street in Kalba as well as commercial establishments, and visitors to the east coast city. Furthermore, the company’s ‘Yes’ rewards programme

“Partnerships and collaborations between brands have been in fashion for some time now, and we’ve seen several that are especially effective in bringing together the best of two worlds. That’s what we’re doing with Petronas,” said Henry Albert Fadullon, President at Phoenix Petroleum.

The two companies entered into their first agreement in 2017 when Phoenix Petroleum acquired the entire LPG business of Petronas in the Philippines.

Petronas has presence in over 90 countries, including the largest retail footprint in Malaysia with 1,000 stations, while Phoenix Petroleum is a local company with close to 700 retail stations across the Philippines.

is now available at eLink stations. “Building on the success of eLink stations across the UAE last year, we are continuing to fulfil our vision of meeting the energy needs of the nation with innovative fuel supply solutions in 2023,” said Saif Humaid Al Falasi, CEO at ENOC Group.

The eLink station does not require assembly and can easily be deployed and relocated to different locations if needed, without any downtime. The station also includes vapor recovery systems to reduce emissions while loading from storage tanks.

In addition, ENOC Link complies with international safety standards including NFPA, ADR and UL. The firm aims to expand its eLink mobile fuel station network across more locations within the UAE.

ORLEN launches first hydrogen station in Prague

PKN ORLEN announced the launch of a new hydrogen refuelling station at the ORLEN Benzina facility in Prague, which will provide eco-friendly fuel for cars, trucks, and buses in the Czech Republic.

This is the first of several hydrogen stations that will be introduced in other countries such as Poland, with Poznań and Katowice expected to be operational later this year, followed by stations in Bielsko-Biała, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Wałbrzych, Kraków, Piła, and Warsaw by mid-2025. The ORLEN2030 strategy aims to support sustainable solutions for the future by expanding traditional and alternative fuels to include hydrogen, promoting low- and zeroemission individual and public transport.

ORLEN Unipetrol aims to provide up to 28 hydrogen filling stations across the Czech Republic by 2030, along with two hydrogen distribution terminals for rail transport in Litvínov and Neratovice.

“This marks a significant step forward in our efforts to develop hydrogen infrastructure in Central Europe and establish ourselves as a leader in zero-emission transport. Our ultimate ambition is to build over 100 refuelling stations in Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia by the end of this decade, positioning our network as a crucial component of hydrogen transport corridors throughout Europe,” said Daniel Obajtek, CEO and President of the Management Board of PKN ORLEN.

Hydrogen fuel infrastructure is a fundamental component of ORLEN Group’s Hydrogen Strategy and is a pivotal aspect of the ORLEN2030 initiative. As a substitute for conventional fuels, hydrogen plays a significant role in the decarbonization process. The company’s goal is to produce up to 50% low- or zero-emission hydrogen, with the ultimate goal of achieving approximately 80% by 2030 and beyond.

Certa to fuel entire delivery fleet with HVO

Certa has transitioned its fleet of delivery vehicles in Ireland from running on diesel to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). The company’s entire fleet of over 100 trucks will run on the secondgeneration biofuel by the end of March following a successful trial in 2022. Collectively, the company’s fleet travels over 3,000,000km annually. The switch to HVO is the equivalent of reducing its fleet to nine trucks in carbon emission terms.

The fuel itself is produced from waste plant matter and emits no new carbon into the atmosphere. Compared with regular diesel, HVO offers a reduction in carbon emissions by up to 90%.

“We want to be a real decarbonisation leader, so renewable fuels are incredibly important to us. The big advantage of HVO is that our customers can use it without going through much change, and there are no switch costs so for us this fuel is eminently important,” said Fabian Ziegler, CEO of DCC Energy.

Certa distributes heating oil from 22 depots across Ireland as well as supplying commercial fuels and lubricants to a wide range of businesses nationwide. In 2022, the company started to supply HVO to a range of sectors in Ireland as a sustainable alternative fuel to regular diesel.

Petrobras and Shell partner for energy transition

Petrobras and Shell signed a Memorandum of Understanding during CERAWeek, in Houston, to encourage discussion and collaboration between the companies.

Jean Paul Prates, the CEO of Petrobras, and Wael Sawan, the CEO of Shell, agreed the companies will work together on identifying potential upstream opportunities, sharing experience and best practices on reducing carbon emissions, social and environmental initiatives.

This non-binding agreement will last five years and focuses on potential exploration opportunities in and beyond the pre-salt, including the Equatorial Margin. It also contemplates energy transition efforts, with an emphasis on renewables and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS).

“Being able to rely on partners, such as Shell, is vital for Petrobras’s future plans, because partners can add their strength to areas where the company is looking for profitable diversification, such

as renewables and hydrogen. We will be looking to learn from the main players as we lead Petrobras towards a fair energy transition”, said Prates.

On the environmental front, Petrobras and Shell aim to establish projects to preserve and restore biodiversity, with the goal of issuing credits to offset carbon emissions. In addition, the companies will also look to work together on social investment projects.

“As Shell celebrates our 110th anniversary of working in Brazil, this exciting agreement reinforces both the significance of the country within our global portfolio, and our strong partnership with Petrobras,” added Sawan.

Petrobras and Shell have a long history of working together on research and development into technology of mutual interest, having signed in 2020 a Strategic Technical Cooperation Agreement.

Circle K signs new partnership with the Football Association of Ireland

Circle K has announced it will fuel Irish grassroots and elite football in a new agreement that will see the brand become the Official Fuel and Convenience Partner to the FAI, partner to the Men’s and Women’s National Teams and title sponsor of FAI Club Mark.

The partnership announcement comes at an exciting time for Irish football, with the men’s team about to embark on a European qualifying campaign and the women’s team preparing for their first ever World Cup appearance this summer.

“With a network of over 400 service stations in Ireland, Circle K is at the heart of communities in Ireland supporting our customers

with essential products and services,” said Gordon Lawlor, Managing Director of Circle K Ireland.

As part of the deal, Circle K will sponsor the FAI Club Mark, an awards programme for best practice in the governance, management and administration of grassroots football clubs nationwide.

