The third conference of CORE LNGas hive project was held in April to boost LNG as a more sustainable fuel for transport, especially shipping. The president of Puertos del Estado Salvador de la Encina, the president of the Bahia de Algeciras Port Authority (APBA) Gerardo Landaluce, and the general director of Infrastructure of Enagás Claudio Rodríguez made the opening of the event.
The conference explained the progress of the project and the support of the European Commission and the Spanish administration to promote decarbonization in maritime transport, especially in ports. The main advances made are the adaptation and development of infrastructures and the application of LNG to multimodal transport to facilitate the provision of small scale LNG and bunkering services in the Iberian Peninsula.
“Spanish ports are a reference for technological and LNG handling. Spain already has the basic infrastructure, with six operational plants in the ports, which represent 40% of the storage capacity of all of Europe and 5.35% of the world,” said de la Encina.
Landaluce also commented: “Through the efforts that are being made at the moment, Algeciras intends to consolidate in the future as a reference in the use of LNG in the maritime sector.” He recalled that in 2012 the port performed the first LNG bunkering operation in the country and explained that they currently supply LNG through tanker trucks. He also emphasized the need for a competitive regulatory framework on issues such as tolls to access gas import plants.
“The hive project will allow Spain to lead the process of energy transition in the maritime sector at European level, a leadership based on the recent 50 years of history of LNG in our country and greatly ratified through the development of a innovative, competitive and sustainable logistics capable of allowing the provision of capacity to meet the demand of the sector five years in advance of what is required by the Community Directives,” Rodríguez added.
The Spanish ports are strongly committed to the promotion of natural gas as marine fuel, while the Peninsula keeps experiencing a great growth in the adoption of clean energy mobility. In this extremely encouraging scenario, AltFuels Iberia 2019 will take place on 11-14 June at IFEMA Trade Center, Madrid. It will be an event consisting of first level conferences and exhibition of vehicles of all kinds, refueling stations, components, plants, road and marine engines, as well as the entire universe of the alternative fuels industry with the latest technological developments, multiple options for networking, business and new advances. For more information, please contact info@altfuelsiberia.com.
Source: Puertos del Estado
