Low-emission biogas fuelling station opens in Daventry

Transport minister Norman Baker opens ‘UK’s first’ open-access Bio-LNG filling station to provide heavy goods vehicles with low-emission fuel

Transport minister Norman Baker praised the air quality benefits of a new low-emission fuel-filling station for heavy goods vehicles which opened in Daventry, Northamptonshire last week (May 23).

The site is operated by UK sustainable fuel company Gasrec, which claims the newly-opened site is country’s first open-access Bio-LNG fuel station and will provide significant cuts in air pollution and fuel costs for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

Bio-LNG is a biogas fuel developed by Gasrec using a blend of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquid biomethane (LBM), which the company claims is produced from organic matter such as household food waste at its production plant in Albury, Surrey.

Compared with pure diesel equivalents, Bio-LNG can reduce nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions by as much as 90%, carbon dioxide emissions by 20% and fuel costs by 20-30%, the firm claims. Vehicles running on the fuel are also quieter compared to petrol engines.

Furthermore, Gasrec cites a report by air quality consultants Ricardo-AEA which found that running the UK’s HGV fleets on biogas transport fuel could cut haulage emissions by up to 65%.

According to the firm, the Bio-LNG fuel has been tested and used by fleet operators such as Coca-Cola, Sainsburys and Tesco, while a range of commercial vehicles that can use the fuel are available from equipment manufacturers.

Up to 250 HGVs per day will be able to refuel at the Daventry station during the first phase, before the capacity is increased to enable it to service 700 each day. Gasrec said a five-person team are to staff the station 24-hours a day.
Network

The Daventry station is the first site to be opened as part of Gasrec’s national Bio-LNG fuelling network, which the firm plans to have rolled out by the end of 2015. The network is to be installed near motorway junctions and the intention is to have at least one station within four hours’ drive for 85% of HGVs in the UK.
Monitored from a central control centre in Daventry, each station in the network will store enough fuel to fill 700 HGVs each day with five refuelling lanes and 10 dispensers, according to Gasrec.

Gasrec has also already installed eight refuelling stations at customer sites such as B&Q, Sainsburys and Tesco over the last 18 months.

Opening the Daventry station, Transport Minister Norman Baker said: “The innovation shown by Gasrec and its partners in projects like this can help the UK meet its ambitious carbon reduction targets while creating green jobs to build the economy.

“This announcement represents a significant step towards achieving carbon and air quality benefits and I am very pleased that demonstration fleets from the government’s Low Carbon Truck Demonstration Trial will be refuelling from this site.”

Gasrec commercial development manager, Doug Leaf, said: “The launch today is a very proud moment for everybody at Gasrec. It clearly shows how our technology, innovation and ambition are leading the way to shrink pollution and costs for the UK’s HGV haulage fleet.

“It is a pleasure to see our service not only saving customers significant sums of money but also helping them to play their part in protecting the environment. Big haulage companies are working and investing with us because they understand this intrinsic value. This is the important first step of a journey which we have high hopes will be a national success story.”