With a presence in every community in the Republic of Ireland, the partnership will enable Circle K to provide further support to communities, by supporting grassroots football and its many players, coaches, administrators and volunteers.

2035 petrol and diesel car ban may be delayed with ‘e-fuel’ loophole

A number of businesses are calling on the European Union to ignore calls from member states to abandon the 2035 deadline to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

Last month, the European Parliament formally voted to approve a new law designed to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035. This is part of a global effort to reduce emissions with most EU member states, as well as the United Kingdom, aiming to have net zero emissions by 2050.

However, Germany, one of the EU’s most powerful members, called for a last-minute change to the legislation. It wants new cars with internal combustion engines to be allowed after the 2035 deadline, provided they run on e-fuels. If this were to be adopted, a new class of vehicles would be created which applies only to vehicles which can run solely on e-fuels.

The letter from the German ministry also suggested altering rules to allow carmakers to count such cars towards complying with CO2 targets. The Climate Group stated that any delay of the ban would have a devastating impact on air quality and the environment across the bloc. The organisation added that it would call into question the EU’s integrity and its ability to reach its lofty climate commitments.

In response to the potential law changes, 47 businesses are urging the European Union to stick with the 2035 phase out date of petrol and diesel cars.

The group of businesses, including Volvo Cars, Ford of Europe and Vattenfall, are all calling on the European Commission to maintain the ban. Sandra Roling, Director of Transport at the Climate Group, said the new proposals were “deeply concerning” to postpone the ban.

She added: “That six other countries are now rowing in behind Germany risks undermining business trust in the EU itself, not to mention having a detrimental effect on the health of the EU’s people and its climate, along with prolonging the life of the internal combustion engine.

“Legislative certainty is vital for business planning. In seeking to reverse the agreement secured under the French presidency, these seven Member States are undoing almost two years of negotiations and are risking the EU’s ability to meet its agreed 2050 climate goals.

“Our asks are simple. Stick to the 2035 date, and no concessions for e-fuels. Give businesses the clarity and certainty they need to

invest in the switch to electric vehicles.” The Group, said going ahead with the ban as planned would provide legislative certainty. This is vital for businesses to push forward with their decarbonisation plans and invest in electric vehicles. Rowing back proposals now would set a dangerous precedent and undermine business trust in the EU’s legislative practices, the businesses argue.

Jim Rowan, CEO of Volvo Cars, said: “Now is not the time for backtracking and blocking of science-based climate targets for our

industry. Now is not the time to put domestic political interests ahead of the health and welfare of our planet and EU citizens, and indeed of future generations. Now is the time for strong, decisive and progressive policy and leadership.”

Volvo Cars is committed to being a fully electric car company by 2030 and aims to reach climate neutrality by 2040. The company says it is aware of its obligation to help protect the planet and calls on EU Governments to show they are too.

Electrify America opens first EV charging station in Hawaii

Electrify America opened its first electric vehicle charging station in Pearl City, Hawaii. The new site brings the company’s network presence to 47 states plus the District of Columbia and will help provide an ultra-fast charging solution for EV drivers on the island.

The new station features four chargers, which can deliver up to 150kW to capable vehicles and is part of Electrify America’s overall expansion plan to help build range confidence for EV drivers. While visiting the station, customers can pay by credit or debit card, or by using the firm’s app.

Electrify America is investing more than $2 billion in Zero Emission Vehicle infrastructure, education and access. The company, alongside Electrify Canada, expects to have more than 1,800 total charging stations with over 10,000 individual chargers in the United States and Canada combined by 2026.

During this period, Electrify America will be expanding to 49 states and the District of Columbia, supporting increased ZEV adoption with a network that is comprehensive, technologically advanced and customer friendly.

Aboveground stations provide key benefits

Certas Energy Norway, owned by Irish energy company DCC, saw its competitors opening aboveground petrol stations over the last three years. With the cost of building a service station with underground storage tanks increasing by the day, electric vehicles hitting the volume of liquid fuel sales, and margins getting slimmer, Certas Energy was in search of a cost-effective solution to build new sites.

While looking for a supplier of aboveground stations Certas Energy found the ideal partner in Malte Fuel & Wash AB, a leading provider of solutions for fuel and vehicle washing with offices in Norway and Sweden. The two companies worked on cost-effective solutions that would allow Certas Energy to reach new customers in difficult areas.

Certas Energy now has three aboveground stations with two more in the pipeline, all provided by Malte. Although still in a pilot phase, results so far have been encouraging and the retailer will continue to look for interesting locations for minitank solutions. All sites have the highest standards with double-wall tanks, ATGs, leak detection as well as vapour recovery systems I and II. Numerous safety systems have been added to the regular standards of the industry. Distributors have a direct connection to the ATG to monitor fuel levels and ensure an efficient supply.

Malte has now built the biggest aboveground station in Certas Energy’s network – a 14.7-metre-long platform with a canopy and a capacity for 57,000 litres of fuel and 4,000 litres of AdBlue. Certas Energy requested the installation of a canopy to give the location a similar look & feel to a standard service station. The

extended canopy is a quality marketing element to attract the customer’s attention and make them feel like they are visiting a regular site. This way the customer doesn’t mistake the station with an industrial fuelling point.

A fundamental advantage of the minitank solution, says Jan Erik Korgerud, Engineering Manager at Certas Energy Norway, is the possibility of moving the unit. “If you do not reach the expected sales, it is relatively easy to move the entire unit to another location without a high cost. On the other hand, once you build a permanent site it is very difficult to move the station somewhere else.”

Currently, the automated sites accept chip bank cards, but plans are in place to extend the service to contactless this year. By 2021, they will include the most modern payment solutions. Under the strongest regulations, Malte has now installed some 25 aboveground stations in Norway and over 60 in Sweden in the last two years. Unlike the competition, the compact product can include AdBlue tanks in the construction.

“We build the product as the customer wants it. We listen carefully to their demands and act upon them to provide the ideal solution,” says Tomas Lilja, COO at Malte Fuel & Wash.

