Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, UK: Tesco Distribution is to run 35 Mercedes-Benz dual-fuel vehicles on Bio-LNG.
The vehicles will use Gasrec’s refuelling station at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal that opens to all dual-fuel LGVs in May.
Bio-LNG is Gasrec’s proprietary blend of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquid biomethane (LBM) – a source of renewable energy produced from organic matter such as household food waste and sewage.
Tesco Distribution’s group environmental manager, Joe Carthy pictured with one of the new dual-fuel HGVs running on Gasrec’s Bio-LNG
The deal with Gasrec will cut Tesco’s CO2 emissions by 15% with a 90% reduction in NOx and particulate matter emissions, helping Tesco to achieve its target of reducing emissions per case of goods delivered by 25% by 2020 (from 2011 baseline). Tesco has already halved the emissions per case delivered in the UK between 2006-2011.
The agreement with Tesco follows the supermarket securing funding from the government-backed Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform that provides match-funded grants to businesses best able to nurture low-carbon vehicle technologies.
It aims to slash vehicle carbon emissions and help the UK freight sector benefit from growing demand for low carbon vehicles. To date, around £60m has been committed to more than 75 projects.
Tesco Distribution’s group environmental manager, Joe Carthy, says: “A gas refuelling station on our doorstep is ideal for us. We are committed to converting vehicles to dual fuel and reducing carbon emissions. Gasrec’s infrastructure and Bio-LNG fuel will allow us to do this across our network in years to come.”
Gasrec’s commercial development manager, Doug Leaf, says: “The public and private sectors are really seeing the ability of Bio-LNG to cut costs and pollution, and our green credentials have been recognised by the government through its LCVIP funding.
“We’re very confident at Gasrec that more and more people will come to us, giving us the opportunity to expand our infrastructure even further and deliver savings and environmental benefits to a wider market.”
Daventry is the first of seven stations which Gasrec is building to complete the UK’s first strategic refuelling infrastructure for gas-powered vehicles at multiple locations across the UK road network.
• Gasrec is Europe’s only producer and distributer of Bio-LNG, a proprietary fuel derived from landfill gas, anaerobic digestion and other sources, Bio-LNG is a mix of liquefied biomethane (LBM – 15 percent) and liquefied natural gas (LNG – 85 percent). The future-proof fuel promises carbon and cash savings for commercial vehicle operators across the UK.
Gasrec was established in 2003 to develop the system to produce Bio-LNG. Today, the organisation also supplies, installs and manages dedicated on-site refuelling facilities for its transport customers.
Gasrec is building the UK’s first strategic refuelling infrastructure to allow customers to refuel at multiple locations across the UK road network. Gasrec‘s first refuelling site will officially open at the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) in Northamptonshire in May 2013.
