The SENER engineering and technology group took active part in the Hydrogen and Industry conference, in the assembly hall of the Official Association of Industrial Engineers of Biscay (COIIB by its Spanish initials) in Bilbao, on February 16. SENER has shown a presentation based on its experience in the design of bunkering vessels for liquefied gases.
The company was also a sponsor of the event, which is organized by the SUPREN (SUstainable PRocess ENgineering) research group, part of the Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of the Basque Country’s Faculty of Engineering in Bilbao.
SENER’s presentation reviewed the challenges involved in designing ships to be used in the supply chains of liquefied gases, which can range from LNG (liquefied natural gas) to LH2 (hydrogen in its liquid state). It was given by María Ángeles Castejón, from SENER’s Industrial and Marine Division, and was focused on designs where SENER is implementing the technological opportunities offered by the liquefaction and regasification of natural gas and hydrogen. New standards regulating gas emission controls make these designs a means by which the marine industry can achieve sustainability.
Natural gas has gained a position where it is set to be one of the main sources of power for the next 30 years. Traditional on-shore regasification terminals can sometimes be difficult to develop, due to factors such as environmental limitations, the need for permits, a lack of industrial local development, or distant locations.
SENER offers a design combination from three fields of engineering: regasification processes, ship design, and marine works. This has enabled the more complete and optimized design seen in the offshore solution SENER provides. Specifically, this solution involves the use of a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) and bunkering vessels for the supply of LNG to ships powered by gas.
With its extensive experience in the three engineering fields mentioned, SENER has taken a strategic decision to develop a new integrated standard project for FSRUs, as well as two LNG bunkering vessels, each with a size strategically chosen to suit the current market.