Certas Energy was looking for a way to open a minor station in a cost-effective way. Mr. Korgerud agrees that it was Malte’s flexibility as a supplier that allowed them to create the solution they wanted – an attractive site with the highest safety features and that is easy to operate.

Air Products Qudra to build NEOM’s first hydrogen station

Air Products Qudra announced it has signed an agreement with ENOWA, NEOM’s Energy, Water and Hydrogen subsidiary, to build, own and operate NEOM’s first hydrogen fuelling station in Saudi Arabia. Qudra will provide critical infrastructure for NEOM’s sustainability goals as it will help in decarbonizing heavy modes of transport, covering buses and heavy-duty trucks. Groundwork for the site is scheduled to commence in the second half of 2023.

Air Products Qudra is the development and investment company of Air Products in the Middle East with Qudra Energy as the joint venture partner, a subsidiary of Vision Invest. Air Products Qudra’s mission is to generate a cleaner future, and that involves experience, technology, and innovation on a world scale.

SPAR to add 60 stores by 2025

BWG Foods, operator of the SPAR and EUROSPAR brands in Ireland, plans to open 60 new stores by 2025. This will take the total number of stores across the country to 525.

The plan will see an investment of €65 million from BWG as well as by independent retailers of both brands. Since 2021, SPAR and EUROSPAR supermarkets have added over 30 stores and have exceeded €1.6 billion in retail sales across the combined network in 2022.

The firm has identified several potential greenfield and brownfield sites for the new stores and will be focusing on the emergence of new communities in the vicinity of the country’s major cities as new housing developments come up. The new stores will create over 1,100 new jobs. “Our SPAR and EUROSPAR brands continue

“We look forward to contributing our world-leading hydrogen expertise and fuelling technology in support of NEOM’s decarbonization goals. Producing and distributing clean hydrogen energy solutions for use in heavy-duty fuel cell vehicles, as well as industrial applications and energy storage, is part of our DNA,” said Ebubekir Koyuncu, CEO of Air Products Qudra.

NEOM is an initiative driven by prince Mohammed bin Salman and is part of the Saudi Vision 2030 plan to boost the country’s economy and reduce its dependence on oil.

Media describe the territory as a region that will be composed of various cities, resorts and other developments.

to perform very well, and our exceptional sales are a tribute to the strength of the SPAR and EUROSPAR brands which have been at the forefront of the grocery sector in Ireland for the past 60 years,” said Leo Crawford, Chief Executive of BWG Group.

BWG Foods has also confirmed its intention to upgrade more than 100 existing stores across Ireland. The renovation plan includes the rollout of a new store design for the EUROSPAR Supermarket format featuring a number of carbon-reduction measures. These include refrigeration technologies, solar panel installations and recycled fixings.

The announcement came at the time of celebrating the 60th anniversary of the SPAR brand’s presence in Ireland, having first launched in 1963.

Groups challenge Minnesota zero-emission vehicle mandate

The Minnesota Service Station & Convenience Store Association and NACS, along with the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, Clean Fuels Development Coalition, and ICM filed a lawsuit on March 13 against the state of Minnesota for its adoption of California’s “zero-emission vehicle” mandate. “The state shouldn’t let California tell Minnesotans what kinds of cars they can and can’t buy. Politicians have a terrible track record of deciding which technology will best meet peoples’ needs, and California politicians even more so.

This mandate is bad for Minnesota consumers, businesses and the state economy. Minnesota fuelling stations are open to exploring all energy options through a free-market approach, including homegrown biofuels and electrification,” says Lance Klatt, executive director of the Minnesota Service Station & Convenience Store Association.

The lawsuit challenges the legality of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency rules requiring that new cars, light-duty trucks and

medium-duty vehicles in the state meet emission limits set by California and match California’s requirements for the sale of a certain percentage of “zero-emission vehicles,” as defined by California regulators.

“Some of the most significant reductions in carbon emissions from transportation have come from using more renewable fuels and more efficient internal combustion engines.

Adopting California’s rules in Minnesota would stop further investments in efficient use of renewables and other liquid fuels and would result in more net carbon emissions than we would have without these misguided rules,” said Henry O. Armour, President and CEO of NACS.

The lawsuit contends that the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), which creates a uniform national standard for vehicle fuel efficiency, prohibits states from adopting policies “related to” federal fuel-economy standards.

7-Eleven launches new EV charging network 7Charge

7-Eleven has launched 7Charge, its own EV charging network and app that improve charging experience at select 7-Eleven stores in the U.S.

7-Eleven intends to build one of the largest and most compatible EV fast-charging networks of any retailer in North America with the launch of 7Charge, which is already delivering fast-charging services to customers in several locations in Florida, Texas, Colorado, and California.

The selected sites allow customers to charge any EV model compatible with common CHAdeMO or CCS plug types, and the

7Charge app looks to offer a seamless charging and payment experience.

“For over 95 years, 7-Eleven has innovated to meet our customers’ needs – delivering convenience where, when and how they want it. Now, we are innovating once again to meet our customers’ needs where they are by expanding our business to provide EV drivers convenience of the future...today,” said Joe DePinto, President and Chief Executive Officer at 7-Eleven.

The 7Charge network will deliver on the growing consumer need for EV charging infrastructure, according to the company.

ADNOC sets out growth plans for 2023

ADNOC Distribution laid out its growth plans after confirming its shareholders have approved all agenda items, including an amendment to its 2023 dividend policy at its Annual General Assembly Meeting.

In 2022, the company increased its network in the United Arab Emirates to 502 stations while adding an additional 28 Oasis

convenience stores to bring the total to 362 and refurbishing an additional 42. International expansion was the prominent focus throughout the year as the firm grew its network in Saudi Arabia to 66 and further advanced its international expansion with the acquisition of a 50% stake in TotalEnergies Marketing Egypt, one of the top four fuel retailers in Egypt with a portfolio of 240 stations.

In regard to 2023, important steps have been taken to future-proof ADNOC Distribution’s business, with a recent partnership agreed with TAQA to establish E2GO, a joint venture to build and operate electric vehicle infrastructure in the UAE.

The firm also continues its electric vehicle chargers roll-out in Q1 increasing to 36 charging points across the country, which will eventually sit under the E2GO umbrella.

