What a gas! London to Madrid on a tank

An IVECO Stralis NP 460hp truck from the UK has completed what is believed to be the longest ever journey by road on a single fill of LNG, to demonstrate the suitability of natural gas-powered vehicles for domestic and European road transport.

Setting off from London, the Stralis NP 4x2 prime mover was pulling a tri-axle trailer and running at a gross vehicle weight of 30 tonnes.

After a short ferry crossing from Dover to Calais it completed the 1728km road journey without needing to refuel – exceeding the vehicle’s official range of 1600km to set a new distance record.

This equates to an impressive LNG fuel cost saving of around £200 ($A364) for the outward journey, or 40 per cent, compared to a truck powered by diesel.

Martin Flach, Alternative Fuels Director of IVECO, said: “It was a chance to demonstrate how fuel-efficient the Stralis NP is, and to put our latest 460hp gas-powered engine to ultimate the test.

“We brimmed the tank before we left London, and the first time we stopped for fuel was in Madrid two and a half days later. Running on 100 per cent natural power means there’s no diesel or AdBlue to worry about, making it the simplest solution for both the fleet manager and the driver.”

Despite the heavy traffic on the UK side of the English Channel, a strong head wind in France and the hilly Spanish section of the route, the Stralis NP recorded an impressive average fuel consumption of 22.6kg per 100km.

Prior to the trip, IVECO carefully planned the journey using MyBestRoute, a web-based application developed by Michelin for Stralis NP customers. It allows drivers and fleet managers to select the optimum route for any European journey, including plotting LNG refuelling stations and estimating the total cost of the trip for diesel and natural gas-powered trucks.

IVECO was using the journey to demonstrate that natural gas – including CNG, LNG and biomethane – are all viable, realistic, safe and cost-effective alternatives to diesel, available from a growing network of fuel providers in the UK and across Europe.

Compared with an equivalent Euro 6 diesel, a Stralis NP running on LNG emits around 90 per cent less NO2, 99 per cent less particulate matter, and up to 15 per cent less CO2 – rising to 95 per cent less CO2 when using biomethane.

In Europe, the Stralis NP is available as a 4x2 and 6x2 maximum weight prime mover, with power outputs of 400 or 460hp. IVECO also offers medium and heavy rigid trucks running on natural gas, together with an extensive range of Daily Natural Power light commercial vehicles from 3.5 to 7.2 tonnes.

IVECO was the first commercial vehicle manufacturer to look at the potential of natural gas in 1991. Currently, more than 25,000 IVECO gas-powered vehicles have been delivered into service.