Gasum’s natural gas fueling station network in Finland will expand with the addition of four new stations in 2017. In the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, a new station was opened in the summer in Petikko, Vantaa and another station opened this month in Tuupakka, also in Vantaa.
The Petikko station offers compressed biogas (CBG) and natural gas (CNG) fuel for cars, delivery vehicles and waste management vehicles, among others. The Tuupakka station expands refueling opportunities for heavy-duty road vehicles by also offering Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
LNG-fueled heavy-duty vehicles are becoming more common, and the filling station network is expanding continuously around Europe. The gas filling station opened in Tuupakka is the third one in Finland offering fuel for light as well as heavy-duty vehicles.
“The opening of new gas filling stations enables an increase in the use of alternative fuels to replace fossil fuels. Along with other energy solutions, this will help make greenhouse gas reductions and promote the achievement of Vantaa’s carbon neutrality objective,” says City of Vantaa Environmental Director Katariina Rautalahti.
The number of gas-fueled vehicles is increasing at a record rate in Finland, and Gasum is promoting cleaner transport by expanding the biogas and natural gas filling station network. Over the next few years, the company will open a total of 35 new filling stations in locations including the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Turku, Oulu, Lahti, Seinäjoki and Kuopio. There are currently eight gas filling stations in the Metro Area.
Gas-fueled vehicles gaining rapidly in popularity
”There’s an increasing demand for renewable energy in transport, and biogas is one of the most attractive alternatives to conventional fuels. Biogas is continuously gaining in popularity as a fuel among more and more enterprises and well as private individuals, and the increase seen throughout the year in the sales of gas-fueled vehicles has been excellent. At Gasum we’re excited to be involved in the promotion of cleaner transport and the circular economy. Our filling station network helps bring tens of millions of kilometers’ worth of clean mobility onto Finland’s roads already this year,” says Gasum CEO Johanna Lamminen.
The view of the increasing popularity of gas vehicles is also shared by Kimmo Vainio, Director, Sales and Field Operations, from Helkama-Auto: ”The gas car models imported by us, Škoda Octavia and Škoda Citigo, have clearly gained in popularity in 2017. A gas-fueled car is an excellent choice in terms of fuel costs for private customers as well as enterprises and other organizations. The continuously developing filling station network will also strengthen the position of low-emission gas vehicles in Finnish transport even further in the future.”
In addition to Vantaa, at the moment LNG for heavy-duty road vehicles is available in Finland from Vuosaari, Helsinki, and in Turku and Jyväskylä. Head of Land Operations Janne Ritakoski from the logistics company Containerships says the new station is an important investment in cleaner logistics: ”We want to offer a logistics chain from the sender to the recipient that is as clean as possible and minimizes emissions throughout the Baltic Sea region. Gasum’s investments in the filling station network have an enabling effect on our own investments in a gas-fueled fleet in Finland and support our LNG strategy. The Vantaa LNG station by the Ring Road has a perfect location for our operations.”
Source: Gasum
