Fuel for thought

Harrison Thomas, Gasrec, UK, looks at how bio-LNG and bio-CNG are driving the transition towards cleaner, greener transport.

With demand for alternative fuels among the transport sector skyrocketing, LNG-powered trucks have a huge part to play in helping operators meet their sustainability objectives. The technology has developed in leaps and bounds in recent times but there are still challenges to overcome to help fleets transition away from diesel.

A recent report from industry trade body, the Gas Vehicle Network, showed a 78% increase in the sales of gas as a transport fuel during 2020. A significant spike in demand indeed, but the figures were of little surprise to anyone within the sector.

Biomethane-powered trucks have been proven to return CO2 savings as high as 95%, as well as delivering a significant 99% reduction in particulate matter and 90% in NO2 emissions compared to their Euro VI diesel counterparts. These can be considered attractive statistics for businesses looking for a cleaner, more sustainable operation.

While both bio-LNG and bio-CNG share these benefits, it is the former that is making the bigger impact, particularly for long haul operations. LNG is denser, therefore more energy can be achieved on a vehicle than with CNG. One unit of liquid gas energy takes up three times less volume than one unit of compressed gas energy.

With long-distance, heavy-duty trucks powered by electric still years away from being rolled out in any significant numbers, more and more operators are starting to accept the fact that bio-LNG currently offers the best route forward when it comes to cutting tailpipe emissions – which it will continue to do so for some significant time yet.

This is a message that Gasrec – one of the UK’s leading fuel providers for gas-powered commercial vehicles – has been pushing for a number of years. The company supplies, builds, and operates bio-LNG and bio-CNG refuelling stations across the UK working with major blue-chip companies such as Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, and B&Q.

Picking up the pace

As take-up for the technology soars, Gasrec projects that one-third of the UK’s 44 t heavy truck market will have transitioned to natural gas within the next seven years, with approximately 39 000 gas-powered HGVs on UK roads.

James Westcott, Chief Commercial Officer at Gasrec, explains, “Just a few years ago there were no real UK-spec gas trucks available, but following launches by three of the big manufacturers – Volvo, Scania, and IVECO – we are now seeing exponential growth.

“We are already supplying more than double the volume of gas we were back in January 2020; and that is after volumes shot up in 2019 too. Over the next year, there will be hundreds of new gas trucks coming on the market, as businesses look to build back from the COVID-19 pandemic greener and stronger.”

To back up that point, at the end of 2020 Asda took delivery of 202 Volvo FH LNG tractor units, in what is believed to be the single largest order ever placed in the UK for heavy trucks running on renewable fuels. It is anticipated that plenty more companies will follow Asda’s lead throughout 2021.

Figure 1. Gregory Distribution has installed a new temporary bio-LNG station.

Figure 2. Reed Boardall has recently upgraded to a permanent LNG facility at its Boroughbridge base in the UK.

Figure 3. Gasrec’s Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) facility is the largest gas refuelling site in Europe.

Expanding supply

To meet this increase in demand, Gasrec has recently completed a £1 million upgrade to its flagship refuelling facility at the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT).

A team of engineers installed new fuel dispensers, new supply lines, and a new fuel management system, along with greater remote operability for the site – which has the capacity to refuel up to 700 trucks per day.

The company also introduced its own fuel cards to provide better information to its customers and to prepare for further expansion of its station network. Additionally, the systems align the refuelling process more closely with diesel to make driver training easier and more familiar.

Rob Wood, Chief Executive of Gasrec, says: “The investment reinforces our confidence in the growing demand for trucks running on renewable biomethane, which now represent nearly 5% of all new tractor unit registrations in the UK.

“We have seen a huge influx of new customers at DIRFT over the course of the past 18 months. This demand has also led us to invest in our supply chain and to increase the number of LNG road tankers in our fleet.”

Indeed, the company plans to increase the size of its tanker fleet by 300% over the next 12 months – having recently added its third cryogenic trailer from Bradford-based M1 Engineering, UK, and has two more in build for completion in the next few months. A further three tankers are projected to join the fleet in 2H21.

Situated near the M1 motorway, DIRFT is Europe’s largest gas refuelling station and offers 24/7 access to fleets from across the UK, Ireland, and the continent. The site houses seven dispensing points, including four pumps and four storage tanks. It uses an independent supply pipe network to different dispensers, so in the rare event of a failure on one line, it can still operate via the others.

New systems installed during the refurbishment measure every refuelling procedure with pin-point accuracy, including when it commences, how long it takes, and the gas condition throughout the process – providing valuable management data to help Gasrec optimise the flow of vehicles through the facility.

“The upgrades will ensure DIRFT continues to hit our strict targets for safety, sustainability, refuelling speed, and uptime, plus it means we are best positioned to refuel the latest generations of vehicles,” adds Wood.

In addition to the open-access facility at DIRFT, Gasrec currently operates eight permanent sites for customers around the UK – the latest installed at frozen food transport specialist Reed Boardall’s Boroughbridge base earlier this year.

Designed by Dutch LNG experts LIQAL, the compact, prefabricated system required limited construction time on-site and supplies the same fuelling consistency and reliability as a fully-fledged LNG station. Capable of comfortably supporting Reed Boardall’s 30 gas vehicles, the facility has the scalability to grow as the business puts more gas trucks into service.

There are also plans in place to build more infrastructure at another site for the company in the next 12 months. “The big challenge for us now is to ensure the capacity is there to help keep up with the new orders of LNG-powered trucks,” adds Westcott.

Logistics giants Gregory Distribution is another which is pushing ahead with the switch from diesel to gas. The business recently installed its first refuelling station at its depot in Cullompton, UK, as part of an ongoing trial into the suitability of bio-LNG to replace diesel in its fleet of more than 1000 trucks.

Gasrec delivered the skid-mounted unit – used as a temporary solution for fleets exploring the option of bio-LNG – straight from the site at Reed Boardall, after the company upgraded to its new permanent station.

“We use the pumped mobile refuelling station to seed new locations where we want to get bio-LNG into an area quickly,” explains Westcott. “The plan is to get a more permanent station at Cullompton, but the fast-moving nature of this industry requires a flexible approach and the fact that we were able to deliver the facility direct to Gregory Distribution, from Reed Boardall’s site in Boroughbridge, shows how quickly we can help our customers get this cleaner fuel into their fleets.”

It is another example of how Gasrec is working intensely to make every aspect of the transition to gas from diesel as straightforward as possible.

Making improvements

While the introduction of more infrastructure is undoubtedly the major focus, there are other areas of the process that also require smoothing out.

“The resilience of our facilities, which was a major part of the upgrade work at DIRFT, is something we are constantly looking at, ensuring they are as safe and user-friendly as possible,” adds Westcott. “Then there is the lead time for equipment, that can be a big issue for us, as it can take a long time to build gas tanks, for example.”

“Whatever the issue may be, we are always exploring ways to improve the experience for our customers. Working with LIQAL on the project at Reed Boardall was a great option as we saw real synergy in innovation and technology between our two companies. We are passionate about the benefits gas can bring to fleets and are open to working with partners which share our ambition and commitment to this cleaner, cheaper and more environmentally-friendly fuel.”

As is to be expected with any relatively new technology there are still roadblocks to overcome, but those at the forefront of the movement towards a more sustainable transport industry have no doubt the hard work will be worth it in the end.

Figure 5. More and more operators are making the transition to bio-LNG.

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