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Case study
Page 37
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One independent haulier which has invested heavily in gas technology is Caratrans. It has the Ilk's largest ENG filling station at its Crewe base and runs 15 ERF tractors on CNG, hauling car parts.
The company started looking at gas-powered vehicles more than three years ago and decided on ONG rather than LNG because it is easier to carry and store. It is about to take delivery of six Scanias and plans to add a six more later in the year, all running on gas.
A Caratrans spokesman says the range on the ERFs was increased to about 5513 miles by fitting a 250 bar system (most gas trucks operate at 200 bar). He adds that the latest tanks do not carry a weight penalty and the vehicles have been as reliable as their diesel equivalents. Maintenance is no more complicated, although some parts can he expensive.
The company received a 1100,000 grant from Powershift towards the 28130,000 it spent on the refuelling site and the spokesman reports that negotiating the grants procedure was "not difficult".
"The [gas to diesel] price differential is not as much as in the past and so the return is not as great as we once had although I can see it returning in the future," he says.
And what of the price? Although he declined to say how much each gas truck saves the company "for commercial reasons", you can be sure that it wouldn't be buying12 more gas units if it didn't make sound financial sense.