Government-backed trials will showcase low carbon commercial vehicles 22 August 2012

A £23 million demonstration programme that aims to encourage road haulage operators in the UK to buy and use low carbon commercial vehicles is set to receive more than £11 million in support from the UK government.

The announcement follows the competition launched by the TSB (Technology Strategy Board) and DfT (Department for Transport) on 24 April, as this year's CV Show opened its doors.

Tesco, John Lewis, Robert Wiseman Dairies and the BOC Group are among 13 companies leading trials in the programme, which will be managed by the TSB, DfT and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles.

"There has been a great response to this competition from industry, and the successful projects bring together a range of partners, including fleet operators, vehicle convertors, gas hub providers and universities," observes freight minister Mike Penning.
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"These trials will reduce CO2 emissions from freight and provide important information from a range of real-life situations that will increase industry confidence in low carbon trucks in the long term," he adds.

Penning gives the example of operators citing the lack of a gas refuelling infrastructure as a barrier to the take up of alternatives to diesel.

"These trials include £2.4 million funding for publicly accessible gas stations, which will encourage investment in low carbon trucks, and other vehicles, delivering long term benefits for the environment and reduced costs for operators," he asserts.

Not only will the funds help meet the cost of the refuelling points for use by the trial fleets, but also 11 new public access stations will be built around the country, available for use by other operators.

Penning also insists that government funding will help operators establish and run fleets of alternative and dual-fuel HGVs by meeting part of the difference in capital cost between traditional vehicles and their low carbon equivalents.

Over 300 low-carbon commercial vehicles will be involved in the demonstration programme.

"This trial will ... help to accelerate a wider understanding and acceptance of low carbon vehicle technologies, while enabling the development of alternative fuel infrastructures," comments Iain Gray, chief executive of the TSB.

The demonstrator trials will be led by: Ascott Transport (Derbyshire), Brit European Transport (Crewe), CNG Services (Solihull, with two trials), G-Volution (Newport, Gwent), Howard Tenens (Gloucestershire and Wiltshire), JB Wheaton (Somerset), John Lewis (London), Hardstaff (Nottingham), Robert Wiseman Dairies (Glasgow), Tesco (Northants), BOC (Guildford) and United Biscuits (Leicestershire).

As for the trials themselves, John Lewis will be working with partners to demonstrate the potential for achieving a 70% reduction in carbon emissions across a range of articulated vehicles, primarily harnessing bio-methane and diesel dual-fuel engine technology alongside new truck aerodynamics.

Elsewhere, a project led by G-Volution will trial 10 44-tonne dual-fuel HGVs, using its patented dual-fuel Optimiser technology, again using biomethane. The converted trucks will be trialled alongside diesel equivalents, providing direct comparison data.

Meanwhile, United Biscuits' project proposes to exploit used cooking oil by creating a renewable fuel solution for use in 44 tonne articulated vehicles, and expects to generate greater greenhouse gas savings than other liquid fuels.

JB Wheaton and Sons will be working with other fleet operators to trial 28 vehicles fuelled from CNG (compressed natural gas) or LNG (liquid natural gas) blended with biomethane – again to run dual-fuel gas converted trucks.

This project will also provide seven fixed refuelling stations and a further five mobile stations – those that will be available for use by other fleet operators.

Then Robert Wiseman Diaries, collaborating with Chive Fuels, Cenex and MIRA, will trial the use of 40 new warranted dual-fuel, 40-tonne articulated trucks substituting diesel with natural gas from two upgraded public access LNG stations, one in the West Midlands and one in Scotland.

The demonstration trial fleets will be run for two years, during which time usage data will be gathered and analysed by the Department for Transport.

Author
Brian Tinham

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