Gas Natural Fenosa and Baleària officially launch Spain’s first natural gas engine for passenger boats, in the Port of Barcelona. Both companies have fostered the development and installation of the auxiliary engine and a 30 m3 tank of LNG (which can operate for one week) on the ferry Abel Matutes owned by Baleària, which operates a daily Barcelona-Palma de Mallorca route. The project to transform the ferry was carried out without interfering with its routes and operations.
The launch was attended by the Chairman of Baleària, Adolfo Utor, the General Manager of Retail Businesses at Gas Natural Fenosa, Daniel López Jordà, and the President of the Port of Barcelona, Sixte Cambra.
The Chairman of Baleària, Adolfo Utor, commented that this project involved “the solid first step in Baleària’s support for natural gas”, with shipping a worldwide pioneer in its use, through the current construction of three smartships powered by LNG. Utor remarked that a commitment to the environment and the use of non-polluting energy was “a strategic decision for the company”.
Meanwhile, the general manager of Retail Business at Gas Natural Fenosa, Daniel López Jordà, stated that the project was “a major commitment from our company to innovation, with the goal of achieving better air quality, in both the city and the port. Natural gas will be a key factor in the transport sector in the coming years, owing to its clear contribution to reducing emissions and suspended particles”.
The President of the Port of Barcelona, Sixte Cambra, highlighted how this initiative demonstrated Baleària’s big vision of the future and set “out the path to follow”. “The key element here in the Air Quality Improvement Plan for the Port of Barcelona is the adoption of LNG as an alternative transport fuel, seeing as, besides significantly reducing atmospheric emissions, it makes transport more competitive and, by extension, industry too. Furthermore, having LNG-supply infrastructure enables the Port of Barcelona to attract the “more modern and energy-efficient” ships.
A pioneering project to improve the quality of air in both the city and the port
The new natural gas engine is fully integrated into the ship’s electricity plant, enabling it to operate with any of the auxiliary engines, with no visual impact. The ship consumes natural gas in its maneuvers to approach and leave the port and for its electricity production while it is docked, instead of its usual fuel. The ferry, which measures 190 meters in length, has a capacity of 900 people and 2,235 linear meters of wheeled cargo. Application of this technology will lead to an emissions reduction and an annual saving of almost 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), over 60 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and 6 tons of sulfur oxide (SOx).
Gas Natural Fenosa has developed innovative tailor-made custom solutions for the market sectors that wish to serve as examples in the transformations to latest-generation equipment, which involve financial savings and environmental improvements. After wide-ranging experience on land, the company is concentrating on natural gas uses for the maritime sector.
The Gas Natural Fenosa and Baleària project is part of the CLEANPORT initiative and is being cofunded by the European Union under the CEF-Transport program. Also taking part are the ports of Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca, and the Directorate-General of the Merchant Navy
Earlier this year the energy company performed its first loading or bunkering of LNG for the Baleària ship Abel Matutes. The loading of natural gas was part of the energy supply contract signed by Gas Natural Fenosa and Baleària when they launched the project, and represented the first operation of its kind in the Port of Barcelona.
Source: Gas Natural Fenosa
