Veolia, Enagás & Barcelona City Council inaugurate world's first urban cold recovery network

Veolia, Enagás, and Barcelona City Council (BSM and Tersa) inaugurated a ground-breaking residual cold recovery solution installed at the Enagás LNG terminal in the Port of Barcelona, Europe's 10th largest port. This technological innovation is now operational, generating 131 GWh of sustainable, low-carbon, local and affordable energy per year.

This innovation will avoid more than 32,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, confirming the commitment of Veolia, Enagás and Barcelona City Council to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transforming the city in an environmentally friendly way.

In the traditional regasification process, liquefied natural gas (LNG) gets the terminal by ship in a liquid state at -160°C, and uses seawater to heat and transform the LNG into natural gas at ambient temperature. Thanks to this new regasification and transport solution based on innovation by Enagás and Veolia respectively, this residual cold is brought down at a temperature of -20ºC, where it can be recovered and recycled to supply the South Barcelona and part of L'Hospitalet area with low-carbon energy.

This recovered energy is re-injected into the largest district cooling network in Southern Europe and directly benefits several major infrastructures located in that area, including the Fira de Barcelona, Generalitat de Catalunya offices, industrial and tertiary sites and public infrastructures.

Moreover, Veolia signed a memorandum of understanding with Mercabarna, Barcelona's main food wholesale market and one of the largest in Europe with over 600 companies specialising in the distribution, preparation, importing and exporting of fresh and frozen products. It’s a key player, serving not only Catalonia but also parts of Spain and Southern Europe. Mercabarna could benefit from the residual cold recovered from the Enagás LNG terminal for eight fruit, vegetable and seafood pavilions and several food sector Companies.

In addition to that, Veolia and Enagás have signed an agreement in order to develop business opportunities and copy and adapt the cold recovery solution in LNG Terminals, both in Spain and internationally.

With over 150 regasification terminals worldwide, this unique solution opens up considerable prospects for the production of low carbon local energy from hither to untapped fields. By combining technical expertise and environmental commitment, this project demonstrates the feasibility and relevance of local supply solutions to meet the global challenges of energy sovereignty and decarbonization.

The success of this project is based on the close collaboration initiated in 2009 between Veolia, Enagás, Barcelona City Council and all the local players present at South Barcelona and L’Hospitalet. Thanks to this synergy, the local energy produced from residual cold will boost the competitiveness of local infrastructures, while accompanying the urban and sustainable transformation of Barcelona's port area.

"In the fight against global warming and the quest for energy sovereignty, we must do everything in our power to avoid energy losses and waste. As part of our GreenUp strategic program, the recovery of waste heat and cold is a major component of Veolia's strategy for the ecological transformation of its energy mix. The replicability of this solution is a world first, opening up huge potential in Europe and internationally. It demonstrates the positive impact of territorial energy solutions on the decarbonization and competitiveness of territories. I am also delighted to announce today our new partnership with Mercabarna, which will benefit directly from the local energy produced by this technology,” said Estelle Brachlianoff, Veolia's Chief Executive Officer.

“We are putting innovation at the service of more sustainable and resilient cities. This project is pioneering, it places innovation, energy efficiency, decarbonisation and public-private collaboration at the centre, and this allows cities to face the challenges of climate change, challenges that we must transform into the generation of new opportunities," said Laia Bonet, first deputy mayor of Barcelona City Council.

www.veolia.com