Incentives for purchasing clean heavy duty and distribution vehicles

Summary

In this measure FordonsGas Sverige, an operator of CNG/CBG fuelling stations,  promoted alternative fuel technology to the buyers of logistics and transport in private companies.

Implementing sustainable mobility

In the City of Göteborg there was a large quantity of distribution transport and transport through the city. An increase in the quantity of both distribution and transit transports was predicted, which would cause major problems for the city and the traffic planners, from both a health and a congestion aspect. To be able to comply with the European Air Quality Norms, which would be legally binding from January 1st 2006, it was necessary to decrease the emissions from heavy traffic. The solution to the traffic congestion and the increased traffic pollution was a mixture of mobility management and technology, where this demonstration focused on the latter.

This demonstration measure aimed at improving the air quality of the city of Göteborg by decreasing emissions of NOx and particles for heavy traffic and distribution by creating opportunities for environmentally sound transport. The objectives of the measure were:

• to promote alternative fuel technology; and
• to influence the private sector to choose CNG/CBG vehicles.

This choice should have been easy to make as CNG/CBG is a cheap fuel, but the NGVs were unfortunately more expensive than conventional (diesel) vehicles.

Progress

From the start in 2002, the demonstration measure was intended to encompass the major transit road to the outer harbour, as all the heavy traffic to the harbour passes through this area and it was predicted that the European Air quality Norm for NOx could be breached. The demonstration was however later broadened to include the whole of Göteborg and to include the city distribution transports.

The major activities have been to:

• promote the alternative fuel technology;
• build a CNG fuel station (at Deltavägen in Göteborg instead of in the port area);
• introduce 2 large and 16 lighter distribution vehicles in the city of Göteborg in collaboration with three other partners; and
• co-operate with the Traffic and Public Transport Authority in Göteborg and the private sector.

Outcomes

The measure resulted in an annual shift from diesel to CNG for circa 500,000 kilometres and an annual reduction in NOx emissions of 3.55 tonnes. Nitrogen oxides decreased with 4-5 times compared to conventional fuels. The new CNG fuel station in Göteborg delivered 660,000 Nm3 CNG between March 2003 and November 2005. Compared to other new stations this is 50% above average. The reason for the high delivery rate is the location of the station. The station is located close to major highways, the city and is situated in an industrial area with a high transport demand. By engaging in dialogue with customers, the CIVITAS project has increased customer interest in clean transport within the private sector.