Over the last 18 months, the company has witnessed a significant increase in road fuel take-up by transport and logistics operators: its supply of Bio-LNG has increased by 85% and the number of new vehicles able to use is fuel has grown sharply to approaching 700 in the UK.
While this raise has run in parallel with the growth in the company’s strategic network of filling stations, it acknowledges and welcomes the tremendous support the sector is receiving from both the UK and European governments and a host of private sector organizations. They are helping fuel the pace of change by supporting or encouraging the use of natural gas fuel or through new and expanding trials of NGVs.
The UK government, in particular, has displayed growing interest in natural gas as a road fuel, a position Gasrec supports through its leadership of an influential industry group (comprising B&Q, Clean Air Power, Gasrec, Mercedes, Tesco, UPS and Volvo). The national administration is also supporting the development of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) and the associated need for HGV refueling facilities, along with a range of other measures which follow from recommendations made earlier in the year by the Low Emission HGV Task Force.
In addition, the European Union recently announced a strategy to reduce vehicular emissions. It will bring forward legislation in 2015 requiring CO2 emissions from new HDVs (trucks, buses and coaches) to be certified, reported and monitored. Following this, it will consider other measures, which are likely to include the further development of a modern infrastructure supporting alternative fuels.
Besides, National Grid has confirmed that its new road tanker loading facility at the Grain LNG Terminal in Kent will be operational by the second quarter of 2015. The initiative will increase the security of supply of road delivered LNG and underpin its use as a transport fuel in the UK.
Source: Gasrec.
