Europe Throws Weight Behind LNG
The European Commission has announced a major programme of support and development for unconventional energy sources including gas-powered vehicle use and development of LNG ports.
The programme will include the installation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) refuelling stations in all 139 maritime and inland ports on the Trans European Core Network (TEN) by 2025.
The Clean Fuel Strategy also encompasses use of electric cars and biofuels, although without specific measures and targets.
In an official statement, the Commission notes that there are only 38 LNG filling stations in the EU, and the fuel's use is currently limited to trucks and heavy commercial vehicles. The Commission is proposing that refuelling stations are installed every 400 kms along the roads of the TEN within the next seven years.
With regard to compressed natural gas (CNG), the aim is to greatly boost the number of vehicles, from the one million, running on this fuel The EC says this represents just 0.5% of the EU car fleet, but the industry aims to increase this figure ten-fold by 2020. The Commission proposal will ensure that publically accessible refuelling points, with common standards, are available Europe-wide with maximum distances of 150 kms between them, by 2020.
Siim Kallas, the Commissioner responsible for transport, told a press conference: "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. Between them, China and the US plan to have more than 6 million electric vehicles on the road by 2020. This is major opportunity for Europe to establish a strong position in a fast growing global market."
The Clean Power for Transport Package consists of a Communication on a European alternative fuels strategy, a Directive focusing on infrastructure and standards and an accompanying document describing an action plan for the development of LNG in shipping.