Volumes of compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquified natural gas (LNG) grew by 286% and 393% respectively. Gasrec says it expects to sustain this level of growth across the second half of 2019.
James Westcott, chief commercial officer at Gasrec, says: “Launches last year from IVECO, Scania and Volvo are starting to have a real impact, as customer deliveries follow trials with seed vehicles and demonstrators. As the volumes show, we’re pumping significantly more gas than we were six months ago, and it’s increasing every week.”
“Businesses transitioning to natural gas are reducing their carbon footprint and making themselves more attractive to potential customers as a result. They are also taking advantage of a fuel which is around 40% cheaper than diesel, and trucks which are nearly 50% quieter, too – the benefits really stack up.”
Gasrec believes one-third of the UK’s 44-tonne heavy truck market will have transitioned to natural gas by 2027, saying this is a key element in meeting the government’s target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from HGVs by 15% by 2025.
Westcott explains: “Operators have done a lot of work with telematics and aerodynamics to make their fleets as efficient as possible, but they need to open new doors to find this 15% saving... and the most practical option is changing fuel.”
Gasrec operates nine refuelling stations, which are a mix of open-access and dedicated customer facilities. Its latest site opened in January for Ocado, which is refuelling 29 IVECO Stralis NP tractor units with a 25% biomethane blend.