The new stations will meet “soaring demand from HGV operators”, says the company in an announcement today (23 May), and will boost its capacity by almost 500%.
CNG Fuels has two existing stations at Leyland, Lancashire and Crewe, Cheshire, which can refuel more than 600 vehicles daily.
Construction work on a station in Warrington, at Omega South on the M62, has begun. It is expected to be the largest public access gas refuelling station in Europe and will be able to refuel up to 800 HGVs a day and serve 12 vehicles simultaneously.
CNG Fuels has also started construction at Erdington, close to the M6 in Birmingham. The station will be able to refuel more than 600 HGVs a day, and will be built on land belonging to gas distribution network operator Cadent, which has committed to convert its entire fleet from diesel to CNG.
The company plans to start building two more, in Scotland and Liverpool, in the autumn, with eight more in 2020.
The Warrington and Birmingham sites are due to open in the autumn together with a third, previously announced station at the Red Lion Truckstop off the M1 at Northampton, which will be able to refuel more than 350 HGVs a day.
Philip Fjeld, CEO of CNG Fuels, said: “The spotlight on climate change continues to grow in intensity and the UK haulage sector has for many years been a laggard when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Renewable and sustainable biomethane allows companies to achieve deep cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, cut pollution and save money – no wonder demand is soaring. Our customers are already planning to order hundreds of new biomethane fuelled trucks in 2019 and we have interest from companies which run a third of the UK’s HGVs.
“We’re making it easier for fleet operators to make the switch from diesel by developing a nationwide network of public access biomethane stations on major trucking routes and at key logistics hubs.”
All of the fuel supplied by CNG Fuels is renewable and sustainable biomethane, approved under the DfT’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The gas is sourced from waste feedstocks, such as food waste, and is the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to diesel for HGVs. It cuts vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 85% and is up to 40% cheaper than diesel.
CNG Fuels estimates that, in 2019, its bio-CNG fuel will reduce UK haulage GHG emissions by more than 35,000 tonnes, with a multiple of this expected for 2020. John Lewis already has more than 50 gas trucks and plans to run its entire 500-strong delivery fleet on gas by 2028, while parcel company Hermes also plans to replace its 200-strong fleet of diesel trucks. Other customers adopting biomethane include Asda, Argos, Royal Mail, DHL and Cadent.