AB InBev is going greener with trucks on CNG
Donderdag 13 juli 2017 — AB InBev is putting an environmentally friendly Volvo FE on compressed natural gas (CNG) into service. The aim is to deliver beer with this more economical and greener truck in Low Emission Zones, such as the Antwerp city center. Later, other Belgian city centers will follow.
AB InBev is the first player in the Belgian and international beer market with its best-known brands Stella Artois, Jupiler, Leffe and Hoegaarden. From this leading role, the world brewer wants to focus as much as possible on green logistics for the fast delivery of its beers.
Luc Vanderveken, Safety & Fleet manager at AB InBev, states “AB InBev is a global leader in a wide range of projects for greener transport. Especially in our home country Belgium. The 'beer train' and 'beer boat' are recent examples of this. However, trucks remain the only option for supplies where rail and water are missing. This does not prevent us from getting the lowest possible CO2 emissions in the city as well. In the new Low Emissions Zones in cities like Antwerp, we choose to invest in the environmentally friendly Volvo FE truck on CNG. This truck emits much less harmful substances such as soot and NOx and is also more quiet than a conventional diesel truck. This promising scoop for the delivery of our beers in the city will certainly be pursued elsewhere”.
The Volvo FE CNG is powered by an all-new 9-litre Euro 6 engine featuring spark plug technology that produces 320 hp and 1356 Nm of torque.
Methane gas is odourless when combusted and it contains very low levels of harmful particles. If the methane is a biogas, that is to say based on organic materials, emissions of carbon dioxide are up to 70 per cent lower than those of a diesel truck.
Thanks to its fully automatic transmission, the truck retains the same excellent drivability and productivity as the conventional Volvo FE.
“We found the right partner in Volvo Trucks. Environment is very important for both companies. Therefore, we are planning to purchase more CNG trucks in the future. This helps us achieve our ambitious goal to accomplish a 15% CO2 reduction in our global logistics, compared to 2013", said Luc Vanderveken, Safety & Fleet Manager at AB InBev”.
Facts about methane gas
Methane gas is a collective name for biogas and natural gas, both of which largely consist of methane. Natural gas is a fossil product that is between 40 and 500 million years old and is extracted from deep inside the Earth’s crust.
Biogas is similar to natural gas but it is a renewable gas that is created when organic material is decomposed by bacteria in an oxygen-free environment. It can for instance be created from refuse and other organic waste. When a truck runs on biogas, emissions of carbon dioxide are cut by up to 70 per cent compared with running on diesel fuel.
