Remondis to beat German City Diesel Bans with Natural Gas Fleet
Remondis, a leading international service provider in the field of recycling, service and water, is to begin the gradual conversion of a large part of its fleet of 8,000 commercial vehicles to natural gas. Their decision was announced last Monday in Munich at IFAT, the water, wastewater, waste and raw materials trade fair.
Remondis is increasingly focusing on natural gas mobility to circumvent diesel driving bans in German inner cities. Zukunft ERDGAS will accompany the launch as a specialist for the filling station infrastructure. As a first step, a natural gas filling station in Hürth for the supply of garbage collection vehicles will be upgraded.
“We are delighted that Remondis has recognized the potential of natural gas for municipal mobility solutions, and for commercial vehicles, CNG is the only cost-effective alternative to diesel,” commented Dr. Timm Kehler, CEO of Zukunft ERDGAS. Especially with regard to climate protection, natural gas is the right choice for municipal fleets.
“Due to its renewable twin in the form of biomethane (RNG) and synthetic natural gas, gas is becoming ever greener, which means that traffic in almost all German municipalities can become climate-neutral without straining local budgets,” Kehler continues.
In close cooperation with Zukunft ERDGAS, Gasversorgungsgesellschaft mbH Rhein-Erft (GVG) and Remondis in Hürth near Cologne are building a new natural gas refinery. It will expand the existing GVG natural gas filling station. From July at the latest, vehicles from the waste industry should be able to refuel there with climate-neutral biomethane. New CNG trucks will also be used in the region. Six vehicles from the Stralis NP model have already been ordered by Remondis from the truck manufacturer IVECO.
Remondis relies on natural gas not just in Hürth. Gradually refuse collection vehicles are to be converted to natural gas drive throughout the Federal Republic. “Gas offers numerous advantages over the truck drive types established in Germany: They emit hardly any particulate matter and about a quarter less nitrogen oxides and CO2, and they reduce the noise pollution by 50 percent,” explains Lars Nehrling, Head of Public Affairs for North Rhine-Westphalia at Remondis.
“As the largest waste disposal company in Germany, we want to set a positive example: The project in the Cologne area is our test region.” The new biomethane fuel pump will show politicians and the industry that waste disposal is also almost climate-neutral,” Nehrling continued
