The group’s cHAMeleon project selected by the EU
cHAMeleon aims to promote LNG in land transportation
The European Commission, through the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), has decided to finance the cHAMeleon initiative among the projects presented in the 2015 call for the Connect Europe Facility (CEF) project, whose objective is to stimulate the implementation of the LNG refueling infrastructure network in the European Union, and promote the growth of the LNG market in the road transport sector.
This action is led by HAM Criogénica, European leaders in the design, construction and operation of all types of LNG and CNG facilities, such as regasification plants and LNG and CNG-L refueling stations, as well as fuel terminals. In addition, the initiative also has ENOSLNG as a partner, a Slovenian company responsible for the development of the LNG market in the region, which develops its own natural gas liquefaction technology and has a small LNG plant.
The overall objective of the action is to study the LNG transportation market in the Barcelona – Ljubljana Mediterranean Corridor, through innovative approaches and technologies to enable the rapid deployment of natural gas as a clean and alternative fuel, in an intelligent and economical way.
cHAMeleon investigates technological and operational options to carry out improvements to LNG infrastructure, including vehicles. The LNG logistics service focuses on reducing installation and operation costs and converting LNG into a viable commercial alternative fuel. The research will also address the relationship between the business and the customer to adequately address customer needs in different geographic areas.
During the duration of the project, 3 CNG-L refueling stations will be deployed in 3 strategic points of the Mediterranean corridor: Port of Barcelona (Spain), La Jonquera (Spain) and Ljubljana (Slovenia).
Furthermore, within the framework of the action, data will be collected in order to define the deployment plan for a complete network along the Mediterranean corridor. Data collection will be carried out through test operation and monitoring of the 3 CNG-L stations, as well as 2 additional stations in Italy and 1 in France, all of them located at strategic points in the Mediterranean corridor.
The cHAMeleon project is in line with Directive 2014/94/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014. This directive defines a common framework of measures for the deployment of alternative fuel infrastructure in the European Union with in order to minimize dependence on oil and mitigate the environmental impact of transportation. It establishes minimum requirements for the construction of alternative fuels infrastructure, including networks of LNG stations with non-discriminatory access for LNG-fueled ships and road vehicles. The current lack of infrastructure is the main barrier to the development of the LNG vehicle market. Therefore, interventions are necessary to stimulate the implementation of such infrastructure.