Snam and BHGE to develop micro-liquefaction plants for sustainable transport

The collaboration will focus on the development of four small-scale liquefaction plants for natural gas and biomethane to make LNG and renewable bio-LNG more available for transport in Italy.

Snam and Baker Hughes have signed an agreement to develop micro-liquefaction infrastructure to boost sustainable mobility in heavy duty trucks and to promote sustainability in maritime transportation.

Snam is a major Italian gas utility, reaching €2.4 billion in revenue in 2017. Baker Hughes is an oilfield service company owned by General Electric.

The companies will determine the feasibility of the four small-scale liquefaction plants by the end of 2018. These would reportedly be the first micro-LNG plants in Italy and among the first of their kind in Europe.

Annual production from the plants is expected be around 140,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) or bio-LNG. The potential future investment in the four plants is €50 to €80 million over multiple years. The agreement also includes the opportunity to develop further micro-liquefaction plants in Italy and abroad.

Snam CEO Marco Alverà said: “With this agreement we want to give a further impetus to the spread of sustainable mobility and to the decarbonisation of the entire heavy transport sector throughout Italy.”

By constructing the four micro-liquefaction plants, the companies hope to increase the availability of LNG throughout Italy and support growth in the number of LNG trucks in operation, facilitating the development of low-carbon transport.