Calor pushing State to back green fuel investment for hauliers

Calor Ireland is urging government to back its green energy push by helping with the investment in a network of liquefied natural gas (LNG) filling stations to fuel trucks.

The Irish Independent reports that the new head of Calor Ireland, Duncan Osborne, made the bid ahead of the Budget and as the State grapples with large-scale emissions that means Ireland faces fines for its failure to implement cuts to emissions.

Mr Osborne said: “We want to see supports for hauliers to invest in lower-carbon fleet. The Government needs to make it easier for companies to make the correct choice.”

The transport sector accounted for almost a fifth of the State’s CO2 emissions in 2017, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. There are currently 4,000 LNG trucks in the EU and that number is set to grow to 30k by 2023 and 400k by 2030, according to energy research company Plats.

Calor estimates that despite accounting for just two to three per cent of Ireland’s fleet, the heavy duty vehicle sector contributes about 20 per cent of transport emissions. Shifting from diesel to LNG for transport could cut carbon emissions by 20 per cent.