Going to the beach is a gas for HGV operators

Taking time out to visit a beach on a Wednesday morning might sound like a holiday, but this was a visit to a special site that is helping haulage companies reduce emissions, save money, and support the decarbonisation of UK roads.

Severn Beach, near Bristol is the site of Europe’s largest biomethane refuelling station set up and run by CNG Fuels which is near theM4/M5 junction and has the capacity to refuel 80 HGVs per hour. Bio methane cuts carbon emissions by 90% and which is why more truck fleets are now moving away from diesel to CNG.

The Royal Mail, Warburtons, Amazon and Lidl all have large distribution sites in close proximity to the station and are already embracing the move to gas as they make low-carbon deliveries across the south-west of England and into Wales.

According to the Department of Transport the haulage sector accounts for 18% of total UK road transport emissions and it is good to see companies taking action now to reduce this figure.

With transport and logistics companies also adopting solar panels on their distribution centres and even on their trailers it shows the entire industry, supported by the commercial vehicle manufacturers are making huge inroads into their emissions reduction.

We are seeing at first-hand how IVECO leading the way with its range of gas trucks and speaking to operators they are seeing little or no compromise when moving from diesel.

The transport sector can often be a punch bag when it comes to the environment but all the PR, social media, and marketing projects we are working on in this area shows companies are investing huge levels of time, resource, and money in reducing their carbon footprint.