Two first gas-powered trucks have been in service at Gebrüder Weiss since the start of this year. The vehicles are deployed in daily operations on the route between Löhne, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Salzburg, Austria.
The two trucks are operated with LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas). The liquefied natural gas has a very high energy density and is less air polluting. Compared with conventional diesel, nitrogen oxide emissions are reduced by 70 percent, methane-free hydrocarbons by 90 percent and soot particles by 99 percent.
This is particularly beneficial in cities with high traffic volumes. The people responsible at Gebrüder Weiss expect the use of the new vehicles to cut emissions by around 53 tonnes of CO2 per year.
“We are making every effort to further minimise the emission of pollutants. By using these gas-powered vehicles, we are now taking another step towards environmentally friendly transport,” says Michael Thomsen, Branch Manager in Salzburg.
The gas-powered trucks have a range of up to 1,600 kilometres. However, the filling station network for LNG-powered vehicles still has large gaps. By the year 2025, there should be an LNG filling station every 400 kilometres.
“The refuelling possibilities are still limited indeed. But our route is comparatively well networked, we can fill up near Kassel and in Upper Austria,” says Erich Parth, the Area Manager in Salzburg.
Gebrüder Weiss is operating two gas-powered trucks – in addition to a swap body vehicle in Memmingen, and a semitrailer vehicle in the greater Vienna area. A third truck transports goods of a major customer between Vienna and Kruševac (Serbia), and a fully electric truck has also been undergoing testing in the greater Vienna area since September 2018.
