Air Liquide expands its clean energy stations network in the United Kingdom

Air Liquide has recently finalised the acquisition of ENN Clean Energy UK, subsidiary of ENN Group, China’s largest privately-owned energy company. The company operates three natural gas stations dedicated to trucks in Wellingborough, Portbury and Huntingdon in the United Kingdom. These stations are now part of Air Liquide’s European network of over 60 bio-NGV stations (Natural Gas for Vehicles), mostly supplied by the Air Liquide biogas purification units in the United Kingdom, in France and in Sweden.

This acquisition marks an additional step in Air Liquide’s development of transportation solutions that reduce CO2 emissions from well-to-wheel in the UK. Thanks to its biogas purification units, the Group is already present in the field of biomethane production for natural gas grids, dedicated to heat needs and low carbon fuels for freight and logistics companies and bus operators.

Additionally, a project led by Air Liquide has been chosen to be part of a £20 million government programme¹ to deploy zero emission vehicles in the United Kingdom. Starting in April 2017, the project will trial a fleet of 86 gas-powered trucks, including five trucks fitted with a cryogenic refrigerating units for cold storage truck transport using Air Liquide’s liquid nitrogen solution blueeze™, instead of diesel.

As clean and renewable energy, biomethane enables to cut both particles and CO2 emissions up to 70% and noise up to 40% in comparison with diesel. Biomethane is an alternative to fossil fuels in addressing the challenge posed by clean transportation and also helps to improve air quality.

 
¹ UK Government programme launched in January 2017 supported by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and the government agency Innovate UK to help the UK meet its CO2 reduction targets