- Located at the Cepsa Service Station in Puerto Lumbreras (Murcia), it has a liquefied natural gas (LNG) refueling station for trucks, while compressed natural gas (CNG) for light vehicles will be available within the next few months
- The two companies are working toward opening 20 refueling stations for natural gas vehicles this year in Spain's main transport corridors, entailing an investment of around €15 million
This morning, Redexis and Cepsa opened their first vehicular natural gas (VNG) refueling station as part of their strategic agreement announced last June, to create the largest natural gas refueling network in Spain.
The new vehicular natural gas station, which is now operative, has a LNG pump suitable for use with all types of heavy vehicle, and which has a refueling time of between three and six minutes.
The service station is located at exit 649 of the Autovía del Mediterráneo (A-7) highway, where it passes through Puerto Lumbreras (Murcia). Its location in the main route connecting Barcelona and Algeciras makes it a strategic point for the transportation of goods, with between 5,000 and 8,000 heavy vehicles traveling through every day.
Redexis has invested around €1 million to construct the natural gas refueling station, which is also expected to start offering compressed natural gas (CNG) for light vehicles in the coming months.
Belén Mateo, director of Cepsa Service Station Franchising and Direct Management, said that "at Cepsa we want to offer our customers all the energy solutions they need by diversifying our offer. Today is the first step towards achieving our aim of fostering Spain's biggest natural gas mobility network for both light and heavy vehicles, and keep progressing in energy transition."
For his part, Javier Migoya, director of Redexis Tertiary and Industrial (B2B), pointed out: “From Redexis we celebrate the launch of this first natural gas station with Cepsa, which means continuing to promote the energy infrastructures necessary for professionals and citizens in order to give them access to more economical, sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility solutions. We continue advancing in our firm commitment to promote natural gas as a real alternative for sustainable mobility”.
Cepsa and Redexis are working toward opening 20 VNG refueling stations that will be built and put into operation over the course of 2020, entailing an investment of around €15 million.
These natural gas refueling stations, which are subject to administrative approval, will cover the country's main national transport corridors and will be located at Cepsa Service Stations in the provinces of Burgos (A-1), Navarra (A-15), Guadalajara (A-2), Zaragoza (A-2), Lérida (A-2), Barcelona (A-2), Gerona (N-II), Cuenca (A-3), Valencia (A-35), Madrid (A-4), Ciudad Real (A-4), Jaén (A-4), Seville (A-4), Cáceres (A-5), Pontevedra (A-52), Lugo (A-6), Salamanca (A-62), Málaga (A-7) and Asturias (A-8).
In June 2019, Redexis and Cepsa reached an agreement to create the largest network of LNG and CNG refueling stations in Spain, with the aim of expanding the offer of energy solutions and promoting sustainable mobility. As part of that agreement, Redexis is committed to invest €30 million between 2019 and 2021 for the construction and maintenance of 50 natural gas refueling points at Cepsa Service Stations, with Cepsa taking responsibility for supply and sales. Within the next two years, the two companies plan to have a total of 80 supply facilities, with a total investment of €60 million.
Through this alliance Cepsa continues to expand the mobility-oriented energy solutions that it offers at its Service Stations, where it also provides a multitude of other products and services. Cepsa currently has over 300,000 professional customers and a wide network comprising more than 1,500 Service Stations in Spain, which are focused on offering a clear model of costumer orientation, innovation, added value, safety and loyalty.
Advantages of vehicular natural gas
Vehicular gas is a viable option for sustainable mobility, as it reduces CO2 emissions and also eliminates the emission of oxide and sulfur particles, helping to improve air quality in cities and reduce noise pollution.
VNG vehicles are just as safe and powerful as vehicles with other combustion engines. They can also be driven in high-pollution areas because their windshield bears the ECO card from the Spanish DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico —General Management of Traffic), which is a huge plus when driving through large cities with traffic restrictions in place. VNG vehicles are suitable for all types of mobility: urban, intercity or long-distance driving.
They are also cost-competitive because, as well as giving drivers discounts or reductions on their road tax, VNG reduces the cost per kilometer by 30% compared to diesel and 50% compared to gasoline, for both light and heavy vehicles. These models boast an impressive range: they can travel up to 1,300 kilometers without refueling thanks to their bi-fuel gas and gasoline tanks.