Refueling of ships, road transport and access to energy in remote places
We want to make liquefied natural gas accessible for the Italian market, reducing emissions in the maritime and heavy road transport sectors and allowing to methanise areas of our country not yet connected to the grid. This is why we are developing the first integrated supply chain in Italy for the transport on small-sized LNG ships for the liquefied natural gas storage and distribution (Small Scale GNL).
The first stage of this process was starting in 2019 the building of the first coastal LNG deposit in mainland Italy in the Port of Ravenna and of the first LNG ship of 30,000 cubic meters. In addition to this, an authorized deposit in Oristano and two other coastal storage projects under development in Southern Italy.
What is Small Scale LNG
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is obtained by cooling natural gas to -160° C, after having separated it from water and other substances that would freeze at such temperatures.
After this transformation natural gas in liquid state occupies volumes 600 times lower than in gaseous state and can therefore be easily transported along sea routes with great flexibility.
Once it has reached its destination place, liquefied natural gas can be immediately used as a fuel for maritime transport or unloaded and stored in small-scale plants, to then be distributed to fuel filling stations for powering heavy vehicles or to industrial plants and small gas distribution networks not connected to the gas pipeline grid.
| CO2 | NOx | SOx | PM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maritime transport | 25% | 90% | ~100% | ~100% |
| Road transport | 20% | 60% | ~100% | ~100% |
CO2: Carbon dioxide / NOx: Nitrogen oxides / SOx: Sulfur oxides / PM: Particulate matter
Energy that makes transport more sustainable
The development of Small Scale LNG is supported by a positive institutional strategic context both globally and nationally. To achieve the long-term goal to reduce emissions set by COP 21 in Paris, G20 countries confirmed the role of natural gas as a source for energy transition.
Using LNG instead of traditional fuels allows indeed a significant CO2 reduction and an almost total drop of other pollutants emissions into the atmosphere.
Institutions, at international, european and national level, are promoting this energy source through recommendations such as those expressed by the International Maritime Organization or regulations such as the Directive on Alternative Fuels Infrastructure (DAFI) issued by EU and adopted by Italian Parliament.
The Ravenna project
Thanks to the agreements signed with Gruppo PIR and Knutsen in 2019, we started to build the first integrated small scale LNG logistics chain in Italy, by realizing a 20,000 cubic meter coastal depot in Ravenna and a small-sized LNG ship in our exclusive use in order to transfer LNG from large regasification terminals to coastal depots.
The Napoli Project
We presented a joint project with Kuwait Petroleum Italia (Q8) for the construction of a Small Scale LNG coastal depot in the Darsena Petroli of the Port of Naples. The strategic nature of the investment was confirmed by the recognition of European funding for its design. Its location will make liquid natural gas easily available as a fuel, both for maritime and heavy transport mobility throughout the Central-Southern Tyrrhenian area and will allow the Port of Naples to be a preferential pole of attraction for the traffic of ships with a lower environmental impact.
The Oristano Project
The project, which has already been authorized by MISE, involves the construction of a 10,000 m3 deposit located in the port of Oristano which will allow the loading of LNG both on tankers and on small barges for the refueling services of heavy land and naval vehicles.
The Brindisi Project
We are engaged in the development of a coastal storage project with a storage capacity of approximately 17,000 m3 in the Costa Morena Est quay of the Port of Brindisi. The quay will be equipped to allow the offloading of LNG and the fueling of barges and tankers.
Project stats
The project launched by Edison is the first example in Italy of an integrated plan to supply, store and sale liquefied natural gas, through small-scale plants. The Ravenna depot will be able to supply 12,000 trucks, 4 cruise ships or 40 ferries in one year.