Port of Barcelona implements alternative fuel use to improve air quality

THE Port of Barcelona has joined energy suppliers, ship owner-operators, port equipment manufacturers and technological innovators to pilot and measure the efficiency of LNG on land and at sea as an alternative fuel source.

The aim is to reduce NOx, SO2 and PM emissions using alternative fuels throughout the ports nautical and intermodal chains for cargo ships, ferries and cruise ships, said the port authority.



The Port of Barcelona's energy transition towards a more environmentally-friendly business model is gaining momentum, as it completes pilot operations using LNG and CNG as alternative fuels throughout its nautical and intermodal supply chains.



The plan was introduced by the Port Authority as part of the Metropolitan region's action plan to improve air quality, Horizon 2020, passed by the Catalan government in 2014, as well as with the Air Quality Improvement Plan of Barcelona 2015-2018, by the city council.



'The Port of Barcelona's Air Quality Improvement Plan focuses mainly on measures to reduce emissions from vessels, wheeled traffic, machinery, bulk cargo operations and infrastructure works.



'The plan also encourages rail and short sea alternatives to road cargo transport while improving sustainable mobility using either gas or electrification in the port,' said the port's environmental chief Jordi Vila.



Barcelona has the advantage of ample availability of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and compressed natural gas (CNG) due to the location of Europe's first ever main degasification plant at the port, owned and run by Engages.



With the upcoming IMO 2020 sulphur fuel regulation for ships, the Port of Barcelona believes in the importance of establishing LNG and CNG as alternative and more sustainable fuels compared with the conventional oil-based fuels that tend to be used at sea as well as on land.


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