Major upgrade for Gasrec DIRFT

Gasrec has completed a £1m upgrade to its refuelling facility at the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT), to help meet an increase in demand for HGV gas supplies.

The move includes new fuel dispensers, supply lines and a new fuel management system. The latter will measure elements such as the time it takes drivers to refuel and the condition of the gas during the process, with the aim of reducing the time vehicles spend on the site.

The organisation has also introduced its own fuel cards, which it claims will provide better information to customers and help prepare for the expansion of its station network. The move is said to render both the refuelling process and training more familiar to drivers of conventional diesel vehicles.

Located close to junction eight of the M1, the site has seven dispensing points and can allegedly refuel up to 700 trucks per day.

The company said it expects a third of the UK’s 44-tonne heavy truck market to be powered by natural gas within the next seven years – approximately 39,000 vehicles. Some of Asda’s recently acquired Volvo FH LNG tractor units are already being refuelled at the site.

“This investment reinforces our confidence in the growing demand for trucks running on renewable biomethane, which now represent nearly five per cent of all new tractor unit registrations in the UK,” said Gasrec chief executive Rob Wood.

“We have seen a huge influx of new customers at DIRFT over the course of 2020. This demand has also led us to invest in our supply chain and more than double the number of LNG road tankers in our fleet.

“These latest upgrades will ensure DIRFT continues to hit our strict targets for safety, sustainability, refuelling speed and uptime, plus it means we are best positioned to refuel the latest generations of vehicles.”