Dordon, UK: Ocado Group has opened its second natural gas refuelling station, this one at its site in Dordon.
In January 2019, Ocado funded an onsite grid-connected gas refuelling station at its Hatfield depot.
Gasrec will build the second site, due to open mid next year, to fuel Ocado’s 10 compressed natural gas tractors already running from Dordon and allow for the remaining Dordon tractor fleet, 70 in total, to transition from diesel to blended biomethane.
Graham Thomas, fleet operations manager, Ocado Group, says: “The results we have seen since beginning our switch to gas have been fantastic and shown that we are on the right path to a cleaner, more environmentally-friendly future.
“This new facility at Dordon will allow us to get more gas trucks on the road and access delivery routes further up the country with our CNG fleet.”
The facility at Dordon will be a tanker fed operation, with Ocado signing a 10-year supply agreement with Gasrec. With 60 natural gas-powered trucks operating from Hatfield and Dordon, this latest development will allow Ocado to more than double their total CNG units over the next three years, with over two thirds of its total fleet running on natural gas.
“We are committed to transitioning away from diesel and the performance of the Iveco gas trucks we have in service, as well as the resilience of the facilities and support Gasrec has provided for us so far, has only strengthened our conviction,” Thomas said.
acEnvironmental benefits of switching to natural gas include 99% fewer particulate emissions and 70% less nitrogen oxide than the latest diesel standard. Natural gas-powered vehicles are also, on average, 10db quieter than diesel vehicles, significantly reducing their impact in residential areas.
Gasrec currently supplies a minimum 50% biomethane blend to Ocado, meaning significant reductions in CO2 output – up to 68 % across the fleet calculated from the total amount of biomethane used. In future, the mix of biomethane will increase, making further inroads to cleaner transport, the company said.
