Five natural gas projects are among the 39 projects that the EU Commission has selected to co-finance within the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funds under the 2017 CEF Transport Blending MAP Call First Cut-Off. Collectively the projects will be funded €33.18m (USD 40m), being 19.2% of almost €173 million ($204m) that will be invested. The EC’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) uses its funding capacity to leverage private involvement and capital in the delivery of CEF Transport projects.
The five projects cover all forms of natural gas fuel – compressed (CNG), liquefied (LNG) and bio (RNG / Biomethane) – and will assist the countries involved to meet emission reduction objectives through the increased adoption of this fuel for water- and land-based transportation.
GAINN4SEA-GAINN for South Europe mAritime LNG roll-out (2017-IT-TM-0066-W) — Italy
Coordinating Applicant: Consorzio 906 societa cooperativa consortile a r.l.
Recommended Funding: €14.33m, being 18.44% of recommended total eligible costs
The Action concerns the installation of two new multimodal Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facilities at the Italian core ports of Venice and Livorno, on the Mediterranean, Baltic-Adriatic and the Scandinavian-Mediterranean Core Network Corridors. It is part of the GAINN_IT global project promoted by the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure to develop alternative fuels. The objective is to accelerate the introduction of LNG in transport and allow fuelling of large vessels. Bunkering vessels will operate mainly in the ports of Livorno and Venice, but their operations can also reach the ports of Koper (Slovenia) and Rijeka (Croatia). Facilities will be also used for industrial purposes (storage) and to supply land LNG stations for heavy goods transport.
GAINN4MID-GAINN for Mobile Infrastructure Deployment — Italy, The Netherlands
Coordinating Applicant: Consorzio 906 societa cooperativa consortile a r.l.
Recommended Funding: €6.16m, being 19.35% of recommended total eligible costs
The Action aims to contribute to the implementation of the AFI Directive and the related Italian National Policy Framework to ensure a sustainable and efficient multimodal transport system in the long run, with particular regard to the deployment of innovative Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) solutions along the Scandinavian-Mediterranean, Baltic-Adriatic and Mediterranean Core Network Corridors. The Action is part of the GAINN-IT global project for the deployment of a network of alternative fuels in Italy. It includes the deployment of a network of 6 Liquefied-Compressed Natural Gas (L-CNG) filling stations in Italy, supported by ISO-containers, with a multimodal LNG terminal in Oristano and a LNG bunker with a capacity of 7,500 m3, to be used to feed local storage facilities or to supply LNG to ships.
LNG Rollout in Central Europe – for a greener transportation sector (2017-DE-TM-0040-W) — Germany
Coordinating Applicant: LIQUIND 24/7 GmbH
Recommended Funding: €3.3m, being 20% of recommended total eligible costs
The Action aims to promote the use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as fuel for inland navigation and road freight transport. It consists of fostering the rollout of small scale LNG terminals in nine locations in Germany and one in the Czech Republic. These small scale and open access terminals will be developed at strategically important inland ports along the core network in order to develop an efficient LNG fuel market in Central Europe. These terminals will combine LNG distribution hubs with fuelling facilities for trucks and bunkering facilities for inland vessels. This Action is the roll-out of Action 2015-DE-TM-0376-M, consisting of two LNG terminals in Germany
SuperGreen (SG) (2017-EL-TM-0048-W) — Greece
Coordinating Applicant: Ocean Finance Ltd
Recommended Funding: €3.94m, being 20% of recommended total eligible costs
The Action involves the implementation of a sustainable and green transport system in Greece. It consists of three all-electric commuter vessels and one hybrid propulsion (Liquefied Natural Gas/Electric) catamaran that will connect the core network port of Piraeus with other ports in the comprehensive network. The Action includes a fleet of four electric buses to transfer the vessels’ passengers from several points of Athens to the port of Piraeus and vice versa. It also involves two Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunkering tanker trucks and various mobile electricity storage systems to supply all vehicles, as well as one LNG/Compressed Natural Gas fuelled truck for the autonomous management of all mobile equipment. Moreover, it involves a multimodal integration electronic platform to facilitate the booking of travel arrangements.
Blue Stations Network (2017-FR-TM-0034-W) — France
Coordinating Applicant: Air Liquide Advanced Business
Recommended Funding: €5.45m, being 20% of recommended total eligible costs
The Action will deploy 15 innovative multi-fuel stations in France, Italy and the UK, and supply three different fuels: (Bio) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), (Bio) Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and cryogenic nitrogen for refrigerated transport (“Blueeze”). Located along five Core Network Corridors (North Sea-Mediterranean, Atlantic, Baltic-Adriatic, Scandinavian-Mediterranean and Mediterranean) and in several urban nodes listed in the TEN-T Guidelines, it is part of a global project which aims to facilitate the mass-market adoption of (Bio) LNG as an alternative fuel by developing the infrastructure in a large number of EU Member States, including countries eligible for the cohesion fund. In the long term, the Action aims to reduce 92,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Cut-Off 2
Further funds of €350 M will come next year from the “CEF Blending” call dedicated to infrastructure for alternative vehicles. The submission phase for the second cut-off date is currently open. The deadline to submit projects is April 12, 2018.
Source: INEA
