The European Commission announced that with almost €2 million from the TEN-T Programme, it will finance a study looking at the potential beneficial effects of using alternative fuels for port operations. Also, the EU will support with over €1.2 million from the TEN-T Programme a study aimed at identifying and addressing the potential barriers to the construction and operation of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) fuelled vessels.

The EU TEN-T Programme will support with almost €2 million a study looking at the potential beneficial effects of using alternative fuels for port operations. The study, which will include pilots in Spain, Slovenia and Italy, will especially look at the ways to improve environmental performance of the participating ports' container terminals. The project is set to be completed by May 2014. Recently, the European Commission also launched a new strategy to ensure the build-up of alternative fuel stations across Europe with common standards.

The specific activities in the participating ports include the evaluation of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) versus diesel TIER 4 for equipment in the container terminal of the Port of Valencia; the implementation of a real time energy monitoring system to control consumption associated to port container operations at the Port of Koper; and the adaptation of a reach stacker vehicle to a different motorisation (LNG, hydrogen or bio-fuel) for reducing the environmental impact and energy consumption at the Port of Livorno.

On the other hand, the EU TEN-T Programme will also support a project that will examine the technical requirements, regulations and environmental operation permits that need to be met in order to shift from traditionally fuelled engines to LNG. According to the European Commission, LNG is rapidly emerging as a cheaper and more environmentally friendly fuel for the maritime sector and its uptake is encouraged by the European Union.