Shell, Disa, Scania, Osomo and Iveco have formed a consortium to support the expansion of the use of LNG as fuel for road transport in Europe.
The consortium committed to developing new infrastructure across Europe aiming to ensure the long-term success and mass-scale adoption.
According to a joint statement, each member will deliver separate activities that will see 2,000 more LNG trucks on the road, 39 LNG fuelling stations and the construction of a BioLNG production plant in the Netherlands.
The LNG retail stations will form part of a pan-European network and be built in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
The stations will be located approximately every 400 km along core road network corridors from Spain to Eastern Poland, the statement reads.
The bioLNG facility will produce 3000 MT/year of BioLNG and will use biomethane produced from waste.
Pierre Lahutte, IVECO Brand President, said: “This project opens the possibility for a seamless transition to a circular economy approach based on generating energy from waste. This makes even negative GHG emissions and carbon sequestration possible. The project’s funding will enable us to
help our customers convert their fleets to LNG through competitive IVECO Capital finance & leasing plans, increasing the number of natural gas vehicles on European roads and making progress towards a sustainable transport industry.”
“This program covers filling stations, biofuel production and subsidies which are all necessary for progressive customers to invest in the trucks, despite the extra initial cost,” Jonas Nordh, director sustainable transport solutions, SCANIA, said.
The consortium added that 2,000 new LNG heavy goods vehicles will be leased to end users.
Each BioLNG EuroNet consortium member will receive 20 percent funding from the EU towards the cost of their commitments under the connecting Europe facility (CEF) for the transport sector.