Coca-Cola trials Gasrec’s sustainable fuel made from landfill gas

Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) is trialling a low-carbon, sustainable fuel made from landfill gas made by British NGVA Europe member, Gasrec, for use in delivery vehicles operating from its Enfield and Sidcup depots. 

The soft drinks company is running trials of a 21-tonne Iveco Stralis vehicle run on Gasrec’s sustainable liquid biomethane fuel. Gasrec - the first commercial producer of liquid biomethane in Europe – creates the fuel by extracting naturally occurring methane from organic waste in landfill sites and converting it to a high quality, clean fuel.

The trial is expected to result in CO2 reduction in excess of 60 per cent compared to the equivalent vehicles running on diesel. Liquid biomethane has been found in trials to be a viable low-carbon alternative to diesel: it reduces CO2, gives a much higher vehicle performance than electric vehicles, and has a similar fuel consumption pattern to diesel. Refueling stations are being provided to CCE’s Enfield depot by Gasrec’s infrastructure partner, Gas Container Services (GCS).

Gasrec’s fuel is now being used by major household names in the UK, including Waitrose (which announced in August 2010 that it will run an initial five home delivery vehicles on Gasrec’s Liquid Biomethane); Sainsbury’s (which uses Gasrec’s liquid biomethane for a number of its dual-fuel vehicles); and Tesco which runs 25 home delivery vehicles on the fuel).

Gasrec’s liquid biomethane is created by extracting the natural gas produced from biomass in landfill. The gas is then converted to liquid biomethane, has the lowest carbon footprint of all the renewable vehicles and is commercially competitive against diesel and petrol. In addition it can be directly substituted for both compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). This liquid biomethane is then used to fuel dedicated gas-powered or duel-fuel vehicles; or for decentralised (off grid) power generation. Gasrec’s liquid biomethane is UK-sourced, sustainable and commercially competitive.

Richard Lilleystone, CEO of Gasrec, says: “Some of the biggest companies in the world are showing a real commitment to reducing CO2. Transport is often the biggest problem for them. But now, there is a real sustainable alternative to diesel for fleet vehicles. The performance of biomethane in vehicles far outstrips that of electricity. We hope that this step will be the beginning of a larger deployment for Coca-Cola Enterprises. It is apparent that growing numbers of like-minded organisations are electing to use biomethane as a fuel of choice which is good news for the environment and for local air quality.”

Darren O’Donnell, Logistics Asset Manager at CCE, says: “We’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint wherever possible. In the past, finding a viable alternative to diesel to fuel our distribution network has been extremely difficult. Gasrec’s liquid biomethane is high-performance, locally-sourced and low carbon, and could provide the answer for us.”

For more information on Gasrec, see www.gasrec.co.uk.

Find the original Gasrec Press Release here.

Source: Gasrec

 
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