“I am confident that our ongoing emphasis on diverse national and

international expansion, coupled with an unyielding dedication to providing top-notch, inventive, and environmentally sound mobility products and solutions, will enable us to achieve and surpass our growth targets for numerous years to come,” said Bader Saeed Al Lamki, CEO of ADNOC Distribution.

ADNOC has also announced plans to decarbonize operations and reduce carbon intensity by 25% by 2030, in addition to having converted its existing USD 1.5 billion term loan into a sustainability-linked loan.

Press Releases

AXON – Welcome to the future of refuelling

New for 2023 Petrotec have launched their new flagship Axon Fuel Dispenser Family.

Combining intelligent construction with a sharp and dynamic user experience, the new Axon range features high quality materials and uses state-of-the-art hydraulic and electronic components for long service life and reduced maintenance.

Axon has been designed alongside feedback from our customers and incorporates straight and minimalist lines to allow for a clean and simple look, while ensuring easy maintenance and cleaning. Axon has been designed from the ground up with integrated multimedia capability to allow for an amazing customer experience allowing customers to increase shop sales with the ability to promote offers whilst refuelling.

Axon also has the option to integrate the new Petrotec ConnectPay Outdoor Payment Terminal alongside the multimedia system giving customers the option for 24hr refuelling on their fuel stations increasing business profitability.

Contact Petroassist UK today for more information on the new Axon range.

About Petrotec:

Petrotec Group comprises a group of companies whose activity is focused on the production, marketing and technical assistance of equipment and systems for the storage, distribution and retail areas of the oil industry. The Group has also increasingly directed its activity towards the development of solutions that answer to the needs of a new era of mobility, namely in the areas of EV and Hydrogen.

Equipped with 100% proprietary technology, the Petrotec Group is dedicated to the production of Fuel Pumps, Vehicle Washing Equipment, Payment and Automation Systems for Fleets and Gas Stations, also providing flexible and customized solutions that, combined with its technological innovation and design, sustain the entire course of the organization. It also presents solutions for electric mobility with the sale, installation and maintenance of charging systems.

The Petrotec Group also combines its products and technologies

with engineering solutions and services, dedicated to the optimization of its business model. Iberian leader, the Group is also represented at an international level, with affiliates and distributors on five continents, thus assuming itself as a “Global Player”. The partnerships established ensure an organized distribution network, currently supported in 84 countries and which has clients of high international reputation and prestige.

About Petroassist UK

Petroassist UK supplies, installs, and maintains a broad range of forecourt equipment including fuel pumps, payment and control solutions, tank gauges and other ancillary equipment.

With a multi-skilled team of field service engineers, Petroassist UK offers a broad range of services nationwide. The company ensures the maintenance of fuel pumps or tank gauges, the installation, or upgrades to fuel infrastructure installations, tailoring its services to suit the most demanding business needs.

Company Contacts:

1 Dryden Court, Bilston Glen Industrial Estate

Loanhead EH20 9HT - SCOTLAND

(+44) 0131 440 5810

E-mail: info@petroassist.uk | uk.sales@petroassist.uk

For more information about Petrotec set of solutions please visit www.petrotec.com.

New mobile hydrogen bowser, refuelling solution from Commercial Fuel Solutions®

As industry continues to decarbonise, looking to the future, Hydrogen will certainly have its role to play, especially when it comes to the commercial vehicle sector. This gaseous fuel will be fundamental for heavy transport and off-road applications. Commercial Fuel Solutions Limited are one company who are looking to escalate Hydrogen’s uptake and have already developed a reputation as an authority in this emerging sector.

Commercial Fuel Solutions® are pleased to announce the debut of our H35 Hydrogen Bowser, Mobile Hydrogen Storage and Refuelling system at this year’s Hydrogen UK, Climate Change Solutions Hydrogen Fuel Cell Conference in Birmingham.

Managing Director and system designer Robin Futcher is an accomplished engineer with a wealth of experience spanning over 26 years and has worked on a diverse range of projects, from

developing equipment for the British Antarctic Survey for use in sub-zero temperatures to providing systems for leading Formula 1 teams.

Robin also has extensive expertise in developing regulatory guidance and currently serves on numerous technical committees for gaseous hydrogen fuelling, including BSI, British Standards Institute and ISO, the International Organisation for Standardisation.

Models are expected to roll off the production line before the end of 2023 and will be available in a range of sizes with varying capacities. The new Commercial Fuel Solutions® hydrogen bowser is available to pre-order directly from Commercial Fuel Solutions® and can be tailored to suit your specific requirements.

https://l.ead.me/h2bowser

New low carbon AdBlue® solutions from Commercial Fuel Solutions®

Commercial Fuel Solutions Limited have been supplying AdBlue for over 15 years and has developed a reputation as both an authoritative and reliable national supplier.

Recognised for their innovative solutions, which embrace both the reduction of harmful emissions and those which help to protect the environment, Commercial Fuel Solutions® has launched a new range of AdBlue products with reduced environmental impact when compared to other solutions.

2023 has seen the introduction of new packaging options and schemes which reduce both the volumes of virgin plastics as well as the associated lifetime carbon footprint of packed products. “Everybody knows that the most carbon‐efficient way to purchase

AdBlue is to operate a bulk storage tank. However, this option requires a significant investment upfront and is not viable for smaller operators who rely on the use of drums and IBCs” states Robin Futcher, Managing Director.

Robin continues, “So we took it upon ourselves to evaluate options in the market to see both where these products could be improved as well as their associated processes”

Earlier this year, Commercial Fuel Solutions® took the initiative and moved all AdBlue drum products to use a container which is not only fully recyclable but one which contains 30% recyclate itself. This move reduces the carbon impact of each drum supplied by 3.6kg and by the end of this year, as a result of this simple yet

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effective change, this initiative will have hopefully prevented over 4 tonnes of CO2e from entering the environment.

In addition to the new lower carbon drums, Commercial Fuel Solutions have amended their IBC supply process to introduce a fair wear and tear policy where they will replace the internal bottle

of their customers’ IBCs free of charge once it reaches the end of its life. This process reduces the carbon impact by 97.5kg/CO2e per container lifecycle. These new packaging options are available immediately from Commercial Fuel Solutions® and can be ordered online through the website; commercialfuelsolutions.co.uk.

