Flogas Enterprise has signed a contract with Circle K to supply biomethane which can be compressed into a renewable fuel known as BioCNG at its fuelling stations across Ireland. BioCNG is currently available in Ballysimon Road, Limerick, Cashel Co. Tipperary, and Clonshaugh and Dublin Port in county Dublin.
The move is another step forward in reducing emissions from Ireland's transport industry – one of the most difficult industries to decarbonise.
Barry Murphy, Commercial Director of Flogas Enterprise, said: "Ireland's commercial transport fleet makes up just 3% of vehicles on the road nationwide yet is responsible for approximately a fifth of transport's carbon emissions. Heavy Goods Vehicles or HGVs operating on 100% BioCNG can achieve significantly less carbon emissions.
"At Flogas Enterprise, we are fully committed to supporting large enterprises, on their journey to sustainability. Our contract with Circle K comes at a time where we are observing an ever-increasing number of commercial fleets converting to CNG and BioCNG on a global scale. While electricity is a proven alternate fuel for cars, electric solutions are currently not a viable option in heavy goods vehicles, however CNG and BioCNG are, and are now being used by businesses throughout Europe. We are excited to work with Circle K to support the decarbonisation of the transport network in Ireland, by offering this carbon neutral fuel to fleet operators in Ireland."
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Brian Connolly, Senior Fuels Manager, Circle K Ireland, added: "We estimate that since BioCNG has been available at the four Circle K outlets, almost 4,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, have been saved, that's equivalent to over 40,000 carbon neutral kilometres.
"Working with Flogas Enterprise, we began making a low carbon fuel alternative for commercial vehicles available with the introduction of compressed natural gas (CNG) in 2022. While CNG can reduce a HGV's emissions by up to 22%, BioCNG can reduce a HGV's emissions by almost 100%."
Circle K is the first public company to offer biomethane/BioCNG to the public at their stations. The biomethane is sourced at Green Gas Generation's Anaerobic Digestion plant in Nurney, Co Kildare.
Flogas Enterprise (part of DCC plc) was the first supplier in Ireland to supply biomethane through the gas network to companies like Tesco and Diageo and are now delighted to bring this renewable biomethane (BioCNG) to the transport sector in Ireland.
What is BioCNG (Bio Compressed Natural Gas)?
Structurally identical to natural gas, biomethane is a carbon neutral renewable gas that can be made from farm and food waste through a process known as anaerobic digestion. An anaerobic digestion machine converts agricultural waste into energy, helping reduce carbon emissions from agricultural waste. Farmers, for example, take manure from the farm, and put it into the machine's tank; micro-organisms digest it and produce biogas which is used to generate electricity and heat. The resulting purified methane is then compressed and used as a transportation fuel. This is known as BioCNG.
BioCNG is almost an 100% clean fuel made from waste and is, therefore, a sustainable alternative for fossil natural gas. Driving on BioCNG is not only beneficial for reducing CO2 emissions, but it can also save you on your fuel costs. CNG stands for Compressed Natural Gas, it is a natural gas compressed down to less than 1% of its volume.
Ireland's 2022 Climate Action Plan has a target of 5.7TWh/yr of biomethane on the national gas network by 2030 which equates to approximately 10% of demand.
