French partners develop biofuel supply chain along the Seine river axis

In France, with new flows operated by SOGEPP (Société de Gestion de Produits Pétroliers) which use multimodality for the transport of energy products, a supply chain dedicated to biofuels is gaining momentum on the scale of the Seine axis.  HAROPA PORT wishes in particular to develop river transport between the Normandy seaports and the Paris region for products which cannot pass through pipelines (ethanols, diester, etc.) and which until now were mainly transported by road. 

The SOGEPP site in Gennevilliers, which mainly serves service stations in Ile-de-France but also in neighboring regions, is the first depot in the Ile-de-France region to invest in river logistics to ensure the development of biosourced and sustainable liquid energy products.

In order to support this initiative, HAROPA PORT built a river transshipment quay in 2022 for an amount of €1.1 million. It can also be used for other activities: in particular construction or for the circular economy. The project was made possible thanks to the financial support of Voies navigables de France as part of the modal shift aid plan co-financed by the Ile-de-France region.

A first unloading of an ethanol barge carried out in January 2023 made it possible to validate the placement and the connectors of the quay. Since then, the stopovers follow each other on a regular basis.