Spanish company Seur, S.A. has continued enhanced its commitment to sustainable operations by introducing two natural gas trucks to its transportation fleet. One truck is powered by Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) while the other uses Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). The company will test the viability of both fuels an international freight route over coming weeks.
The heavy duty vehicles will be used for the 600 km freight road route between the Spanish capital of Madrid and the Portuguese city of Porto (also known as Oporto), Portugal’s second-largest metropolis after Lisbon, to demonstrate the viability of this fuel.
The first of the vehicles is an IVECO Stralis NP 400CV which has been specifically designed for long distance deliveries and is rapidly being adopted across Europe. It is equipped with a 400 hp engine, has the same payload as an equivalent diesel truck and a range of up to 1,500 km. Portuguese gas distributor Dourogás is supporting this assignment.
The other is a truck converted for dual-fuel operation to enable it to use CNG as fuel.
The use of natural gas contributes to improving air quality by generating around 30% less CO2 emissions than traditional fuels, eliminating emissions of sulfur oxides and particulates, and substantially reducing those of nitrogen oxides.
With this pilot test on the Madrid-Oporto routes with both vehicles, SEUR expects to compare its performance and contrast results to find out which option is the most efficient and sustainable or to assess which routes are best suited to each of these alternatives. After the tests, it predicts that it will be able to reduce some 23 tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere per vehicle.
The Corporate Social Responsibility (sp. ‘RSC’) of the company, which forms a fundamental part of its business strategy, is articulated through its DrivingChange ™ program, in which two of the four pillars are a Carbon Neutral commitment and Intelligent Urban Distribution. Through the former, Seur measures, reduces and compensates its footprint of carbon, while the latter aims to reduce the environmental impact of its activity, improve the life of cities and offer more delivery options to its customers.
Source: Seur, S.A.
Related articles:
- Portugal Issues Decree to Establish Alt-Fuel Framework
- Delivery Van Conversion to CNG a First for Madrid