North Sea Chapter of IADC urges politicians to maintain focus to avoid ‘economic adversity’ for UK

Aberdeen 8 March 2023 – Parliamentarians across the UK have been urged to ignore the “political point scoring” which has led to premature calls for the abandonment of the UK’s oil and gas industry.

The call came in a letter from the North Sea Chapter of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) to members of parliament in London and Edinburgh after the group’s “encouraging” discussions with members of Westminster’s British Offshore Oil and Gas Industry All Party Parliamentary Group about the future of the industry.

In the letter to politicians, the association, which represents more than 800 drilling companies across the globe including 14 contractors and more than 80 associates in the UK Continental Shelf, reaffirmed its position that politicians and the oil and gas industry work together to ensure a long-term, balanced approach to the energy transition.

And the group said more vocal support from policymakers is required urgently to “avoid an imminent economic and energy supply catastrophe on a national scale”, and outlined three key areas required to preserve the oil and gas industry:

•A mature, pragmatic, joined up and long-term approach to our country’s energy provision

•A recognition of the impending energy crisis that the public will face if we do not de-risk investment in the North Sea, but rather kill the golden goose by rhetoric and stifling taxation

•An orderly energy transition over a measured period with tangible goals

Darren Sutherland, Chair of the IADC North Sea Chapter, said: “This letter is not a case of drillers causing fear and alarm in order to protect self-interest. There is a real danger that the UK will be left without the resources and talent to make the energy transition a reality safely, swiftly and securely if we do not sit up and take notice now.

“We were encouraged by our visit to Westminster to speak to the All Party Parliamentary Group, and we left London with a sense of optimism. However, it is crucial that – regardless of political beliefs – everyone acts now, and in the best interests of the United Kingdom, to ensure a secure supply of energy as we make that transition.”

The association had previously voiced its concerns about a migration of drilling rigs and equipment to other basins, reducing the drilling and decommissioning capability in the North Sea.

In its letter to all 779 politicians of all parties, IADC voiced concerns about these rigs – and possibly more – being lost for good.

The letter states: “As the industry body for the Drilling Contractor community, we are particularly concerned about drilling rigs, uniquely designed for the North Sea, leaving our waters unlikely to return.

“Drilling rigs are the ‘tip of the spear’ responsible for drilling the oil and gas wells required to support production. These rigs are also vital to the decommissioning of the hundreds of wells that need to be removed from the UKCS.

“Reduction in the available fleet size will severely hamper all of the above.”

Darren added: “While it will ultimately lead to a reduction in the amount of drilling we undertake in the North Sea, like everyone else, we welcome the development of the renewables sector.

“However, given there are operators already planning to leave the region, or at the very least curtail investment, the importance of the transition taking place in an orderly manner that will protect jobs, the economy and our energy security cannot be stressed enough.”

6th March 2023

Dear Members of Parliament,

For more than 50 years, the UK oil and gas industry has been the bedrock of the nation’s economy, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and delivering billions of pounds in taxes to support economic development. We have set global standards for responsible exploration and production as well as leading HSE performance. Most importantly, the British public has been able to rely on secure and uninterrupted energy supplies for lighting, heating and cooking – without fear of blackouts. North Sea oil and gas has indisputably been a key driver in the growth of the UK economy over the past five decades.

Today, the need for an energy transition is clear. Sadly, political point scoring and vociferous flag waving by some are leading to premature calls for the abandonment of our oil and gas industry. However, it is vital, that oil and gas and renewables work together for an orderly transition to take place.

While we welcome the development of the renewables sector, there is a very real and pressing danger that if governments do not support our oil and gas industry during this transition, we risk irreparable damage to supply or indeed losing it forever. There are examples of operators planning to exit the North Sea, reduce their operations and curtail investment due to our tax regime. The chief executive of OEUK has described the industry as “suffering”.

The energy transition requires oil and gas and renewables, not oil and gas or renewables.

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There are several reasons for this:

•The war in Ukraine and rising energy prices have made it very clear that the public wants a secure energy supply. Data from the Office for National Statistics suggests the UK spent a record £117 billion on energy imports in 2022. That was double the total for 2021 and equivalent to £4,200 per every UK household. To safeguard our future energy security, we must no longer be forced to rely on imports from other countries.

•Oil and gas currently supply 75% of UK energy with 56% coming from national waters. Demand and forecasts suggest oil and gas will continue to play a large part in our energy supply for 10-20 years at least. Renewables could not currently make up the short fall.

•More than 200,000 jobs are supported by the UK oil and gas industry through operators and the supply chain. Their loss would have a catastrophic effect on the national economy and livelihoods around the country.

•The industry contributes a vast sum to the UK economy (more than £28bn in GVA last year) with the UK Government forecasting the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) will add an additional £5 billion this year amidst what is predicted to be recession.

As the industry body for the Drilling Contractor community we are particularly concerned about drilling rigs, uniquely designed for the North Sea, leaving our waters unlikely to return. Drilling rigs are the ‘tip of the spear’ responsible for drilling the oil and gas wells required to support production. These rigs are also vital to the decommissioning of the hundreds of wells that need to be removed

from the UKCS. Furthermore, drilling rigs and their personnel will play a critical role in meeting Net Zero through the facilitation of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (“CCUS”). Reduction in the available fleet size will severely hamper all of the above.

To preserve our oil and gas industry, we ask for:

•A mature, pragmatic, joined up and long-term approach to our country’s energy provision.

•A recognition of the impending energy crisis that the public will face if we do not de-risk investment in the North Sea, but rather kill the golden goose by rhetoric and stifling taxation.

•An orderly energy transition over a measured period with tangible goals.

Our recent attendance at the UK Government’s British Offshore Oil and Gas Industry All Party Parliamentary Group was an encouraging start to redressing the balance. But more vocal support of our oil and gas industry from policymakers is required urgently to avoid an imminent economic and energy supply catastrophe on a national scale.

