CORREOS will adapt four lorries from its fleet for CNG and LNG usage, and will be the main end user in this project aimed at developing the natural gas market for vehicles.
The European Union has approved funding of 10 million euro for the ECO-GATE project. The project will be managed and coordinated by Nedgia, Naturgy Group, heading a consortium made of natural gas operators, technology and service providers, end users, and marketing and promotion experts from Spain, Portugal, France and Germany.
Madrid, 22 September 2017. CORREOS is taking part in the ECO-GATE European project, a global action plan for developing the CNG and LNG market for vehicles in Europe. The project, led by Nedgia, Naturgy Group, has been granted 10-million-euro funding by the European Commission.
ECO-GATE is one of the most ambitious projects in the traditional and renewable natural gas market for vehicles. It involves the development of refuelling infrastructure along the Atlantic and Mediterranean Corridors, as well as the use of new technologies and innovative solutions.
More than 20 gas refuelling stations for natural gas vehicles will be built in the four countries that are part of the project: Germany, France, Portugal and Spain, all of which will get the funding approved by the EC. Spain will get funds for refuelling stations in Barcelona, Burgos, Madrid, Murcia, Salamanca, Irún, Tordesillas, La Junquera, Córdoba and Cartagena, among other cities.
CORREOS’s end user experience
CORREOS takes part in projects involving the use of alternative fuels like ECO-GATE (natural gas for vehicles) and POSTLowCit (autogas or liquefied petroleum gas for vehicles).
ECO-GATE will make it possible to deploy large quantities of natural gas in a very short time, thanks to lower costs per unit and a better understanding of customers’ needs.
CORREOS’s contribution to the project is, precisely, its needs as a customer. The Spanish postal service will be a relevant end user, along with transport operators San José López and EMT Palma.
The Spanish postal operator’s participation consists in adapting four vehicles to run on CNG/LNG as fuels on routes included in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-t). These vehicles will share roads with other CORREOS vehicles running on conventional fuels. The company will thus be able to compare the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the fuels and vehicles used, and then decide which one is best for the mail industry.
Currently, CORREOS leads the POSTLowCIT project, developed with European Commission funding within the framework of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding instrument.
The goal is to develop a more effective and sustainable delivery system for CORREOS through the use of vehicles running on alternative fuels and thus reducing polluting emissions. When of the actions envisaged is boosting the deployment of autogas as an alternative fuel for long-haul transport. (Read more about POSTLowCIT)
About natural gas vehicles
Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) play a key role in sustainable mobility, as they help reduce air pollution. Moreover, they can make a significant contribution to the fulfilment of Spain’s environmental goals. NGVs are clearing the air: they produce near-zero NO2 emissions and reduce volatile particulate matter emissions by 96 per cent, which is good not only for the environment but also for public health.
About ECO-GATE consortium
ECO-GATE is driven by a consortium made up of more than 20 companies from Spain (24), Portugal (3), France (1) and Germany (1).
As natural gas operators we have the following participants: Gas Natural Madrid, Enagas Transporte, Dourogás Natural, Endesa Energia, Agas Siglo XXI, Galp Energia, EDP, Repsol, Gas Natural Europe, Inversora Melofe and Molgas Energía.
As providers of technologies and services: Cetil Dispensing Technology, Soltel It Solutions, Fundacion Cidaut, Evarm Innovacion, Universidade de Tras-Os-Montes e Alto Douro, Fundación Imdea Energía, Audigna, Ghenova Ingeniería and Madisa,
As end users: Correos, San José López and EMT Palma,
And finally, as experts in market knowledge and promotion: Gasnam, Port Authority of Gijón, Port Authority of Huelva, University of Santiago de Compostela and Soulman Insightful Thinking.