EC Funds Spanish Vehicle Infrastructure

The European Commission will provide €13 ($14.6)mn for the development of 15 refuelling stations for LNG vehicles and one for hydrogen in Spain, the national transmission company Enagas said July 13. Scale Gas, a start-up established through Enagas Emprende, will develop the project, but it did not give the total cost of the project.

The 16 supply points will be distributed along the Spanish corridors of the Trans-European Transport Network and Enagas said the initiative "is in line with Directive 2014/94/EU for the development of infrastructures for alternative fuels and with the Spanish national action framework for alternative energies in transport."

The so-called ECO-net project also has a loan from the Instituto de Credito Oficial (ICO) for about half the project's cost, with Enagas contributing the remaining, unspecified, amount from its own resources.

ECO-net is also supported by Toyota, a pioneer in introducing hydrogen-powered vehicles to the market, and institutions such as Gasnam and the European Eco-Gate project, a global action plan co-financed by the EU and promoted by a consortium of more than 20 companies for the development of CNG and LNG mobility in Europe. Enagas told NGW July 14 that this did not extend to financial support at the present.