CNG Fuels, a UK-based distributor of natural gas for use in vehicles, has launched renewable biomethane fuel as a lower-carbon alternative to diesel for heavy trucks. The company is now building out a UK-wide network of biomethane refueling stations.

CNG Fuels is now building out a UK-wide network of biomethane refueling stations. Image credit: CNG Fuels.Waitrose, John Lewis, Argos and Brit European long-distance articulated trucks are already using the fuel, which is derived from food waste, independently verified as renewable and sustainable and approved under the UK government's Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme.

The biomethane is sourced from anaerobic digestion plants and distributed through gas pipelines to refueling stations owned and operated by CNG Fuels, where it is compressed into fuel. The company says it is 35%-40% cheaper than diesel and emits 70% less CO2, on a well-to-wheel basis, offering fleet operators the opportunity to cut costs while forgoing significant carbon emissions.

"We are proud to be the first company in the UK to offer its customers RTFO-approved biomethane—and pleased to be able to do so at the same price as fossil fuel [natural] gas,” says CNG Fuels CEO Philip Fjeld.

CNG Fuels says it is targeting operators of high-mileage heavy trucks, who stand to make the biggest financial savings and carbon impact. Across the UK, 127,000 heavy-goods vehicles travel an average 49,000 miles per year and account for 4.2% of the country's carbon emissions.

The company says that its customers’ vehicles travel an average of 125,000 miles a year. While gas trucks generally cost more up front than their diesel counterparts, CNG Fuels says that the fuel savings incurred at this rate of mileage can repay the extra cost within two to three years.

A typical articulated diesel truck driving 125,000 miles a year emits 100 times more CO2 than a typical passenger vehicle, so carbon savings from switching to biomethane are significant, the company adds.