Waitrose introduces ten 500-mile range biomethane trucks to its fleet
Sat 11 February 2017
View all news
Waitrose has started operations with ten new Scania CNG (compressed natural gas) trucks. The manufacturer describes the trucks' range - 500 miles - as "game changing".
Waitrose says its fleet of dedicated gas trucks will run entirely on biomethane, claiming that they are the most advanced CNG-fuelled trucks on the road to date.
The vehicles have twin 26-inch diameter carbon-fibre gas tanks - developed jointly by Scania and US-based CNG fuel systems specialist Agility Fuel Solutions. The tanks can store gas at 250bar, so increasing the fuel’s power density and enabling the range gain from traditionally 300 right up to 500 miles.
Justin Laney, general manager for central transport at John Lewis, says that the technology means the new trucks can always run entirely on biomethane. He says that the fuel is 35—40% cheaper than diesel and emits 70% less CO2.
Each of Waitrose’s new CNG trucks costs 50% more than an equivalent vehicle running on diesel, but will repay the extra in two to three years, he says, with fuel savings anticipated at £15,000—20,000 a year, depending on mileage.
Philip Fjeld, CEO of CNG Fuels, which is supplying the biomethane said: “High pressure carbon-fibre fuel tanks demolish the range anxiety concerns that have made many hauliers reluctant to move away from diesel to CNG".
Related Links
< Back to news list