Fiat Chrysler and Engie are working together to promote natural gas vehicles and to build infrastructure in Europe as part of an alternative energy initiative that began in 2014.
The Deployment of Alternative Fuels Infrastructure is in line with the Paris climate accord that sees 50% of public fleets to run on alternative fuels in the short terms. The goal is to get to a 100% by 2030. The initiative will first start in Wallonia, Belgium this year.
The memorandum of understanding also involves Italy, Romania, France and the Czech Republic. Beyond using natural gas as a fuel to move vehicles and to build the associated filling stations, the initiative will also focus on research and development.
"The objective is to offer technologies that utilize fuels already available in its target markets—from natural gas to biofuels—while bringing immediate benefits in terms of lower emissions," reports GreenCarCongress. FiatChrysler "has significantly developed its compressed natural gas range, which is now composed of 12 models, making it one of the most comprehensive in the automotive sector with up to 700,000 units sold since 1997."
The story says that transportation is responsible for 22% of carbon emissions in the world, and 30% in Europe. Oil is used to fuel transportation 95% of the time.
The story corresponds with a similar initiative in California announced this week where the state's investor-owned utilities are asking for $1 billion to try and get 1.5 million near-zero emissions vehicles out by 2025. Edison International, Sempra Energy and PG&E Corp. would pay for the initiative by assessing customers a small monthly charge.