We respectfully request your support in this critical matter. We would welcome further dialogue to determine how the industry and the Government can work effectively together for the continued benefit of the national economy and to meet the energy needs of the UK public.

For and on behalf of IADC North Sea Chapter

Darren Sutherland Chairman

ISTOBAL maintains its delivery deadlines despite tensions in supply chain

•They broke production records in November and December 2021, as well as container exports, despite the difficult situation of the ports and the shortage of containers and materials.

•The monitoring of supplies and data management in real time, logistics alternatives, transversal communication throughout the value chain, among other measures, have allowed them to speed up their service times.

ISTOBAL, the leading Spanish group in vehicle wash and care solutions, maintains its delivery deadlines in 2022 despite the tensions in the supply chain thanks to the measures adopted in advance at its production plants, production, warehouses and production planning.

The digital transformation of ISTOBAL’s operations, together with the coordination of all its departments and the continuous improvement of its processes, has allowed the company to increase its agility and flexibility. This way, ISTOBAL manages all its resources more efficiently and guarantees customer service,

despite the scarcity and increase in the cost of materials, the increase in logistics and freight costs, the difficulties in international transport, among other problems of Supply Chain.

Mª José Ramón, Director of Operations of ISTOBAL, has highlighted that the adoption of new strategies that permeate the entire value chain such as the implementation of crisis rooms or “war rooms”, the deployment of the S&OP (Sales and Operations Planning) process, in addition to the continuous improvement of processes and systems, has allowed the company to face the crisis in the supply chain and offer the best solution to its customers.

“Thanks to the actions carried out with our teams, we achieved production records in November and December of last year and broke container export records, despite the difficult situation of the ports and the crisis of lack of components and containers”underlined Mª José Ramón.

ISTOBAL’s strategic plan to deal with difficulties in the supply chain is based on three methodologies that promote agility and the level of competitiveness in the current context to guarantee the

continuity of production, distribution, and customer satisfaction. Faced with the supply crisis, ISTOBAL has activated several crisis and monitoring rooms, focused on the visualization and management of real-time supply data and supplier management, made up of a multidisciplinary work team for quick decisionmaking.

Likewise, it has promoted a single operational model with all its subsidiaries and has enabled a specialized logistics team to manage transport, in addition to promoting transversal communication throughout the value chain, from the supplier to the customer.

One of the initiatives carried out has been the elimination of external warehouses, integrating all this material in the ISTOBAL facilities with a double objective, to reduce manufacturing lead time and improve internal logistics. In order to launch this project, important changes have been made to the layout in the production plant, which have not at any time affected production at the company’s headquarters or affected any order.

Additionally, ISTOBAL has launched various processes at the level of stock management to maintain the same level of service for its

customers under current conditions. In the opinion of Mª José Ramón, communication, coordination and synchronization of teams and processes in an agile manner, which affect the entire value chain, have been the keys to success.

Thanks to the flexibility of production lines and adaptation to the complexities of the supply chain, ISTOBAL has managed to increase its degree of efficiency, improving quality indicators, delivery times and customer satisfaction, becoming a company with ratios of first level with robust, automated and digitized processes.

In recent months, not only have production and export records been achieved while maintaining delivery deadlines, but thanks to the focus on continuous improvement, ISTOBAL has managed to exceed its best results in the main operational management indicators. Thus, the results obtained in the internal efficiency indicators of the production chain have been increased by up to 30%, reducing by more than 50% the quality incidents detected in regular controls thanks to the numerous improvements implemented in products and processes, and with the best full compliance with deliveries achieved to date.

Dover Fueling Solutions introduces DX Power™ to integrate EV chargers with the Prizma Ecosystem

AUSTIN, TEXAS – Dover Fueling Solutions (DFS), a part of Dover Corporation and a leading global provider of advanced customerfocused technologies, services and solutions in the fuel and convenience retail industry, is thrilled to announce the launch of DX Power™ within the European, Middle Eastern and African region. DX Power is a solution that integrates electric vehicle (EV) chargers with Prizma, DFS’ connected mobility and convenience hub, to provide retailers with improved visibility and control, and customers with flexible payment options.

In today’s fuel retail environment, most EV chargers run separately to the main point-of-sale (POS) and outdoor payment systems resulting in customers requiring a roaming contract or registration to pay via charge cards. As a modular and open cloud-based platform, DX Power can interface with any EV charger and Charge Point Operator to provide a frictionless customer journey.

This solution seamlessly bridges the gap between EV chargers and the remaining forecourt system, helping streamline retail sites as

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they transition to supporting a new way of powering vehicles. “DX Power is a solution that can set a fuel retail business apart from the competition,” said Raf Tormans, Senior Manager, Product Management, DFS. “It efficiently connects EV chargers, fuel dispensers, payment systems and your c-store, offering retailers increased visibility into their sales and providing customers with an effortless experience.”

DX Power leverages the Prizma ecosystem and existing loyalty programs on fuel retail sites to ensure EV chargers are included in transactions through the POS. This gives customers the additional ability to pay with cash, as well as traditional bank (credit or debit), local account and fleet cards.

Facilitating the re-use of existing forecourt equipment, DX Power in conjunction with Prizma optimizes investments and provides site operators with clear visibility and control over payment options, and the status of EV chargers on their forecourt.

“The energy mix in the fuel and convenience retail industry is changing,” said David McGuinness, Director Product Management,

Electric Vehicle Charging, DFS. “DX Power will help future-proof businesses by allowing them to easily navigate the energy shift and ensure they’re well prepared to serve a combination of customer needs. This solution further strengthens DFS’s product portfolio around EV charging, following on from the launch of the Power UX™ 180 Electric Vehicle Charging System last year.”

DX Power is compliant with applicable industry standards (OCPP and OCPI), European Union regulations and proposed Alternative Fuel and Infrastructure Regulations and is interoperable with applicable Charge Point Operator platforms using open charge point interface and open charge point protocol for remote management and monitoring.

For more information about DX Power visit www.doverfuelingsolutions.com/dxpower

For more information about Prizma, visit: www.prizma-dfs.com/

For more information about Power UX 180, visit: www.doverfuelingsolutions.com/evchargers.

