The new facility, which is located in Overijse, in Flanders (Belgium), was officially opened by Flemish Minister for Mobility and Public Works Ben Weyts and Colruyt Group CEO Jef Colruyt. This is the 14th natural gas station under DATS 24, which is Colruyt Group’s fuel supplier. Colruyt has also invested in its own NGV fleet, which includes 250 cars, 20 delivery vans and one truck.
“After all, both man and the environment stand something to gain by this. CNG emits less particulate matter and CO2 than conventional fuels. That is why it’s important for me to be present here,” said Minister Weyts, who strongly supports the use of natural gas in vehicles and regrets that CNG as an alternative fuel is not receiving further attention.
DATS 24 has several projects underway to increase its fueling stations to 25 by the end of 2015, and wants to open another fifty natural gas stations in the coming years. “Since we were the first to put CNG on the market in 2011, we have been working closely together with all parties involved, including several governments. The impetus that we are creating today invites everyone to continue on this path,” commented Jef Colruyt.
According to the company, incentives for purchase and use of natural gas vehicles are very necessary. That is why Colruyt is enthusiastic about the efforts of EANDIS, which helps counties and public utility companies in making the (partial) switch to natural gas. Overijse County, for instance, has just purchased three CNG vehicles.
At the start of 2013 there were barely 200 NGVs in Belgium. In 2014 that number rose to 650 and today, there are 1,700. On the one hand, this increase was caused by the larger availability of cars and company vehicles. On the other hand, the Flemish government encouraged the purchasing of NGVs with an ecology premium and lower taxes for car registration (BIV).
Source: Colruyt Group
