The energy sector is currently undergoing a major transformation, very different from 10 years ago. According to Jorge Alegria, Client Manager at Galp, everything is changing rapidly and the company will be different in 10 years´ time. "It will provide all the solutions to enable us to decarbonise the economy, in a mix that could include hydrogen, and should include, among others, electricity, diesel blended with biodiesel, biomethane and natural gas," he explains.
At the seminar held by GASNAM (the Iberian association for the promotion of the use of natural and renewable gas in land and maritime mobility) at the Pavilion of Knowledge in Lisbon, under the theme - “Natural Gas: the mobility solution in energy transition”, Jorge Alegria argued that natural gas will play a major role in the future energy paradigm.
GALP´S ROLE
“It was Galp that introduced natural gas to mobility in Portugal, beginning in 2011, in projects developed for Carris, in Lisbon, and the Porto Collective Transport Company (STCP)”, he recalls, adding that the sector has become more dynamic in the last five years, when heavy vehicles have begun to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG). “The Matosinhos and Azambuja service stations help to meet these needs,” says Jorge Alegria, adding that the Sines station is almost ready and that there are two more in Spain to ensure Galp is capable of supplying the Iberian Peninsula. He also explained that the distribution network is still not sufficiently developed, in general terms, to guarantee the supply of the market, but projects funded by the European Union are underway for this purpose.
Jorge Alegria´s argument at the GASNAM seminar was that “natural gas is a sustainable source of energy”. First of all, due to the fact it can be found all over the world and there are reserves for over 200 years. Secondly, because it´s versatile and can be used in both land and sea mobility, in industry and in our homes. It can also be produced from renewable sources, from biomass, for example, it emits less environment and life-threatening gases and it´s more economical.
NUMBERS
According to GASNAM, the cost per kilometre of natural gas is 30% less than diesel and 50% less than petrol.
