The findings of the new Low Emissions Freight Trial (LEFT) report published on 18 November, 2020 by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership acknowledges that Heavy Goods Vehicles fuelled by biomethane (gas) can provide significant carbon reductions.
The Gas Vehicle Network (GVN) said this is further confirmation that biomethane should be a key technology for transport decarbonisation.
The report outlines that biomethane gas fuelled HGVs could reduce carbon emissions by up to 85% on a well to wheel* basis. It also notes that the additional capital and maintenance costs of gas vehicles compared to diesel will be recovered in two years at 160,000 km/year.
Another key finding was that methane slip - where unburned gas from incomplete combustion is leaked into the atmosphere and so contributes towards carbon emissions - was not an issue for the gas trial trucks.
Isaac Occhipinti, Head of External Affairs for GVN said, “Biomethane (gas) fuelled HGVs represent a ‘no regrets solution available today’. The LEFT report provides definitive evidence that biomethane trucks will help the UK meet its decarbonisation goals. The Department for Transport, DfT, must now recognise this in their upcoming ‘Transport Decarbonisation Plan’.”
“This would provide logistics managers and haulage companies with a clear message that they need to begin decarbonising their fleets now. Biomethane fuelled HGVs are the logical choice. They are cheaper to run, and as the new report says, they emit significantly lower levels of carbon as well.”
“There is no other sector of the UK economy where large CO₂ emissions cuts can be so quickly and cost effectively implemented as in the HGV, and in particular the long-distance truck sector.”
GVN recently published a paper ‘A Green Recovery- Delivering a rapid & cost-effective CO₂ reduction for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs’ to demonstrate the carbon saving potential of biomethane HGVs.
*Well to wheel means the total emissions from producing and transporting the fuel, then burning that fuel in the vehicle.
Photo: Isaac Occhipinti