LONDON, February 26 /PRNewswire/ --
- Order Builds Upon Success of Earlier Trial
- With Photo
Gasrec, the UK's first commercial producer of liquid biomethane (LBM) fuel, is pleased to announce that it will be providing the fuel for the five trucks to be fitted with Genesis Dual-Fuel(TM) technology supplied by Clean Air Power, the developer and provider of natural gas combustion technology for heavy duty diesel engines. This order demonstrates Sainsbury's ongoing commitment to using Clean Air Power's technology and Gasrec's fuel to reduce its emissions from road transport.
Sainsbury's started a successful trial of Clean Air Power's technology in August 2007 and in August 2008 began to operate one of its Mercedes-Benz Axor Euro 3 vehicles fitted with Clean Air Power technology, running on Gasrec's fuel. The vehicle runs daily to Sainsbury's new flagship green store in Dartmouth, Devon from the Sainsbury's Emerald Park depot near Bristol. Sainsbury's has named this initiative 'Running on Rubbish' and is keen to increase its experience of operating these vehicles with a view to expanding the use of biogas within its fleet in the future. Reducing emissions from heavy goods vehicles is very challenging for operators and Sainsbury's will reduce CO2 emissions from these vehicles by around 30%.
Liquid biomethane is a commercially competitive and environmentally sound fuel that can be directly substituted for natural gas. The UK Government considers biomethane to be one of the most sustainable biofuels in terms of impact on resource depletion in relation to alternatives such as biodiesel and ethanol. Biomethane also has the lowest carbon intensity of all commercially available biofuels - in heavy goods vehicles, using biomethane can save up to 60% in CO2 emissions on a well to wheel basis when compared with diesel fuel. One tonne of LBM is also equivalent to 1,200 litres of diesel, which is sufficient to fuel a 44-tonne heavy goods vehicle for an entire week.
This new fuel is also designed to bring an end to any issues associated with the quality of natural gas available in the UK and offers fleet operators a serious and renewable alternative. Gasrec supplies the fuel by tanker in liquid form for bunkered storage - proving an ideal solution for applications where vehicles operate on a regular back-to-base cycle.
Gary King, Sainsbury's Logistics Operations Support Manager said: Sainsbury's is keen to continue the evaluation of this product in order to gain a better understanding of the use of this type of fuel within its operation. The purchasing of the Genesis units demonstrates its continued commitment of respecting the environment by seeking alternative sustainable fuels.
Commenting on the order, Richard Lilleystone, CEO of Gasrec, added: This increase in demand for our fuel is strong endorsement. We produce a very high quality vehicle fuel that has all the environmental qualities of hydrogen but with three times the calorific value by volume at a third of the price. The interest of a household name such as Sainsbury's underscores the immense contribution our fuel could make to reducing emissions even in challenging economic times.
Photos are available from M:Communications on request
Notes to Editors
About Gasrec
Gasrec is a producer of liquid methane fuel utilising gas generated by the decomposition of biomass. It obtains its gas supply from existing landfill sites or from controlled digestion of the biomass byproducts of food manufacture, retail and other industries. In creating and selling the fuel product, Gasrec recovers the latent energy stored in material discarded by society to power vehicles, especially those operating in the urban environment, or to generate electricity or CHP (Combined Heat and Power).
The generation of power from landfill sites in the UK is tried and tested, with over 300 UK landfill sites generating approximately 1,700 MW/h each year. However, a proportion of sites continue to flare unused gas as hitherto their development was not economically viable, thereby wasting the energy potential of the gas.
Gasrec has identified a clean, efficient use for this gas in the production of LBM (Liquid Bio Methane), a commercially competitive and environmentally sound fuel that can be directly substituted for both CNG (compressed natural gas) and LNG (liquefied natural gas) for use in gas-powered or dual-fuel vehicles, or to generate electricity or CHP (Combined Heat and Power).
Gasrec was awarded the Greenfleet Alternative Fuel Supplier of the Year award in 2008 and made a finalist in the Capital Fuel Challenge event. For further details see: http://www.greenfleet.net/content/view/52/1/
A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire. It can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk.
Enquiries: Gasrec +44(0)20-7436-6805, Richard Lilleystone, Chief Executive. M: Communications (PR for Gasrec) +44(0)207-153-1530, Elly Williamson or Charlotte Kirkham.
Enquiries: Gasrec: +44(0)20-7436-6805; Richard Lilleystone, Chief Executive. M: Communications (PR for Gasrec): +44(0)207-153-1530; Elly Williamson or Charlotte Kirkham.
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