CEN and CENELEC welcome the new roadmap on hydrogen standardsation

On Wednesday 1 March, CEN and CENELEC’s Director General, Elena Santiago Cid, received from the hands of Maive Rute, the European Commission’s Chief Standardization Officer, the new Roadmap on hydrogen standardization. CEN and CENELEC welcome the publication of this important document and are committed to collaborating to the roll out of large-scale hydrogen solutions across the EU.

The Roadmap represents a flagship moment in the EU’s efforts to facilitate the transition to more sustainable energy and transport systems. It provides a comprehensive overview of standardization gaps, challenges and needs across the whole hydrogen chain, together with the steps already taken by the industry.

It also includes a set of recommendations to streamline and accelerate the standards developing process, in line with the European Standardization Strategy of 2 February 2022.

The Roadmap has been developed by the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, set up by the Commission to bring together industry and other stakeholders to support the large-scale deployment of clean hydrogen technologies by 2030.

In the words of Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Single Market, the objective of the plan is to “provide businesses with a stable regulatory and standardization framework, so as to ensure Europe’s technological sovereignty in this area and contribute to its decarbonisation.

It also creates the conditions to allow EU standards to become

global benchmarks for hydrogen technologies”. CEN and CENELEC, as two of the officially recognised European Standardization Organizations (ESOs), have long been committed to developing standards for hydrogen technologies across the board. Activities in the area have been undertaken by a variety of Technical Committees: some examples include CEN- CLC/JTC 6 ‘Hydrogen in energy Systems’, CEN/TC 268 ‘Cryogenic vessels and specific hydrogen technologies applications’ and CEN/TC 234 ‘Gas infrastructure’. Furthermore, the CEN and CENELEC Sector Forum Energy Management Working Group ‘Hydrogen’, provides horizontal support to the different CEN and CENELEC Technical Committees working with hydrogen.

Based on this experience and on the wider commitment to a more sustainable energy system in the context of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, CEN and CENELEC are ready to participate to the development of the European hydrogen sector, together with all relevant experts and stakeholders. In particular, the two organizations are looking forward to the definition of the next steps, as foreseen by the Roadmap, including the expected Standardization Requests from the European Commission.

Elena Santiago Cid, CEN and CENELEC’s Director General, commented: “Through this Roadmap, the European Commission shows once more its trust in the strategic role played by standards in fostering the dissemination of a promising new technology. On the 30th Anniversary of the Single Market, this is another good reminder of the power of standards in the making of Europe. At CEN and CENELEC, we are committed to helping turn the vision of a fully decarbonised energy system into reality”.

KPS introduces lightweight electrostatically safe 6” piping system to make high-flow fuel & chemical transport simpler & safer

This new system, a world first, has been designed to combine KPS piping’s industry-leading safety and installer-friendly qualities with a high flow rate of up to 2,500 litres/minute to meet demand from applications including depots, fuel distribution, ports, mining, rail, data centres and many more.

The Importance Of Conductive Piping

‘When fuel flows through a pipe, it creates friction, creating an electrical charge on the pipe wall. If the material is not conductive, the charges (free electrons) can’t flow anywhere and consequently accumulate until a rapid discharge can occur: a spark!

In 1997, we developed the world’s first conductive HDPE piping to combine the lightweight, corrosion‐free benefits of HDPE with the conductive safety of metal. A conductive inner layer allows static electricity to dissipate into the earth.

Now, a number of countries, including China, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia and the Baltic States, require conductive piping to be used for filling stations, as well as a number of major oil companies, including BP, OMV, PetroChina, Q8, Aral, Total and Esso. As future fuels containing oxygen which generate more friction are increasingly used, conductive piping becomes ever more important.’ ‘ Staffan Helleday, Technical Director, KPS

High Flow, High Performance

KPS’ new 6” double wall conductive piping system provides flow rates up to 2,500 litres/minute, the highest flow rate available in the KPS piping portfolio. This innovative conductive system consists of a 160mm primary pipe and a 200mm secondary pipe, providing an extra layer of protection and enabling interstitial monitoring. Suitable for sensitive liquids like fuel and chemicals, including petrol, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol blends, AdBlue, Jet-A1, alcohols, acids and other chemical products. The system is approved to EN 14125, ATEX 137, EN 13463-1, as well as many other country and fuel-specific standards.

Engineered For Easy Installation

Like all KPS piping, the new 6” system is engineered for installers to reduce cost and build time. The complete range of fitting and components for the new 6” conductive double wall pipe system are electrofusion welded, with no butt welds needed, and the range is supported by the KPS technical team, including training and certification (classroom and on-site).

‘We’re excited to launch another KPS world first: the 6” piping range, centred around making fuel transport safer and installation easier’ Jo Stott, Marketing Director, OPW (KPS’ parent company). For more information visit kpspiping.com/6-conductive-HDPE-piping.

UNITI expo on track for a strong return on its tenth anniversary

The leading European trade fair for the retail petroleum and car wash industries will celebrate its first decade on May 14-16 2024 in Stuttgart.

UNITI expo is gearing up to celebrate its fifth edition on May 1416 2024 after last year’s successful return. The leading European trade fair for the retail petroleum and car wash industries will once again welcome top companies and professionals from all over the world at Messe Stuttgart for its tenth anniversary.

A total of 431 exhibitors from 37 countries and 16,000 attendees from 100 countries gathered at UNITI expo 2022, proving its role as the largest European industry trade fair. Thanks to this success, a large proportion of last year’s exhibitors secured their place for UNITI expo 2024 immediately. As a result, 70% of the exhibition space is already booked and all major industry players are confirmed to participate in the next edition.

Companies interested in sharing in the success of UNITI expo 2024 can secure their place at the trade show right now through UNITI expo’s official website www.uniti-expo.de/en/.

“The response has already been very positive, and demand is still high for anyone who wants to exhibit at UNITI expo 2024. For this edition, we will also focus more on the alternative fuels area as we have already signed several exhibitors from that sector,” says Ben

Boroewitsch, CEO of com-a-tec GmbH and responsible for exhibitor acquisition at UNITI expo.

