EMEA News
European Commission VP Backs LNG Bunkers
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the only viable option to allow the shipping industry to meet its emissions targets, Siim Kallas, vice president of the European Commission (EC), told the European Conference on Future Transport Fuels in Brussels.
Kallas said government and industry need to work together to develop the infrastructure that will allow more ships to use LNG bunkers.
“Fuelling facilities are still very limited,” he said.
“They should be made available for waterborne vessels in Europe’s major sea, river and canal ports, and for road vehicles along the main motorways.”
Kallas said European officials are developing a plan for the development of alternative fuels through infrastructure improvements and the creation of specific standards, including an action plan for the development of LNG for shipping.
“Developing innovative and cleaner alternative fuels is an obvious way to make Europe's economy more resource-efficient and reduce transport’s overdependence on oil,” he said.
In general, Kallas said, delays in the adoption of alternative transportation fuels are caused less by immature technology than by the high cost of vehicles using cleaner energy, poor consumer acceptance, and a lack of infrastructure for recharging or refueling.
He said the market is “stuck in a vicious circle” in which investors do not pay for fuel infrastructure because there are too few vehicles and vessels to use it, but consumers do not buy alternative transportation products because of the lack of infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the lack of consumer demand means manufacturers cannot provide the products at affordable prices.
With stricter emissions rules set to go into effect in 2015 in the European Emissions Control Area (ECA), LNG bunkering facilities are being planned in areas including the Baltic Sea and Belgium.
