The opening of the first LNG station in Vipiteno (Bolzano) along the Brenner axis is a significant step towards providing an effective solution to the freight traffic restrictions on the Italian-Austrian-German route and the traffic bans for diesel trucks that the Tyrol region is extending to Euro 4 vehicles.
With Stralis NP LNG vehicles in their fleet, businesses such as FERCAM will be able to take full advantage of the exemption of LNG commercial vehicles from the MAUT toll system in Germany and deliver their logistics services across Italy and Germany without polluting the environment and with significantly reduced operating costs.
At the opening event, IVECO delivered the first Stralis LNG vehicles of an order placed by FERCAM, a leading multinational company in transalpine logistics based in Bolzano, to develop their sustainable logistics services.
The first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) refuelling station in the Alto Adige, owned by APS fuel, was inaugurated on October 19th at the Sadobre terminal in the Bolzano province of Vipiteno. Among the attendees were Pierre Lahutte, IVECO Brand President; Isabella De Monte, member of the European Parliament Committee on Transport and Tourism; Daniel Alfreider, former member of Parliament and SVP candidate for the Provincial Council of the Alto Adige; Elmar Morandell, President of APA goods transportation; Thomas Baumgartner, President of FERCAM and ANITA; Roberto Padovani, owner of APS Fuel, as well as representatives of the press and other organizations.
The Assembly of Tyrol – the Austrian border region in the Alps – has announced days ago its decision to ban Euro 4 trucks from August 2019 and to extend the restriction to Euro 5 vehicles in 2021. In addition, it is planning to extend the current area restrictions to Euro 6 vehicles for all vehicles with a weight above 7.5 tonnes that transport a wide range of classified goods. In the face of such stringent measures, LNG vehicles, which are exempt from the traffic restrictions in place, and provide an environmentally and financially sustainable solution, facilitating logistics operations in a key geographical area for freight transport entering and exiting Italy.
The new refuelling station is located in a geographically strategic area that can be reached directly via the A22 motorway – both north- and south-bound – and is close to the border between Italy and Austria. It is destined to play a role of great importance, as it is positioned close to the Brenner Pass, which suffers from environmental pollution, and it provides a practical solution to the increasingly intense debate on this issue.
Pierre Lahutte, IVECO Brand President, commented: “Technology that uses clean fuel like natural gas or biomethane – which our Natural Power vehicles feature – provides an immediate and practical solution for crossing the Brenner Pass and the whole alpine route in an environmentally and economically sustainable way. Traffic bans on diesel vehicles in the Tyrol and other regions in the north of Italy, and exemption from the MAUT toll system in Germany, further confirm that natural gas is the most effective response to the environmental impact of road transport. With our full range of natural gas powered vehicles, IVECO has made sustainability a reality for many customers who, like FERCAM, have chosen to share our future vision of the transport sector.”
The refuelling station, which can stock 80 m3 of LNG and refuel around 250 articulated trucks per day, features 12 high flow pumps spread over six lanes, to make refuelling quicker. The station also offers a variety of additional services to meet all customer needs, including 300 parking spaces for heavy goods vehicles.
During the opening event, GASSER, IVECO’s dealer in the area with over 60 years’ experience, officially delivered the first IVECO Stralis NP 460 vehicles to FERCAM, a multinational transport and logistics company based in Bolzano. The company, which is based in the Alto Adige region and is a European leader in logistics, chose to keep its commitment to customers by opting for eco-sustainable vehicles with a low environmental impact.
This purchase is part of the company’s 2015-2020 strategic objectives within their “CLEAN, SMARTER LOGISTICS” program in response to the ever-growing demand for sustainability within the transport sector. As a renowned leading manufacturer in alternative traction solutions, IVECO was the natural choice. The vehicles are equipped with cryogenic tanks to deliver a range of 1600 km. They combine a high performance, equal or better than that of equivalent diesel vehicles, and maximum environmental and financial sustainability, with considerably reduced Total Costs of Ownership.
“Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is particularly well suited to freight and public transport,” commented Alex Gasser, owner of the GASSER IVECO dealership. “With our LNG engines we are able to reduce Particulate Matter emissions by 99% compared to Euro VI standards, NO2 by 90% and CO2 by up to 10% compared to its diesel counterpart – and, with biomethane, by as much 95%. In addition, these vehicles operate much more quietly. The vehicles FERCAM has taken delivery of, in particular, feature an optional SILENT MODE function that reduces noise levels to 71 dB, as measured during the Piek Quiet Truck test. We are extremely proud that a transport company based in Alto Adige such FERCAM has chosen our vehicles, and we are confident that soon local administrations will follow suit and choose natural gas for urban passenger transport. City centres could also benefit greatly from this technological innovation.”
SOURCE: IVECO
