A South Holland logistics company is spearheading the drive into carbon-neutral transport by running lorries on gas and sharing its refuelling station with neighbours.
FreshLinc is working to offer Bio-LNG refuelling as it brings in its own fleet of trucks capable of running on the alternative to fossil fuel.
The project will open the door to other companies in the area using the fuel and reducing their own carbon footprint while keeping costs down.
“Someone had to break the log-jam and that’s what we are doing. We have been looking at different technologies, and electric has issues with range and refuelling,” said Mat Owen, Group Manager Technical and Sustainability at FreshLinc, on Wardentree Park.
“Build it and they will come – to quote the film Field of Dreams. To go electric we would have needed 400 times the power we have now and that’s not possible with the current infrastructure, so we needed a mid-term solution to the fossil fuel problem.”
The liquified natural gas is cooled to -162C and turned into a clear liquid. Refuelling requires eye protection, long sleeves, trousers and gloves for the drivers.
“They were shown how to do it during the trial and have no problem with it. Everyone was a bit nervous at first,” said Mr Owen.
On a 24/7 operation like FreshLinc and its sister companies, including FloraLinc and FLB, the fuel cost reduction of around 30 per cent in terms of kg of LNG to litre of diesel.
But leasing the lorries is more expensive initially. Most of the LNG is produced in Europe and the USA, but costs could come down as a domestic market increases.
“Consumers put pressure on retailers and retailers put pressure on hauliers. We are taking the moral imperative as well as reducing the carbon impact of the business,” Mr Owen added. “We are part of the retailers’ carbon footprint so if we reduce, so do they. It’s a win-win.”
The company also currently runs the most efficient Euro 6 spec HGV tractor units and has both a wind turbine and photovoltaic panels to produce electricity.
It is working with Gasrec to install a facility at Pinchbeck which will serve the new trucks as they come on-stream.
The site could re-fuel 100 gas-powered trucks a day when fully operational – which could be the end of this year.