Having debuted in 2014 and with ten years of experience to its credit, UNITI expo 2024 will maintain the proven concept of previous editions. Thus, Halls 1, 3 and 5 of Messe Stuttgart will offer a total of 40,000 m² of exhibition space to explore the four themed areas: “Technology, payment & logistics”, “Car wash & car care”, “Oil companies & fuel retailers” and “Shop & convenience”.

UNITI expo 2024 is back next year on May 14-16. Constantly updated information for exhibitors and visitors can be found at www.uniti-expo.com.

About UNITI expo

UNITI expo is the leading European trade fair for the retail petroleum and car wash industries. With its compact three-day format, the biennial trade show is tailored to the needs of its target audience. The exhibition space is divided into four themed areas: Technology, payment & logistics; Car wash & car care; Oil companies & fuel retailers; and Shop & convenience. In 2022, the fourth edition of UNITI expo gathered 431 exhibitors and 16,000 attendees from 100 countries on an exhibition area of 40,000 m². UNITI expo is organized by UNITI-Kraftstoff GmbH in cooperation with com-a-tec GmbH.

A conductive inner layer allows static electricity to safely dissipate into the earth, while a secondary pipe provides an extra layer of protection and enables interstitial monitoring.

Branches

Scottish

The Annual General Meeting of the Scottish Branch of APEA will take place at the Radstone Hotel, 3 Ayr Road, Shawsburn, ML9 2TZ on 17 May at 13 30. All members are invited to attend.

This will coincide with the PRA Scottish Forecourt Roadshow at the same hotel in the hope that this will attract our members. We have speakers arranged from the PRA and Suresite and CPD certificates will be available to those that need them to justify attendance from their employers.

Please contact Lou Woods: Lou.Woods@rmif.co.uk, to register for the Roadshow. Should you wish to join the Branch Committee and help with the running of the branch, please contact Andy King at

Irish

The Irish Branch held a committee meeting on the 5th April 2023 in Gormanstown Co. Meath. The meeting was well attended by members from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The minutes of the 2022 AGM were reviewed and any matters arising discussed. There was very positive feedback received on the quality of the guest speakers that gave presentations at the AGM and this was noted. The 2023 AGM will be held on 9th November 2023 and discussions were had regarding the

andy.king@midlothian.gov.uk. Speakers from the following organisations will provide information on their specialist subjects:

•Andy King on Resilience and Designated Fuel Sites

•The Scottish Government on Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Legislation

•The Petroleum Retailers Association on the work of the association

•Suresite Ltd on Fuel Site Inspections.

I look forward to seeing you at the AGM.

Ian Hillier Branch Representative

presentations and guest speakers to be included at this event. The treasurer reported on the finances of the Irish Branch and the current review of the Blue Book and Red Guide were then discussed. There were updates on the revision of the Flammable Fuel Store Regulations, the Licensing Fees Regulations and the Dangerous Substances Act.

Michael O Connell Branch Representative – Irish Branch

Training

Training course dates and locations 2023

3 Day Combined Petrol Filling Stations –Construction, Audit and Inspection Course

12 - 14 June 2023Solihull

4 - 6 September 2023Stansted Airport

2 day Electrical Installations - An Awareness

15 -6 September 2023Swindon

Explosives and Fireworks

5 October 2023Stansted Airport

Please contact the APEA office for a quotation for a bespoke course we can run at your offices, for any of the courses listed below, at admin@apea.org.uk, with an approximate number of delegates and preferred dates.

Wetstock Management

11 September 2023Stansted Airport

DSEAR

12 September 2023Stansted Airport

Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulations 2014

7 September 2023Stansted Airport

Petrol Filling Station courses on request

Vapour Recovery Installations

Leak Investigation

Enforcement Procedures

Safe Installation and Use of LPG

Online Training courses

To book go to the Training page on the APEA website at www.apea.org.uk for the link or to https://apea.org.uk/pages/training or https://apea.mykademy.com/

Key Areas of a Filling Station £50

The Future of Fuels £50

Drainage, Vapour Recovery and Leak Detection £50

Road Tanker Delivery and Consignor Requirements £50

Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulation 2014 £50

Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations

2002 £50

Inspection Preparation Online Training £50

The Red Guide £50

8in1 APEA Full Course Bundle £250

8 Courses

Key Areas of the Filling Station

The Future of Fuels

Drainage, Vapour Recovery and Leak Detection

Road Tanker Delivery & Consignor Requirements

Petroleum (Consolidation) Regulation 2014

Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulation

2002

Preparing for Inspection

The Red Guide

Course Fees

Prices excluding VAT.

More information and booking details on the “Training” page at www.apea.org.uk.

Anyone booking a training course that is not an APEA member will automatically receive complimentary “Individual” membership to the APEA for one year.

Courses will be designed around the (4th edition) Blue Book Guidance for the Design, Construction, Modification, Maintenance and Decommissioning of Filling Stations (May 2018).

A hard copy and a pdf version of the 4th Edition is available from the Publications page of the APEA website at www.apea.org.uk

The hardcopy is £75.00 to APEA Members and £150.00 to non APEA members. There is no VAT charged on the hardcopy or pdf formats. The pdf version can be purchased with a licence for individual use and cannot be shared or printed. It is strongly

recommended that attendees have access to this document during courses.

For details of this and any other training enquiry, please contact:

Jane Mardell - APEA Business Manager

email: admin@apea.org.uk

Tel: + 44 (0) 345 603 5507 or Thomas Daly (Training Committee Chairman)

Tel: +353 876899281

email: thomasdaly@apea.org.uk

a

15 members of the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue fire safety department attended a 3 day Petrol Filling Stations Construction and Inspection course at their Headquarters in Sunderland.

The Authority had lost

number of their more experienced petroleum officers due to retirements and were keen to ensure that petroleum expertise in the Authority was continued. The course also included the physical inspection of a petrol station where delegates were able to view the equipment they had seen during the presentations. The APEA were pleased to report that all the delegates passed their tests and have been awarded their CPD certificates.

Delegates who attended a 3 day Petrol Filling Stations Construction and Inspection course at Manchester in March.