Calor has enhanced its refuelling network for natural gas-powered trucks by upgrading its Aust LNG facility, near Bristol.

Part of Moto’s Severn View Services, the Aust facility is located off the M48 motorway by the Severn River Crossing, and has been upgraded to consider the requirements of mono-fuelled trucks.

As part of the upgrade, the new system uses ‘zero loss’ cooling technology to keep LNG within the storage tank at the ideal temperature and pressure for refuelling vehicles.

Similar work has been carried out at Moto’s Donington Park, Lymm and Grantham service stations, to add to Calor’s growing LNG infrastructure of six public refuelling facilities.

Keeping LNG in this optimum state reduces the likelihood that warm gases such as methane need to be vented from the vehicle’s onboard storage tank during refuelling. Venting can result in increased emissions and prolonged refuelling times. Thanks to the ‘zero loss’ technology, if venting is still required all vent gases are captured in the LNG station with no losses to atmosphere.

 Mark Gilks, transport specialist at Calor, commented: “Leading truck manufacturers are predicting that, by the early 2020s, vehicles powered by natural gas could account for 20% of all HGVs sold. This growing market share highlights the obvious benefits of choosing LNG to power long-haul HGVs now and into the future.

“As a low-carbon, competitively-priced fuel solution with good availability, LNG has a big role to play in helping the transport and logistics sector hit its environmental targets. Ensuring our publicly-accessible LNG refuelling network, which is the largest in the UK, can best support the demands of HGVs is crucial to this aim.

“By upgrading our Aust facility, as well as stations in Donnington, Lymm and Grantham, we can provide the necessary transport infrastructure to support the growth of LNG. We are committed to helping the industry move to a more sustainable future, and investing in our refuelling network will play a key role in achieving this.”