Government publishes recommendations on use of methane and biomethane in HGVs
Thu 13 March 2014
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The Department for Transport (DfT) and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) have published papers and recommendations to increase the use of biomethane in heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). The recommendations include views gathered by the Low Emission HGV Task Force, of which the LowCVP is a prominent member.
The Low Emission, Fuel Efficient HGV Task Force was established under the 2011 logistics growth review to identify and promote measures to reduce emissions from HGVs.
As part of a range of new and emerging technologies, the Task Force consider the use of natural gas and biomethane in HGVs to be an important part of reducing carbon emissions from freight operations. This option is particularly important in the regional and long-distance freight sectors, where there are a limited number of other technical options for substantial CO2 reduction in the short to medium-term.
In the 2013 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor acknowledged the need to incentivise a move to gas to help reduce emissions from HGVs. His guarantee to ensure a duty differential for gas against the price of diesel until 2024 marked an important step that secured the business case for gas.
The Freight Transport Association is urging Government to act on recommendations from the Task Force to increase the use of biomethane in HGVs. The FTA says that the move towards gas powered vehicles with either liquefied natural gas or compressed natural gas and ultimately biomethane will ensure that the freight sector can contribute to national Government carbon reduction targets whilst delivering essential goods and services. An increase in the utilisation of gas HGVs will also help improve air quality in towns and cities, the Association says.
The Low Emission HGV Task Force is led by the Department for Transport and includes the LowCVP as well as industry groups such as FTA, CILT, RHA and SMMT.
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