Earlier this year Gasum AB, the Swedish subsidary of the Finland-headed gas major Gasum Oy announced that it had been awarded investment grants by the Swedish Environment Protection Agency for 16 gas filling stations for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) in Sweden. The company has now revealed the locations for eight of these refuelling stations.
According to Gasum, the Nordic infrastructure and the market for natural gas and liquefied biomethane plays an important role in creating a sustainable ecosystem for energy in the transition to a fossil-free society. Earlier this year, the Swedish Environment Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) decided, through its Climate Step programme (Klimatklivet), to approve Gasum AB’s application for investment support for 16 gas filling stations in Sweden.
The regions in which Gasum was granted investment support for are Västerbotten, Norrbotten, Värmland, Västernorrland, Gävleborg, Örebro, Västmanland, Uppsala, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Jönköping, Kronoberg and Skåne counties. The company has now revealed that eight of these heavy-duty vehicles (HDV) gas filling stations will be built in Stockholm, Borlänge, Östersund, Kalmar and Kungsbacka areas.
The Environment Protection Agency, within the framework of the Climate Step programme, gives us continued confidence through investment support for eight new liquefied gas stations and demonstrates that we are on the right track. Establishing the infrastructure that enables Nordic development towards cleaner transport is a major step forward. Demand for cleaner transport solutions is increasing rapidly, as the demand on developing solutions to combat climate change that are also cost-effective. Through the new establishments, we are further expanding accessibility, said Markus Olsson, Managing Director Gasum AB.
New stations will be positioned at strategically relevant locations, expanding the operating range of LNG powered vehicles even further in the Nordic countries – the company expects to have invested in the construction of around 50 gas filling stations for HDVs in Finland, Sweden and Norway by the beginning of the 2020s.
Gasum produces biogas at five plants in Sweden and seven plants in Finland. We see an increase in the demand for liquefied biogas in heavy transport so we need to expand that production significantly and increase availability. The future expansion will also include industrial applications, said Markus Olsson.
According to Gasum, by using liquid biogas (LBG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the heavy vehicle segment, it is possible to significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx), particulate matter (PM) and noise emissions. When using LBG, the CO2 reduction can reach as much as 85 percent compared to fossil fuels.
Together with new gas-powered truck models from OEMs such as IVECO, Volvo Trucks and Scania, the network of refueling stations located in strategically important places provides good conditions for sustainable and cost-effective transport.
