Cenex announces involvement in UK’s ‘largest’ trial of biomethane lorries
Cenex, the UK’s ‘first’ centre of excellence for low carbon technologies, has announced its involvement in the UK’s largest trial of biomethane fuelled lorries.
The ‘Dedicated to Gas’ trial will see large fleet operators including Kuehne + Nagel, Wincanton, ASDA, Brit European, Howard Tenens and Great Bear, trial the effectiveness of 81 dedicated gas-powered heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). The project is being led by Air Liquide and funded in part by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles in partnership with Innovate UK via the recently launched Low Emissions Freight and Logistics Project.
Ranging from 12 to 44 tonnes, the five lorries being trialled are all new to the UK market. The HGVs will be road tested across ten different vehicle configurations to create data on vehicle performance, fuel efficiency, reliability and cost.
It is expected that the trial vehicles, running on compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 8%, while those running on biomethane will see a 70% reduction in CO2 emissions, when compared to similarly sized diesel fuelled HGVs.
The project aims to demonstrate lower emission technology in the UK’s logistics industry and HGV fleets. Cenex will manage all data analysis and project dissemination, update a dedicated gas vehicle hub website, and organise informational workshops for participating fleet operators and interested members of the industry.
“As a world leader in sustainable, reliable, and safe gas power, Air Liquide is hopeful that this trial can bring much needed new fuel sources to the UK’s HGV fleets,” said Daniel Lambert, Commercial Director, at Air Liquide Advanced Business & Technologies UK.
“OEMs are working hard to bring promising zero emissions technologies to the new lorries they design, but without real life road testing by big fleet customers, these technologies will not be able to impact CO2 emissions in a big way. We look forward to leading this innovative trial, and sharing the results with other HGV fleet operators across Europe and the globe.”
Cenex operates as an independent not-for-profit consultancy and research organisation. It specialises in the delivery of projects which support innovation and market development to accelerate the shift to a low emission economy.
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