Gasrec biomethane facility (Image: Hardstaff Group)
Transportation and logistics specialist UPS is working with the EU and UK government to drastically increase the supply of biomethane for transportation. UPS is planning to add 10 biomethane-powered dual-fuel trucks to its UK fleet for the London Olympic Games, reports BusinessGreen.
The company has been testing the Mercedes biomethane trucks out of its Tilbury depot since November last year, after they were converted by Nottingham-based Hardstaff Group. Initially operating with diesel and biomethane, UPS has expressed the hope that given adequate fuel supply the trucks will be able to operate solely on the renewable gas.
Peter Harris, EMEA director of sustainability for UPS, explained each unit of biomethane would cut emissions well-to-wheel by at least 70 per cent compared to diesel, and would reduce tailpipe emissions by 20 per cent compared to diesel.
“We think biomethane is potentially a really exciting fuel,” he reportedly told BusinessGreen. “It’s one of the few alternative fuels that can work at the heavy end of vehicle spectrum. It has great potential for reducing carbon because the fuel is generated from producing waste”; a win-win situation he added.
Gasrec in Surrey is currently the only UK supplier of biomethane from landfill gases. Since the launch of the Gasrec liquefaction plant on the 25th June 2008, Portal Gas Services, a member of the Hardstaff Group of companies, has formed a partnership with Gasrec to manage the logistics and bulk transportation of their LBG. Hardstaff Haulage became the first major haulage company in the UK & Europe to use natural gas recovered from landfill waste.
Additionally, Gasrec is supplying biomethane for 14 trucks from the Coca-Cola Enterprises fleet, also servicing the Olympic games.
“… they obviously have a limited capacity,” Harris said, “so we want to help them and other suppliers build this into a more scalable programme for the future.”
