The UK’s first open access Bio-LNG filling station for hauliers, built by Gasrec, has been opened by Transport Minister Norman Baker.

He said: “The innovation shown by Gasrec and its partners in projects like this can help the UK meet its ambitious carbon reduction targets while creating green jobs to build the economy.

“This announcement represents a significant step towards achieving carbon and air quality benefits and I am pleased that demonstration fleets from the Government’s Low Carbon Truck Demonstration Trial will be refuelling from this site.”

Gasrec commercial development manager Doug Leaf said: “The launch today is a proud moment for everybody at Gasrec. It shows how our technology, innovation and ambition are leading the way to shrink pollution and costs for the UK’s HGV haulage fleet.

“It is a pleasure to see our service not only saving customers significant sums of money but also helping them to play their part in protecting the environment. Big haulage companies are working and investing with us because they understand this intrinsic value.

“This is the important first step of a journey which we have high hopes will be a national success story.”

Gasrec said major hauliers including NFT, Kuehne + Nagel, Brit European and Stobarts were already involved, along with retailers such as B&Q, Sainsbury’s, and Tesco.

Daventry is the first of a national Bio-LNG refuelling network, which Gasrec says is planned to be up and running by the end of 2015.

The planned network will be located near motorway junctions so that 85% of the UK’s HGV population will have at least one location within four hours’ drive.

The manned stations will be equipped with five refuelling lanes and ten dispensers using ‘fast-fill’ technology accessed by drivers carrying smart key controls.

The Daventry site is capable of fuelling up to 250 HGVs a day in the first phase from three Bio-LNG dispensers. The second phase will increase that capacity to up to 700 vehicles. A five-person team staffs the station 24 hours a day.

Gasrec provides training and support to drivers, which is initially carried out at the station, before customers’ own teams are able to train their colleagues.

Bio-LNG is Gasrec’s proprietary, blend of liquefied natural gas and liquid biomethane – a natural, green source of renewable energy produced from organic matter such as household food waste.

Gasrec’s liquefied biomethane production plant in Albury, Surrey, is capable of producing more than six million litres of diesel equivalent a year. The plant is located next to a municipal landfill site and the gases from the decomposition of organic waste are cleaned and liquefied. The fuel produced is guaranteed to be at least 96% biomethane and no more than 4% nitrogen.