New collaboration aims to promote development of Italian NGV industry

Alfredo Altavilla (Chief Operating Officer of FCA EMEA Region), Pierre Lahutte (Iveco Brand President) and Marco Alverà (CEO of Snam), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at fostering the development of natural gas as a vehicle fuel. The MoU was signed in the presence of Italy’s Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport GrazianoDelrio, and is part of a wider set of initiatives to promote sustainable mobility.

With long-established and world-leading cutting edge technology, Italy is the leading European market for natural gas consumption for vehicles, with more than 1 billion cubic meters consumed in 2015 and about 1 million vehicles currently in circulation. Italy’s natural gas value chain in the transport sector is globally recognized for its technological and environmental excellence, and Italy is also able to leverage Europe’s largest, most accessible gas pipeline network, stretching over more than 32,000 km.

Under the terms of the MoU, the three companies  FCA, Iveco and Snam  will actively cooperate to boost the further development of methane for vehicle usage in the form of CNG, an immediately available and more sustainable alternative to traditional fuels, which is capable of bringing important environmental and economic benefits to consumers, companies and public administration.

While FCA is pursuing the development of alternative fuel motors as a key pillar in its strategy and has a leading position in the field of CNG technologies, Iveco has achieved a technological advantage in natural gas engines by having developed a complete range of both CNG and LNG vehicles. Together, they intend to further expand their ranges of NGVs, bringing more innovation to well-recognized Italian technological excellence by playing an active role in promoting the offer and developing targeted marketing operations.

Snam will provide its consolidated experience in the natural gas infrastructure sector by investing approximately 200 million euro over the next five years to foster the development of facilities for the supply of CNG. This will help expanding the number of refuelling stations, currently at around 1,100, improving customer service quality and ensuring a more balanced distribution of stations throughout Italy, to support the evolution of an increasing fleet of light and heavy vehicles in circulation.

https://www.ngvjournal.com/new-collaboration-aims-to-promote-development-of-italian-ngv-industry/