CENERGY is one of the partners of the GASVESSEL project, funded by the European Union in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Programme. The project aims to provide a novel, efficient and flexible method for transporting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). It introduces an innovative solution for manufacturing pressure cylinders that are 70% lighter than state-of-the-art alternatives. These superlight pressure cylinders enable new ship designs with much higher payloads and dramatically lower transportation costs per volume of gas.​ Where the exploitation of stranded, associated and flared gas is currently not viable economically, GASVESSEL brings a cost-efficient and flexible CNG transport system, that unlocks energy resources and decreases Europe’s dependence on a single supplier.

The project supports the European Commission’s Maritime Transport Strategy in which maritime transport is considered key to securing Europe’s energy supply. It sets the knowledge base for identifying where the novel CNG concept has added value, develops prototype technologies and related business cases, promotes the concept with end-users, and foster market introduction, first in Europe, and subsequently beyond.

Loading and unloading high-pressure natural gas on-board of GASVESSEL is a challenging process involving complex thermodynamic issues. Cenergy was in charge of the definition of the loading and unloading strategies and the development of a modeling tool allowing to simulate the entire process. CENERGY also actively participates in the design of the loading and unloading system to be installed on-board.