How ENGIE saves 15% on LNG and hydrogen supply chain costs using Hexaly

Customer stories Energy Transportation Routing Supply Chain Optimization

Louisa Senior Technical Writer January 2, 2023

ENGIE is a French multinational utility company that operates in energy transition, electricity generation and distribution, natural gas, nuclear, renewable energy, and petroleum. In 2021, the company employed 160,000 people worldwide with revenues of €58 billion. ENGIE’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Liquified Hydrogen (LH2) supply chain optimization represents a significant financial challenge. After a benchmark on the subjacent optimization problem, ENGIE has chosen Hexaly Optimizer against MILP solvers like Gurobi and IBM ILOG CPLEX to motorize their in-house LNG and LH2 supply chain optimization software solution, namely Optiretail.

ENGIE’s LNG and LH2 supply chain optimization problem

Several onshore customers need to be supplied with cryogenic liquid gas, like LNG and LH2, from sources. The demand of each client is known for every time step. Different transportation means, like vessels or trucks, can supply cryogenic liquid gas from sources to customers, possibly using intermediate hubs. Each carrier is characterized by its storage capacity, costs, and the list of sites it can visit. A tour is a distribution trip starting from a source at full capacity, visiting a certain number of sites, unloading a fraction of its load at each site, and finally getting back to the starting source. A schedule is a set of tours over the horizon. The cost of the schedule is composed of fixed costs and operating costs. The objective is to minimize this cost over a long-term horizon, typically 20 years.

ENGIE’s LNG and LH2 supply chain optimization software

The Optiretail software solution helps ENGIE’s analysts design optimal supply chains for cryogenic liquid gas supply projects, from sourcing to delivery, by minimizing the project’s total cost (CAPEX and OPEX). It enables testing new configurations quickly and can be used for project dimensioning and real-time optimization for all market opportunities: power, fuel for road and marine transportation, and industrials.

This digital solution allows ENGIE to reduce the cost of cryogenic liquid gas distribution by up to 15% and promote the development of new uses for LNG and Hydrogen. As another proof of excellence and performance, ENGIE’s Optiretail software won the LNG Innovation Award at the 2018 World Gas Conference (WGC 2018) in Washington, DC.

Why Hexaly?

Following a successful performance benchmark against MILP solvers, including Gurobi and IBM ILOG CPLEX, ENGIE teams chose Hexaly as an optimization engine to motorize their supply chain optimization software solution. Hexaly allows them to obtain near-optimal solutions for the long-term planning of delivery routes and storage within only a few minutes of running time. The resulting software solution Optiretail is now operationally used by ENGIE to carry out supply chain design studies for its cryogenic liquid gas supply projects.

Optiretail has revolutionized the design of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) supply chain, thanks to the powerful capabilities of Hexaly Optimizer. This advanced tool has enabled ENGIE to minimize total project costs from sourcing to delivery, achieving up to a 15% reduction in LNG distribution expenses. What sets Hexaly Optimizer apart is not just its technical performance, but the exceptional support from the Hexaly team. Their expertise and responsiveness have been invaluable in fine-tuning the solution to fit ENGIE’s specific needs. The collaboration with Hexaly has not only delivered remarkable cost savings but also opened the door for new, innovative uses of LNG. With Hexaly Optimizer at the heart of the solution, Optiretail is setting a new standard for efficiency and sustainability in the energy sector, driving both immediate results and long-term impact.

Gabrielle Menard LNG Lab Manager, ENGIE

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