A natural-gas-powered Iveco Daily produced 62% less CO2 than comparable diesel vehicles during a recycling and street-cleansing operations trial for the London Borough of Camden.
The Daily 65C14G cage tipper's fuel was supplied by Gasrec, the UK's first commercial producer of liquid biomethane (LBM), in order to allow direct comparison with similar vehicles operating on both diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG).
Over a six-month period, the Iveco covered 7,040km on an urban cycle, consuming LBM at a rate of 24kg/100km. Over the same distance, a similar diesel-powered vehicle operated at 31.4 litres/100km. The LBM-powered Daily emitted 2,771kg of CO2, compared with 7,295kg for the equivalent diesel model, a 62% saving. LBM consumption of 370kg (on a basis of 1,500km per month) equates to a 30% fuel cost saving.
Martin Flach, Iveco product director, says: "The market for gas vehicles on the Continent is many times that here, largely due to poor UK infrastructure and [the quality of] gas from Victorian mains with high moisture content that has historically resulted in reliability issues. Following the success of this trial, we will be making our gas-powered Daily available to operators nationwide for use with LBM."
Richard Lilleystone, Gasrec CEO, adds: "The LBM gas comes from a landfill site in Albury, Surrey, which means it is not depleting fossil resources. We are particularly pleased with the improvements achieved in air quality.
"Reductions of 90% in particulate matter, 60% in nitrogen oxides, 50% in sulphur dioxide and even less noise give fleet operators a renewable alternative fuel for applications where vehicles operate on a regular back-to-base cycle, such as local authorities and distribution companies."
Iveco's 28-model natural-gas-powered Daily range is powered by a three-litre, 136hp engine producing torque of 350Nm at 1,500-2,730rpm. Each vehicle has a range of up to 380km per tank, is LEZ-compliant and is exempt from London's Congestion Charge.
Since 1999, more than 4,000 gas-powered Daily vans and chassis-cabs have been sold across Europe.