The EU’s TEN-T Programme will support with €520,000 (USD 650k) the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) refuelling station for trucks in Veurne (Belgium). The publicly accessible station, situated near a major motorway linking six European countries, is expected to help reduce the carbon emissions of freight transport in Europe.
Trucks carrying goods between the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany often have to make a detour on their way to find the closest natural gas refuelling station. Expanding the network of LNG stations would reduce the length of their travel and encourage more transport companies to switch to environmentally friendlier LNG use, thus cutting down on carbon emissions.
This project, ref. 2013-BE-92037-S, aims to construct a pilot public refuelling station in Veurne and to use the lessons learnt for the future construction of two other stations in Belgium and France.
The project will also address safety and security standards for LNG, which will serve as reference for developing national standards and safety legislation. The project findings will be widely shared with the public authorities, transport companies, fuel station and fuel card operators and fire brigades.
The project was selected for EU funding with the assistance of external experts under the TEN-T Annual Call 2013, priority ‘Measures to promote innovation and new technologies for transport infrastructure’. Its implementation will be monitored by INEA, the European Commission’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency.
The project is to be completed by December 2015.
The TEN-T Programme was established by the European Commission to support the construction and upgrade of transport infrastructure across the European Union. The INEA is managing the technical and financial implementation of the TEN-T programme.
(Source: Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA))
