PRESS RELEASE
Successful Completion of the First LNG Storage and Regasification Station in Serres, North Greece
Gazil Hellas, as project coordinator and manager, along with the Spanish company Cringas as technology provider, designer and supplier and the Greek construction company ΑΤΕΚΕ, have successfully completed the installation of a small-scale Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Storage and Regasification Station. This project serves a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant that provides high-efficiency heat in the form of hot water and electricity.
The small-scale LNG Station has been in continuous operation (24/7) since October 2024, supplying natural gas, through LNG storage and regasification, to a CHP unit with a nominal electrical power of 1 MWel. The CHP unit fully meets the energy needs of a hydroponic tomato greenhouse in the region of Dimitra, in the Prefecture of Serres (North Greece), while also supplying part of the electricity requirements of the local community. This approach contributes to energy savings from fossil fuels (in this case natural gas) and reduces carbon emissions, as some of the exhaust gases from the CHP unit’s natural gas combustion are directed to the greenhouse to enhance and control the air temperature and humidity as well as the photosynthesis of the tomatoes inside the greenhouse.
This modern small-scale LNG Station was constructed to high standards of quality and safety under a “turnkey” project contract for DEPA Commercial. The project was completed in less than 11 months, including design, procurement, construction and testing of the main equipment. LNG supply is managed by DEPA Commercial, transported by cryogenic trucks from DESFA’s LNG Import Regasification Terminal on Revithoussa island near Megara Bay in the region of Attica to the LNG station in Serres for regular unloading.
This project opens significant prospects for supplying LNG to other greenhouses planning to install CHP units, as well as other industrial facilities looking to meet their thermal, cooling, and electricity needs without the need for a local natural gas distribution network.
Project Benefits
The project provides substantial benefits to both local communities as well as the national economy:
- Energy cost savings for end-users.
- Conservation and saving of primary energy (natural gas) through the triple production of heat, electricity, and CO₂ for final use.
- Reduction of CO₂ emissions, decreasing the carbon footprint, and therefore environmental protection.
- Increased domestic agricultural production due to the controlled environmental conditions within the greenhouse.
- Reduction in agricultural imports, positively impacting the national current account balance.
- Decentralization of electricity production and consumption.
- Resource savings (financial and others) from avoiding the need for local natural gas distribution networks in remote areas.
Few words about the Project Contributors
Gazil Hellas: Established in 2020, Gazil Hellas provides consulting, technical-economic studies, and management of specialized energy projects, primarily in natural gas and clean fuel technologies. The aim of the company is to contribute to the country’s green transition from the use of conventional petroleum fuels to the use of cleaner fuels, and in particular recycled gas-fuels such as biogas, biomethane, bio-LNG and hydrogen.
ΑΤΕΚΕ: Founded in 1974, ATEKE specializes in any type of fuel station construction, including LNG, CNG and other energy facilities, as well as commercial, hospitality, healthcare, and industrial building projects. The company’s goal is to continuously maintain increasingly higher construction standards, to respond perfectly to projects of high demands and to achieve the best result of the projects it undertakes.
Cringas: A Spanish company, Cringas designs, builds, and operates cryogenic facilities, including LNG/CNG fuel stations across the Iberian Peninsula, Europe, Africa and Latin America, with a 25% share of Spain’s small-scale LNG transport market (3.3 TWh/year). Since 2006, it belongs to the Spanish group GEA PERONA, making synergies with another company in the group (Naftran) that undertakes the entire supply chain of LNG transportation and logistics with privately owned tankers from bigger LNG Import and Regasification Terminals to the small-scale LNG stations of its customers-end users (230 customers) and to fuel stations (supplying and maintaining all Repsol LNG stations (8) in Spain). The company’s aim is to continuously evolve with innovative, technical, and commercial solutions, simplifying society’s access to the use of cleaner fuels such as LNG, biomethane and hydrogen, while providing integrated high-quality service proposals throughout their supply chain.