Release
The Blue Corridor – Gas into Engines 2019 Rally kicked off today in Istanbul. The large-scale international rally for vehicles powered by natural gas will traverse Europe and Russia. The event is organized by Gazprom and Germany’s Uniper.
The race features more than 20 cars, trucks and passenger vehicles powered by compressed and liquefied natural gas. The rally will demonstrate the eco-friendliness and efficiency of natural gas as a vehicle fuel, as well as the reliability of methane-driven vehicles.
The route of the rally is divided into two parts: European and Russian. In the European section, NGVs will travel 5,320 kilometers across Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Belgium, Austria, and Germany. The first stage of the race will conclude on September 20 in Lubmin, Germany.
On the same day, the rally will commence in Russia, starting off at the Russkaya compressor station in the Krasnodar Territory. Its route will then pass through the Rostov, Voronezh, Belgorod, Moscow, Novgorod and Leningrad regions. The Russian section is 2,760 kilometers long.
The race will finish on October 3 at the EXPOFORUM Convention and Exhibition Centre during the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum.
The program of the rally includes meetings with NGV market players, representatives of government authorities, and experts. In addition, it is planned to officially launch a number of new refueling stations of Gazprom at the Russian stage of the race.
Background
Uniper SE is an energy company focused on natural gas, power generation, and global energy trading.
The Blue Corridor Rally was first held by the Gazprom Group in 2008. In 2010, Uniper joined the project as a co-organizer. Later, other members of the European and Russian natural gas and automotive markets joined the project as well. Since the launch of the Blue Corridor, more than 200 factory-built vehicles powered by CNG and LNG have traveled over 60,000 kilometers across 130 cities in 26 countries of Europe and Asia, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Natural gas (methane) is a key alternative to petroleum-based fuels. Its average price in Russia is RUB 16 per cubic meter. It costs the drivers of methane-powered cars RUB 1.6 per kilometer driven. In terms of fuel consumption, 1 cubic meter of methane is equivalent to 1 liter of gasoline.
