On Monday 25 November 2024, Veolia, a world leader in ecological transformation, Enagás, an international energy operator and Technical Manager of the Gas and Hydrogen System in Spain, and the Barcelona City Council inaugurated a pioneering solution for residual cold recovery installed at the Enagás Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at the Port of Barcelona, the tenth largest port in Europe. This technological innovation is already operational and generates 131 GWh per year of sustainable, low-carbon and competitive local energy.
This innovation will prevent the emission of more than 32,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, confirming the commitment of Veolia, Enagás and Barcelona City Council to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transforming the city into a green space.
In the traditional regasification process, liquefied natural gas (LNG) arrives at the terminal by ship in a liquid state at -160°C, and seawater is used to convert the LNG into natural gas at ambient temperature.
Thanks to this new regasification and transport solution based on the innovation of Enagás and Veolia respectively, this residual cold is recovered and used at a temperature of -20ºC and distributed to supply the southern area of Barcelona and part of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat with low-carbon energy.
From left to right: Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia; Laia Bonet, Deputy Mayor of Barcelona; and Arturo Gonzalo, CEO of Enagás.
This recovered energy is injected at -20ºC into the largest district cooling network in southern Europe and directly benefits several important infrastructures located in the area, such as the Fira de Barcelona, the offices of the Regional Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya), industrial centres and other tertiary buildings (offices, hotels, shopping centres) and public facilities, as well as residential customers.
Veolia has also signed a memorandum of intent with Mercabarna, Barcelona’s food wholesale market and one of the most important food markets in Europe, with more than 600 companies specialising in the distribution, preparation, import and export of fresh and frozen products. Mercabarna is a key player, supplying not only Catalonia but also other areas of Spain and Europe, and with this agreement it will be able to benefit from the residual cold recovered from the Enagás LNG terminal in its seven pavilions in the fruit and vegetable market, the fish market hall and several companies involved in complementary activities in the food sector.
In addition, Veolia and Enagás have signed an agreement to jointly develop business opportunities and replicate the cold recovery, distribution and shipper solution at other LNG terminals, both in Spain and internationally.
With more than 150 regasification terminals worldwide, this unique solution opens up significant prospects for local, low-carbon energy recovery from previously untapped resources. Combining technical expertise and environmental commitment, this project demonstrates the feasibility and relevance of local supply solutions to respond to the global challenges of energy sovereignty and decarbonisation.
The success of this project is the result of the close collaboration initiated in 2009 between Veolia, Enagás, Barcelona City Council and several local stakeholders in Barcelona and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. Thanks to these synergies, local energy produced from residual cold will increase the competitiveness of local infrastructures, while accompanying the urban and sustainable transformation of the Barcelona port area and its surroundings.
“In the fight against global warming and the quest for energy sovereignty, we must do all we can to prevent energy losses. As part of our strategic GreenUp programme, the recovery of residual heat and cold is an important part of Veolia’s strategy for greening its energy mix. The replicability of this solution is a world first and opens up enormous potential in Europe and internationally. It demonstrates the positive impact of territorial energy solutions on the decarbonisation and competitiveness of territories. I am also delighted to announce today our new partnership agreement with Mercabarna, which will directly benefit from the local energy produced by this technology," said Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia.
In the words of Arturo Gonzalo, CEO of Enagás, “today we have taken a very important step forward in our commitment to innovation and sustainability in our industrial processes. This is an emblematic sustainable energy project for the city of Barcelona, with generation technology developed by Enagás, which will provide access to sustainable and competitive refrigeration for industries and consumers in the area of influence of the Enagás regasification terminal and the Port of Barcelona. Today we have also signed a very important cooperation agreement with Veolia to promote a joint commitment to develop sustainable value creation chains that move towards a carbon neutral economy in Spain and Europe.’
“We are putting innovation at the service of more sustainable and resilient cities. This project is groundbreaking, it puts innovation, energy efficiency, decarbonisation and public-private partnership at the centre, and this allows cities to face the challenges of climate change, challenges that we must turn into the creation of new opportunities’”, said Laia Bonet, first deputy mayor of Barcelona City Council.
