EU Backs Spanish LNG Bunkering
The European Commission has provided €27mn ($32mn) in grants to two LNG bunkering schemes in Spain, Spanish grid operator Enagas said on July 30.
The funds come from the EU's Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), which supports investments in bloc infrastructure. Enagas is overseeing the bunkering projects in Barcelona and Algeciras, alongside its subsidiary Scale Gas, Norwegian shipping company Knutsen and local port authorities.
The projects will reduce emissions from ships in ports, Enagas said, noting that the grants showed that the EU acknowledged the role that gas, and in particular LNG, will play in the decarbonisation of the maritime sector.
The number of LNG bunkering operations in Spain increased more than threefold year on year to 297 in January through June, according to Enagas. Meanwhile the volume of LNG used to refuel ships nearly doubled to 62,840 m3.