Three European Commission co-funded initiatives: Poseidon Med II, CYnergy and Elemed, are leading the uptake of alternative fuels in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Poseidon Med II
Poseidon Med II aims to promote LNG as a safe, environmentally efficient and viable alternative fuel for shipping and help the East Mediterranean marine transportation propel towards a low carbon future.
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The project involves three countries: Greece, Italy and Cyprus, six European ports (Piraeus, Patras, Lemesos, Venice, Heraklion, Igoumenitsa) as well as the Revithoussa LNG terminal.
The mission of the project is to propose an approach towards LNG bunkering operations, promoting a competitive investment roadmap and setting a flexible regulatory framework for LNG operations.
Poseidon Med II started in June 2015 and will be completed in December 2020. It has a €53.3 million budget and it is 50% co-financed by the European Union – Connecting Europe Facility.
CYnergy
Cyprus collaborated with the European Union’s ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ funding mechanism in April 2017 to promote self-sufficiency in energy.
CYnergy introduces an integrated storage, transmission and distribution system of LNG and CNG to support Cyprus’ industrial, commercial, marine, and road Transport sectors. This will be achieved through:
- A Floating Storage and Regasification Unit (FSRU) facility permanently berthed in Vassiliko area;
- A jetty for the FSRU berthing;
- A jetty borne gas pipeline;
- An onshore gas pipeline;
- A pipeline storage array adjacent to Vassiliko power station;
- An onshore Above Ground Installation (AGI) – Metering Station.
The project started in April 2017 and will end in March 2020 with a €7.47 million budget 60% co-financed by the European Union – Connecting Europe Facility.
CYnergy will also secure additional funding of €101million from the EU for gas infrastructure through the submission of CyprusGas2EU.
Elemed
Elemed aims for the uptake of zero emissions, zero noise, zero impact for close to port urban, coastal and insular areas. Electrical infrastructure development for port and marine applications can bridge the renewable energy gap within the marine sector, offering a sustainable path to sea mobility.
Elemed has a framework for marine electricity and showcased the prospect through the first pilot shore power connection in South Eastern Europe. The project also has a plan to make the passenger port of Piraeus more environmentally friendly with 15 shore power and charging connections.
Similar activities have also been undertaken for Koper and Limassol Ports. In March 2018, Elemed was awarded the Green4Sea initiative award.
