France-headed global gases, technologies, and services provider Air Liquide has announced that it has recently finalised the acquisition of ENN Clean Energy UK, a subsidiary of ENN Group, China’s largest privately-owned energy company. The acquisition marks an additional step in Air Liquide’s development of transportation solutions that reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from well-to-wheel in the UK.
According to a statement, ENN Clean Energy UK operates three natural gas stations dedicated to trucks in Wellingborough, Portbury, and Huntingdon in the UK. These stations are now part of Air Liquide’s European network of over 60 bio-NGV stations, mostly supplied by the Air Liquide biogas purification units in the UK, France and in Sweden.
The Group is already present in the field of biomethane production for natural gas grids, dedicated to heat needs and low carbon fuels for freight and logistics companies and bus operators. Biomethane enables vehicle operators to cut both particles and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 70 percent and noise up to 40 percent in comparison with fossil diesel.
Additionally, a project led by Air Liquide has been chosen to be part of a GBP 20 million (≈ EUR 21.52 million) government programme to deploy zero emission vehicles in the UK. Launched in January 2017, the programme is supported by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the government agency Innovate UK to help the country meet its CO2 reduction targets.
Starting in April 2017, the Air Liquide project will trial a fleet of 86 gas-powered trucks, including five trucks fitted with cryogenic refrigerating units for cold storage truck transport using Air Liquide’s liquid nitrogen solution “blueeze”, instead of diesel.
