Scale Gas, a subsidiary of Spanish energy company Enagás, has received funding from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda to boost the construction of a bunkering vessel for the supply of LNG and BioLNG in the Canary Islands.
Scale Gas will receive a total of €15 million and plans to start construction of the vessel in June 2023.
The project named “Net Zero hive Canarias” is part of the “Net Zero hive” initiative promoted by Enagás in its commitment to sustainability and energy transition and to promote decarbonisation in the maritime sector .
It also contributes to the deployment of the institutional strategy LNGhive2, led by Puertos del Estado, for the development of LNG bunkering supply in ports in compliance with the obligations established in Directive 2014/94 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.
The vessel will have a capacity of 12,500 cbm for bunkering alternative fuels – LNG and BioLNG – and will be put into operation for use by shippers from June 2025.
In addition, it could be adapted for the supply of ammonia as a marine fuel, which would allow the use of hydrogen as a carrier for the decarbonisation of transport.
Net Zero hive initiative
The goal of “Net Zero hive”, which is a continuation of the “CORE LNGas hive” project and the “LNGhive2” strategy and is aligned with European policies to accelerate the decarbonisation of the maritime-port sector, is to promote the use of port infrastructures to foster more sustainable energy sources.
Specifically, it proposes to adapt the regasification plants in Spanish ports and other facilities in the port’s area of influence to favour the production of low-carbon fuels such as hydrogen, bio-LNG or synthetic methane.
Along this line, the “LNGhive2” strategy has several active projects, including the construction of two LNG bunkering vessels: one will shortly operate in Barcelona and the other in Algeciras from the end of 2023.