Gruber Logistics relies on the new IVECO S-Way NP. The first bio-LNG refueling in Northern Italy
The project relies on the use of advanced biomass for fuel production and the full certification of the supply chain from generation to use. Liquid methane is now a well-established technology in the scenario of alternative fuels.
On the occasion of the opening of the new bio-LNG plant in Sterzing (close to the Austrian borders) Gruber Logistics carried out the first refueling of its new IVECO S-Way NP. Thanks to the cooperation with APS Fuel and HAM, Europe’s first zero-emission green corridor was created.
The project relies on the use of advanced biomass for fuel production and the full certification of the supply chain from generation to use. Liquid methane is now a well-established technology in the scenario of alternative fuels.
Bio-LNG from biomasses
The great advantage of methane lays in its considerable reduction in emissions compared to diesel. Today, however, it is also possible to obtain bio-LNG from biomasses, thereby completely eliminating CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
The new fuel, so-called bio-LNG, is slowly gaining ground in Europe, but there are still no solutions that can fully guarantee the traceability of the bio-molecule. In fact, infrastructure plants are not equipped with special facilities and therefore mix methane of fossil origin with bio-methane.
The collaboration between Gruber Logistics and IVECO
«We are proud that Gruber, a company to which we are linked by mutual trust and collaboration, has once again chosen IVECO, investing with excellence and farsightedness in biomethane, a green solution in which we strongly believe», began Fabrizio Buffa, IVECO Italy Market Alternative Propulsions Manager. «Today, thanks to continuous investments in products and technology, we are leaders in alternative propulsion in Europe. In its bio version, methane represents the present and future of carbon-neutral heavy transportation».
A special infrastructure for the distribution of bio-LNG
The company APS Fuel (Autoporto Sadobre) has therefore built a special infrastructure for the distribution of bio-LNG, which keeps fossil fuel separate from bio fuel. «To date, biogas is fed into the network with normal methane and then liquefied or taken to filling stations and mixed with fossil fuel. Having created an ad hoc storage tank, we are the only station in Europe that can preserve the purity of the bio fuel and by the end of 2021 we will further expand the system with a hydrogen dispenser», commented Roberto Padovani, owner of the filling station.
