A truck powered by Liquefied Natural Gas breaks the record for distance covered without refuelling

While we are all looking at electric vehicles as the most immediate future of pollution-free mobility, gas-powered vehicle technology continues to advance and offers one more alternative for sustainable mobility. More and more cars use Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and other variants, such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which also produce quite low emissions of polluting gases, although they seem to receive far less coverage in the press than electric vehicles. In the goods vehicle market, LNG is also present and has better prospects than electric propulsion.

The latest news about an LNG-powered truck comes from Iveco, as an Iveco Stralis NP 460 has just set a record by covering 1,728 kilometres on the road without refuelling. The truck set off from the United Kingdom and, after a short ferry crossing from Dover to Calais, took to the European roads and covered even more kilometres than its maximum range, which is rated at 1,600 kilometres.

Comparing the gas consumption used for this journey with diesel, the saving on this trip amounts to roughly 233 euros. This figure arises because gas consumption is 40% lower than diesel use. The figure is quite impressive, given that the tractor unit of the Iveco Stralis NP 460 was pulling a three-axle box trailer, which represents a gross weight of 30 tonnes. The truck filled its tank in London and did not need to refuel until it reached Madrid, achieving that figure of 1,728 kilometres on French and Spanish roads, with a consumption of 22.4 kg of LNG per 100 kilometres.

The 460 CV engine emits 90% less NO2, up to 99% fewer particulate pollutants and 15% less CO2 emissions, which could be reduced by up to 95% if biomethane is used. Technology also helps the Iveco Stralis NP 460, as the route was planned using the MyBestRoute app, developed by Michelin for buyers of the Stralis NP 460, which shows drivers the best route, with signposting to filling stations for refuelling LNG, and offers an approximate cost comparison for diesel and gas-powered trucks.

With these tests, Iveco continues to advance the technology that uses natural gas as fuel, in several versions. Many of its models are adapted to this fuel and offer a more immediate and effective alternative to diesel mobility, which has been at the centre of attention for some years now. Will this cleaner form of mobility grow ahead of electric, but without so much media noise?