Ireland’s second public CNG station opens at Circle K’s facilities in Cashel
Gas Networks Ireland and Circle K (the country’s largest fuel and convenience retailer) have opened Ireland’s second publicly-accessible, fast-fill CNG station at Circle K’s forecourt in Cashel. Strategically located at Junction 8 off the M8 (Dublin – Cork) motorway, the new facility has the capacity to fill 50 heavy good vehicles per day, with each fill taking no more than five minutes.
“We are delighted to unveil this latest CNG station at Circle K Cashel further strengthening our natural gas capabilities alongside our Dublin Port CNG station. We have longstanding ties to the commercial transport and freight industry and a key priority of ours is supporting this sector as it endeavors to reduce its carbon emissions. We are looking forward to introducing more CNG stations on key transport routes, and, in fact, are well advanced on the development of two such stations, one in Limerick and one on Dublin, with more to come,” said Jonathan Diver, Senior Director Fuels at Circle K.
“We have introduced 16 dedicated CNG trucks to our fleet, which enables us to have a greener food and retail supply chain. Having a CNG refueling station in Circle K Cashel in Co. Tipperary gives us more flexibility, range and route options. We look forward to more CNG stations opening across the country as we continue to invest in our greener fleet,” commented Ken Leahy, Distribution and Fleet Manager, at Spar operator BWG Foods.
While only 4% of vehicles on Ireland’s roads are classified as HGVs and buses, they account for 30% of all emissions in the road transport sector. This new station allows haulers and fleet operators in the region to begin the journey to carbon neutral transport by switching their fuel from diesel to CNG today and ultimately transitioning to networked renewable gas in the future. With Ireland’s first dedicated biomethane entry point, in Kildare, now injecting it into the network, renewable natural gas is becoming a real option for Ireland’s fleets.
Gas Networks Ireland’s Head of Commercial and Corporate Affairs, Ian O’Flynn, added: “We’re on a journey to decarbonizing the transport sector and renewable gas has a critical role to play. CNG stations are directly connected to the national gas network and CNG vehicles are future-proofed for renewable gas. Renewable gas is entering the gas network today. By delivering a network of CNG stations, we are supporting haulers and fleet operators to make a sustainable switch to a carbon neutral fuel.”
The development of the CNG network via the Causeway Study is supported by a grant from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility Transport Fund and the Gas Innovation Fund, approved by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). Research is co-funded and conducted by project partner, the National University of Ireland, Galway.
