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.
More specifically, on the 12 of December 2017, the European Commission proposed an over € 1 billion investment in 39 key transport projects, which has been approved by the EU Member States. In the framework of the 39 key transport projects, sustainable and innovative transport infrastructure in Europe concerning all modes will be developed. The CEF programme, the EU’s financial mechanism supporting infrastructure networks, will unlock a total of € 4.5 billion public and private co-financing.
Among the five natural gas projects is SuperGreen coordinated by Ocean Finance Ltd with total eligible costs of € 19,694,903 (20% of total eligible costs). SuperGreen is an action involving the implementation of a sustainable and green transport system in Greece, including three all-electric commuter vessels and one hybrid propulsion (Liquefied Natural Gas/Electric) catamaran aiming to connect the TEN-T Core port of Piraeus with other ports of the TEN-T Comprehensive network. It also involves two LNG bunkering tanker trucks and various mobile electricity storage systems to supply all vessels, as well as one LNG/CNG 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.
The SuperGreen action is a collaboration of Ocean Finance Ltd with Public Gas Corporation (DEPA) SA and it is scheduled to start on January 2019 and to end on April 2021.
For more information: 2017 Transport Blending call – First cut-off date & EC CEF Funding for Five Natural Gas Infrastructure Projects