Scania drives down emissions

Scania Australia says it is working towards making alternative fuels an easier choice for Aussie transport operators.

The company has recently signed memoranda of understanding with three providers in the bio-fuels industry. In recent weeks, Scania has signed an MOU with Wilmar Bioethanol Australia, with Ecotech Biodiesel, and the NGV Group, who are the infrastructure suppliers and consultants for Natural Gas and Biogas.

“Having held many discussions at high levels with a number of transport related entities throughout the course of the year, from governments to operators and suppliers and having noted significant enthusiasm for actually turning this into action, Scania is now moving to facilitate the adoption of alternative-fueled vehicles in Australia,” said Anthony King, Scania Australia’s Sustainable Solutions Manager.

“We have therefore embarked on a programme of creating MOUs with a number of key suppliers who will supply reliable, consistent and widely available fuels for customers nominating alternative fuels for their future Scania vehicles.

“This is all part of our drive towards creating a sustainable transport future,” Mr King said.

“Operators do not have to wait to adapt their businesses to a sustainable transport system – the solutions are already here. Scania can provide a broad range of platforms and services to support our customers today and tomorrow,” Mr King added.

Scania says it does not see a ‘one-size fits all’ solution, yet by driving the shift through optimised transport systems and by choosing sustainable fuel pathways Scania is already assisting its customers to reduce emissions.

“Scania has a long heritage of alternative-fuelled vehicles across our bus and truck divisions as well as our industrial engines,” Mr King said. “We already have a long-running association with gas engine supplier Sandfirden, with the first industrial gas engines already in use in Australia, able to run on waste-generated methane.

“The arrangements we are putting in place now with Wilmar Bioethanol, Ecotech Biodiesel and NGV Group are the first steps in the programme to be able to import, distribute, sell, service and maintain vehicles that run on alternative fuels, or hybrids that run on alternative fuels as well.

“Scania is awaiting the arrival of its first Hybrid buses, which will be in the country within 6-7 months,” Mr King said. “In use in Madrid, these buses are showing a 25 per cent reduction in fuel use, reducing emissions by the same amount.

“We are also looking at alternative-fuelled trucks for some customers, and we have seen in Sweden the success of the Scania Hybrid truck for urban distribution. These have the ability to run short distances on battery power alone, which allows them access to densely-populated urban areas at night for deliveries or waste collection.

“In the UK, Scania has worked with the John Lewis Partnership, a leading, premium country-wide supermarket and department store chain to deliver bio-methane-fuelled trucks for medium-duty distribution work. These vehicles have a range of up to 800km and achieve a CO2 reduction of 70 per cent.

“For a fuel to be considered as sustainable it needs to fulfil three criteria; reduce CO2 from wheel-to-well; be available in sufficient volumes to be able to make a difference; and it must provide a competitive business case against regular diesel to make it commercially viable,” Mr King said.