ReFuels N.V., one of Europe's leading suppliers of renewable
biomethane (Bio-CNG) for the decarbonisation of heavy goods vehicles, has
commenced construction of a new refuelling station at Aylesford in Kent. The
public access Bio-CNG station operated by ReFuels under the CNG Fuels brand
will open additional transport routes for Southeast England, a region with a
population of approximately 9.3 million.
The station at Aylesford is owned by a joint venture (JV) with Foresight
Group. It will feature 12 fuel pump islands, allowing more than 500 trucks to
be refuelled per day with a total capacity of more than 19 million kilograms
(kg) of Bio-CNG annually.
Serving major UK haulage routes, including the M20 and M2, the site is being
built on land acquired from the John Lewis Partnership adjacent to Waitrose's
southeast distribution centre, enabling the retail giant to rapidly grow its
fleet of biomethane-powered heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), which is already the
largest such fleet in the UK.
"John Lewis Partnership took delivery of its first dedicated CNG trucks in
2015 and now operates 400 CNG trucks, which is the largest biomethane-powered
truck fleet in the UK. We are delighted that CNG Fuels has started
construction of a high-capacity Bio-CNG station in Aylesford, where Waitrose
has its southeast distribution centre. John Lewis Partnership is committed to
all of its 520 heavy-duty trucks running on biomethane by 2028, and the
Bio-CNG station in Aylesford is another important step towards realising this
goal", said Justin Laney, General Manager - Fleet, John Lewis Partnership.
The current CNG Fuels network in the UK can refuel more than 6,000 HGVs daily.
This equals an annual dispensing capacity of more than 264,000 tonnes of
biomethane annually and a potential saving of more than 750,000 tonnes of CO2
emissions annually when compared to diesel. The year-end 2026 target of 30-40
stations in operation equals a total capacity of up to 15,000 HGVs per day and
more than 600 million kg of biomethane annually.
"Bio-CNG is the only fuel available today that can decarbonise the UK's HGV
fleet at the scale and pace required to meet net zero. Well over one hundred
fleets across the UK are now adopting the fuel en masse and our new site in
Aylesford, built on land acquired from one of the UK's biggest retail HGV
fleets, is a testament to this growing demand and the value fleet operators
place on Bio-CNG refuelling infrastructure", said Philip Fjeld, CEO of
ReFuels.
ReFuels has one more station under construction in Bangor, North Wales, which
is due to start operations in the next months. At least two further stations
are expected to commence construction during the calendar year.
