Gasum is purchasing an LNG-powered truck for waste management in Turku. LNG, i.e. liquefied natural gas, has been available at a gas filling station located at the Port of Turku since last autumn.

CIVITAS ECCENTRIC:
Turku is Finland’s first CIVITAS city, and it has the framework to develop into a true international model city of sustainable solutions. Financed by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, CIVITAS ECCENTRIC is a four-year project (2016-2020) that develops smart mobility. The project aims to develop electric transport, promote the usage of biogas, shared use of cars and bicycles, and the Mobility as a Service (MaaS) model. The focus area is Kupittaa. Read more.

The LNG-powered Scania G 340 LA4x2MNA purchased by Gasum will be transporting sewage sludge from the Kakolanmäki wastewater treatment plant to the Topinoja biogas plant. The distance between these two facilities is 16 kilometres, and the LNG-powered truck will be travelling it 5 to 6 times per day, five days a week. The new truck will replace the diesel-powered truck previously used for this purpose.

─ This is Scania´s first LNG-powered gas truck in Finland. The demand for gas trucks has increased considerably over the last year, and it looks like it will only continue to grow. Taking environmental matters into account is also a key factor in the transport industry, says Product Manager Mika Jukkara from Scania Suomi Oy.

Turku strives for carbon neutrality with gas and other means

The EU-funded project CIVITAS ECCENTRIC, which kicked off in September 2016, is testing biogas-powered cars and ways to increase the use of biogas in logistics. Gasum wants to verify the benefits of biogas to truck and bus transport and the environment. Turku also strives for carbon neutrality by electrifying public transport and expanding the use of biofuels, among other things.

─ Turku aims to become a carbon-neutral city by 2040, and we want to be involved in the promotion of the utilisation of new environmentally friendly practices in the Turku region. Turku is committed to promoting low-emission traffic. The LNG-powered trucks travelling between the Kakolanmäki wastewater treatment plant and the Topinoja biogas plant are an important addition to the circular economy of Turku. Turku is also in the process of carrying out the first round of tenders for purchasing a gas-powered van and three multi-purpose cars for the city’s use, says Aleksi Randell, Mayor of Turku.

Fuelling with environmentally friendly LNG is possible at more and more addresses

Scania’s gas car falls well below the Euro 6 emission limits. It generates practically no hydrocarbon or carbon monoxide. The vehicle generates considerably less nitrogen oxides and particulates than a corresponding diesel vehicle. Compared to the Euro 6 emission limit, the vehicle generates less than a third of the particulates, for example. With liquefied biogas as the fuel, no calculated carbon dioxide emissions are generated.

─ It was an obvious choice to choose a vehicle powered by liquefied biogas for the urban conditions in Turku. This reduces not only the emissions released from the exhaust pipe but also the noise disturbance caused by the truck, says Logistics Manager Jerkko Jyläntö from Gasum.

LNG is a clean fuel that does not contain particulates that impact the surrounding air. The carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions it generates are low. The first LNG filling stations in Finland are located in Vuosaari in Helsinki and in Turku. The next two stations will be opened in Jyväskylä and Vantaa in 2017. Gasum will also adopt a second LNG-powered truck from Iveco in late spring. It will be used to transport fertiliser from the Vehmaa biogas plant to local farmers.

The LNG filling station in Turku is located at the address Tuontiväylä 2.