Gas Natural Fenosa to Develop LNG Supply Network, Spain

Gas Natural Fenosa and the company HAM Criogénica presented the European GARnet (Gas as an Alternative for Road Transport) project this week in Brussels at a conference organised by the European Commission. The project allows for the creation of a network of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) stations that provide service to long-distance vehicles that use this fuel.

The aim of the GARnet project is to analyse, from a technological as well as an economic point of view, which are the best alternatives for enabling the development of an extensive LNG supply network.

The GARnet project, which has a total budget of 3.8 million euros, recently received 1.9 million euros financial assistance from the European Agency for Trans-European Transport Networks (Ten-T EA) the European Commission body whose mission is to assure the technical and financial development of trans-European transport infrastructure projects, with a special focus on innovation.

In order to carry out the study and validate the results of the GARnet project seven LNG service stations, four fixed and three mobile, will be set up in Spain to test the technologies with the greatest potential for roll-out on a European level. The integration of communication technologies for the supply of large volumes of LNG to future LNG stations, which will enable the network to be properly managed, will also be evaluated.

The stations will be located on some of the main European goods traffic routes, at such a distance that the lorries that use LNG can circulate without supply problems.

This project is established within the European Union’s objectives for road transport, which are aimed at promoting and harmonising safer, more efficient and less polluting services. In this context, liquid natural gas is seen as a sound alternative for reducing transport-derived emissions.

[mappress]
LNG World News Staff, December 06, 2012; Image: Gas Natural Fenosa