The European Union will support with almost €2 million from the TEN-T Program a study looking at the potential beneficial effects of using alternative fuels for port operations.
The study, which will include pilots in Spain, Slovenia and Italy, will especially look at the ways to improve environmental performance of the participating ports’ container terminals.
The project, which was selected for funding under the 2011 TEN-T Annual Call, will study and test new technologies and alternative fuels in the ports of Valencia (Spain), Koper (Slovenia) and Livorno (Italy) to try and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from these ports container terminal operations.
Specific activities in the participating ports include:
• Evaluation of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) versus diesel TIER 4 for equipment in the container terminal of the Port of Valencia
• Implementation of a real time energy monitoring system to control consumption associated to port container operations at the Port of Koper
• Adaptation of a reach stacker vehicle to a different motorisation (LNG, hydrogen or bio-fuel) for reducing the environmental impact and energy consumption at the Port of Livorno
The project will be managed by the Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency and is set to be completed by May 2014.