Refuelling station for natural gas HGVs opens at Warrington

EUROPE’S biggest natural gas refuelling station for HGV’s has opened at Warrington, it was announced today.
The station is at Omega South, on the M62 and is one of four operated by CNG Fuels, who plan to add another six to eight stations over the next 12 months as it expands its network of HV refuelling stations to meet growing demand.
They say demand for renewable biomethane compressed natural gas (Bio-CNG), the low-carbon and low-cost alternative to diesel for HGVs, has soared 800 per cent since 2017 and is set to more than double this yea.
The new station at Warrington and another at Northampton are capable of refuelling over 1,000 HGVs a day, more than doubling the 600-a-day capacity of existing stations at Leyland, and Crewe.
CNG Fuels claims it has helped haulers save 55,000 tonnes of CO2 since it began supplying renewable and sustainable Bio-CNG in 2017. That’s expected to rise to 90,000 tonnes by the end of this year as demand increases by more than double, thanks to major brands such as John Lewis Partnership, parcel company Hermes, and Home Bargains committing to switching from diesel.
All the fuel supplied by CNG Fuels is renewable and sustainable biomethane approved under the Department for Transport’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The gas is currently sourced from waste feedstocks, such as food waste, and is the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to diesel for HGVs – it cuts vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 85% and is 35%-40% cheaper than diesel.
The company is now securing supplies of biomethane from manure to create a fuel that will be net zero emissions on a well-to-wheel basis It expects to begin offering carbon neutral biomethane across all sites from next year at the same price as the renewable biomethane fuel it currently supplies.
HGVs account for 4.2 per cent of UK carbon emissions, so decarbonising the sector is essential to meet the UK’s goal of achieving Net Zero by 2050.
Philip Fjeld, CEO of CNG Fuels, said: “We’re at a tipping point. Fleet operators are waking up to the urgency and scale of decarbonisation necessary for net-zero emissions by 2050 and we’re seeing demand for our fuel increase rapidly as a result. Our customers ordered hundreds of new biomethane fuelled trucks in 2019 and that trend is only set to accelerate over the next decade.
“We’re making the transition to carbon neutrality easier for fleet operators by developing a nationwide network of public access biomethane stations on major trucking routes and at key logistics hubs.”
The station in Warrington is catering to several major hauliers based in the area. It can refuel up to 800 HGVs daily and serve 12 vehicles simultaneously.
CNG Fuels is also consulting on how its network of refuelling stations can best accommodate low-carbon hydrogen and battery electric technologies for HGVs, so that it can support customers when these become commercially viable.