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To date, the electrification of transport CNG is already one of the
has dominated the discourse in relation cleanest burning hydrocarbon
to zero-emission transport and huge
strides have been made by the sector fuels. However, if that CNG is
for passenger vehicles. Over the last five biomethane (bioCNG) – made
years, electric vehicles have evolved from from crops, food waste or
a niche market to 25,000 registrations for sewage – we can see dramatic
battery electric cars in 2019.
However, noticeably less has been cuts in carbon emissions
said about those vehicles that cannot
easily be electrified, including heavy diesel HGV fleet with biogas-fuelled
freight and HGVs. These large emitters trucks. They will fill up at a brand new,
cannot be ignored – HGVs alone make publicly accessible refuelling facility
up 14 per cent of the transport sector’s being developed at our Erdington site,
carbon emissions. in Birmingham, by partners CNG Fuels.
Electrifying HGVs presents enormous Increasingly, fleet owners are
challenges. The batteries alone needed recognising the benefits of gas as
for HGVs can take between one third and an environmentally-friendly, cost-
one half of the vehicle’s carrying capacity. effective fuel, with a growing market
It’s not surprising, then, that fleet owners for gas vehicles.
and operators are increasingly looking National scale uptake analysis
towards gas as a cleaner and lower indicates that by 2035, the UK’s
carbon alternative to diesel. gas-powered HGV fleet could swell to
Over the last three years, Cadent, between 50,000 and 95,000 vehicles.
together with industry partners, has These would be expected to consume
been pioneering the use of the gas grid between 12 and 24TWh of gas fuel
as a source of low and reduced carbon demand, potentially dispensed by up to
fuel for transport. A world-class asset 150 refuelling stations.
that has attracted millions of pounds A nationwide growth in gas
worth of investment, the gas grid is refuelling stations, coupled with our
reliable, versatile and ideally-placed to research into hydrogen for heat and
dispense compressed natural gas (CNG) industrial use, could also pave the
to heavy goods vehicles. way for hydrogen to become a widely
CNG is already one of the cleanest accessible fuel for transport.
burning hydrocarbon fuels. However, A zero emissions fuel at the point
if that CNG is biomethane (bioCNG) of use, hydrogen has the potential to
– made from crops, food waste or revolutionise heat and transport – a fact
sewage – we can see dramatic cuts recognised and acknowledged by the
in carbon emissions. Committee for Climate Change.
A study of CNG Fuels’ Leyland bio- In its recent Net Zero report, the
CNG refuelling station in Lancashire committee identified the need for the
– the very first such facility to be fed by widespread use of hydrogen for heating,
the high pressure gas grid – found cuts transport and industry if the UK is to
in carbon emissions of up to 84 per meet its challenging net zero emissions
cent on a well-to-wheel basis compared target by 2050.
with diesel. Users of the site have also At Cadent, we have already begun
enjoyed cost savings of up to 40 per cent. to lay the foundations for a hydrogen
We currently have eight CNG public economy through our work on
access refuelling stations connected hydrogen research projects including
he public debate on the to our gas distribution network, with HyDeploy, HyDeploy2 and HyNet.
decarbonisation of transport further stations planned to open within HyNet is primarily focused on
has been focused on the months across our network footprint. producing and delivering hydrogen
passenger vehicle market and Among those benefitting from these via the gas grid to industry, homes and
T as a result has been dominated stations is the UK’s largest biomethane businesses in North West England.
by electrification. Yet for those vehicles fleet; Nottingham City Transport’s However, the same pipeline networks
where electric solutions are not the 120-strong force of buses. that supply hydrogen to homes
answer, another form of clean energy is The further four facilities currently and industry could also be adapted
stepping into the breach – gas. under construction include a new to provide a network of refuelling
If the government is to meet its net zero CNG Fuels station at Warrington. stations for transport.
emissions target, it has to tackle transport Once completed, it will be the largest To examine this in depth, we
and take action on all vehicle types as public access CNG refuelling station in commissioned an independent study,
soon as possible. The sector is now the Europe, dispensing environmentally- the HyMotion report. The report
UK’s largest carbon emitter, making up friendly CNG biomethane to up to 800 found that hydrogen produced by the
around 23 per cent of the country’s total HGVs every day. HyNet project through steam methane
emissions in 2018, and yet it has proved We’re also putting our money where reformation and delivered via the
stubbornly immune to emissions cuts. our mouth is by replacing our own gas grid could deliver mobility grade

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