Coca-Cola Enterprises has begun UK trials of an Italian-made Iveco Stralis Active Day 21-tonne truck running on compressed biomethane.
It is the first compressed biomethane (CBM) powered commercial vehicle to be operated anywhere in the world by Coca-Cola, and the first such Stralis model to be delivered in the UK.
The initial trial involves a trio of Stralis vehicles and the results will be used to determine the long-term sustainable transport strategy of Coca-Cola in Great Britain. To support the investment, a liquid CBM refuelling station has been installed at Coca-Cola’s distribution facility in Enfield, Middlesex.
“Our primary reason for selecting CBM is that it has the lowest carbon intensity of all commercially available alternative fuels, allowing us to benefit from the best possible well-to-wheel saving,” says Darren O’Donnell, Logistics Asset Manager at Coca-Cola.
“The gas used to make the CBM comes from a landfill site in Surrey, which means it is not depleting any fossil resources. This effectively allows us to power the Stralis using the latent energy recovered from rubbish thrown away by society.”
The Stralis AD260S30Y/FS-D CNG is purpose-built on the factory-line for natural gas powered applications and is recommended for operation in the UK with CBM supplied by Gasrec. It features a six cylinder 7.8 litre Cursor 8 engine which produces up to 300 hp at 2,000 rev/min and up to 1,100 Nm of torque between 1,100 and 1,650 rev/min.
“There are very few gas-powered heavy trucks on the market, but the availability of a Stralis proved the perfect fit with our business as we already run 50 diesel-powered models, and have been a prominent Stralis customer since 2004,” says O’Donnell.
The performance of the CBM-powered Stralis will be carefully monitored by Coca-Cola ahead of a future decision regarding its suitability for operation on a wider scale. This will include detailed independent monitoring by Cenex – the government’s centre of excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies, with planned vehicle trials to be carried out at Millbrook later this year.
