EMEA News
EC Calls for LNG Bunkering Across Europe
The European Commission (EC) is calling for the installation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) refuelling stations in all major ports in the European Union (EU).
The proposal, part of a larger plan to add alternative fuel stations across Europe, calls for the LNG stations to be added at 139 ports on the Trans European Core Network, with a 2020 deadline for the maritime ports and 2025 for inland ports.
The stations should be fixed or mobile refuelling stations, but not major gas terminals, the EC said.
The plan also calls for networks of electric, hydrogen, LNG, and compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling stations for road vehicles.
"Developing innovative and alternative fuels is an obvious way to make Europe's economy more resource efficient, to reduce our overdependence on oil and develop a transport industry which is ready to respond to the demands of the 21st century," said EC Vice President Siim Kallas.
Under the proposal, EU member states would be required to meet the targets, but the EC said the changes would not necessarily involve public spending but could be achieved with regulatory changes to encourage private-sector investment in the alternative fuel infrastructures.
The EU also supports the development of related resources through its Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Executive Agency.
TEN-T has recently announced funding for a study analysing the feasibility of building an LNG bunkering station at the Port of Dunkirk in France and for the development of an LNG bunker vessel at the Port of Stockholm.
