Axpo Completes First LNG Bunkering Operation in Valencia

Axpo completed its first Liquefied Natural Gas bunkering operation at the Port of Valencia on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. The operation, carried out ship-to-ship using the bunkering vessel Alisios, supplied a container ship operated by an international shipping and logistics company, with more than half of the fuel corresponding to bio-LNG.

Daniele Corti, Head of Small-Scale LNG at Axpo, highlighted that Valencia is Spain's busiest container port and the fifth-busiest in Europe, describing it as a strategically important location. According to Corti, the operation strengthens the company's presence in the LNG market and allows it to serve customers in a growing number of key European ports.

The Alisios is a 12,500 cubic meter bunkering vessel operated by Axpo, which was launched in March 2026 at the Port of Huelva, in southwestern Spain. Since then, the vessel has been operating along the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, promoting the use of LNG and bio-LNG as transition fuels for shipping.

Axpo's presence in Spanish ports grew substantially over the past year and a half. In April 2025, the company carried out its first LNG delivery in Málaga, followed by operations in Algeciras, Sines (Portugal) and Barcelona, made possible by the company's growing fleet of LNG bunker vessels. In Italy, Axpo carried out the country's first ship-to-ship bio-LNG bunkering operation in Genoa in December 2025, followed by further operations in Naples in May 2026 and in Civitavecchia in August 2026.

According to Portal Portuario, LNG represents a transitional solution for reducing shipping emissions, as it eliminates 100% of sulfur oxide emissions, reduces nitrogen oxide emissions by 80% to 90%, and cuts CO2 emissions by 25%, while bio-LNG is a renewable fuel produced from organic materials such as biomass, waste and agricultural by-products.