Since November 2024, the Port of Barcelona has become the first port in the world to use the residual cold from the regasification process of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a sustainable energy source for industrial, tertiary, and residential uses. With an investment of over €100 million, this project generates 131 GWh of sustainable energy annually, equivalent to the consumption of a city with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Additionally, it prevents the emission of 42,000 tons of CO₂ each year, an impact comparable to the cancellation of 110 long-haul flights.
The initiative integrates technological innovation and energy efficiency through a new regasification solution: LNG arrives by ship at the port’s LNG terminal at -160ºC, and during the transfer process to the gas network in the form of natural gas, it must be heated to 15ºC. Until now, this process was carried out using seawater, meaning the cold was lost. However, the new cold recovery system allows this cold to be captured, creating a -20ºC chilled liquid circuit that is distributed through the largest urban cooling network in Southern Europe. This benefits key urban infrastructures located near the port, such as Barcelona Fair, industries, office buildings, hotels, shopping centers, and public facilities, as well as residential customers. In the near future, it will also supply Mercabarna, Barcelona’s fresh food market that serves not only the local area but also other parts of Spain and Europe.
This project, a priority for the Port of Barcelona, demonstrates its commitment to environmental protection and the energy transition. It represents a model of public-private collaboration of the Port of Barcelona; the Barcelona City Council; ENAGAS, one of the port’s main terminals and Veolia, a global leader in public utility services, among other. This collaboration resulted in a Public-Private Partnership, Ecoenergies Barcelona SA, that was granted the concession to construct and manage the energy network to distribute this low-carbon energy. It is only through the strong collaboration of all stakeholders that this achievement has been made possible—for the benefit of the port, the city, and the environment. 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 South Barcelona area.
Innovative initiatives like this enable ports and nearby cities to tackle the challenges of climate change. In addition to transforming Barcelona’s energy model, it also opens the door to replicating this technology in over 150 LNG terminals worldwide.