The Spanish food retailer Alimerka in the northern Asturias region has recently taken its 46th Scania Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) truck in operation. These trucks now constitute nearly two-thirds of Alimerka’s fleet.
This new decision of the Asturian distribution chain comes with a total investment of €200,000.
The latest addition to the LNG fleet features Scania’s new more powerful 13-litre, 410 hp, engine, enabling distribution services with a truck and trailer. This engine, corresponds to a new era for gas engines for long-distance transport with a reduction of CO2 emissions of up to 15% if powered by natural gas and up to 90% in the case of biogas.
Thanks to the twin LNG tanks, this truck has a range of up to 1,600 kilometres depending on the route and the type of transport. From its central warehouse in Lugo de Llanera, near Gijon, Alimerka distributes goods to its 173 supermarkets in Asturias and in the neighbouring regions Castile and León and Galicia.
Alimerka follows the increased interest for biogas or natural gas vehicles with rising demand in the European market. It is a pioneer company in joining this initiative with the purchase of the first vehicles in the year 2016. The objective of this project is to provide a sustainable and efficient solution for the environment, as well as to guarantee the reduction of consumption and the lowering of costs. They are very versatile vehicles since they are prepared for both long distances and for urban transport because they have a comparable performance with a diesel engine of the same size and the noise they emit is about half of the conventional diesel vehicle noise level.