CEO of RATP (Regie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) Pierre Mongin and Chairman and CEO of GDF Suez Gérard Mestrallet recently signed a partnership to develop a refueling solution for RATP centers that allows offering renewable natural gas. This agreement covers a period of three years. The public transport company’s plan is having a fleet of up to 20% of CNG and biomethane-fueled buses by 2025.
This partnership will enable GDF Suez, through its subsidiary GNVert, contribute to the development of the NGV market in France. It will also help establish the conditions necessary for the production of biomethane and its use in transportation.
RATP and GDF Suez will identify in their own lands located in the Île-de-France plots that may be used for the deployment of a refueling solution nearby RATP bus depots. Locating these sites should allow GNVert to build a shared CNG and biomethane filling station not only for RATP buses but also for other heavy or light duty vehicle fleets such as freight companies or waste collection operators.
As part of this partnership, GNVert will also launch studies to upgrade several RATP sites that are already refueling buses. The first stage will focus on the Créteil center, which currently accommodates 90 CNG buses, and the aim is to increase its capacity from mid-2015 to hosts 220 NGVs, which is the total capacity of the bus depot.
Source: RATP
