The availability and competitiveness of transportation plays a vital role in the EU’s economic activities
Today, Natural Gas represents the most practical, realistic and easiest way to reduce pollution coming from road transportation. European emission policies are clearly and increasingly supporting natural gas as an alternative fuel towards lower carbon mobility and a rapid increase of NGVs (Natural Gas Vehicles). These policies will be the main driver for the market development of CNG and LNG vehicles in Greece.
A study on a CNG pilot refueling station network in the Greek part of the road corridor Orient East Mediterranean is being carried out to deploy existing state-of-the-art CNG refueling technologies and to adapt innovative systems for NGV supply in order to test their suitability as well as their added value, to gain experience, to introduce natural gas as an alternative fuel in the transport market and to increase the awareness of the market target groups on the use of NGVs.
The study will identify factors supporting and hindering the development of natural gas as a fuel for vehicles in Greece, will be an essential first step towards the mass deployment of natural gas as a fuel for vehicles in Greece, and will be the essential first phase for the mass deployment of CNG for NGVs across Greece over the next 10 years.
The environmental benefits of the pilot CNG station network will be assessed, the first steps for increasing customer awareness will be undertaken, and a business plan will be prepared rolling-out the farther development of the CNG refueling network in Greece taking also into consideration the available CNG-station infrastructures in Italy and Bulgaria.
For the elaboration of this study, 13 CNG filling stations (10 CNG filling stations) are constructed in the Greek part of the road axis Eastern Mediterranean. The CNG filling station equipment will be installed in existing filling stations supplied with gas directly from the gas network, "Mother CNG station", while a group of mother-daughter CNG stations will be implemented, interconnected by compressed natural gas arrays, when there is no "daughter (CNG) network".
The pilot-study is a pragmatic investigation, because it combines the existing conventional petrol refueling station infrastructure in Greece with highly innovative CNG refueling technology, and is contributing significantly towards more economical and environmental-friendly transportation within the Greek part of the trans-European transport network.
