Sustainable Beginnings: Lidl, IVECO, LC3 and Edison Introduce the First Biomethane-Fuelled Vehicles
CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNHI/ MI: CNH) commercial vehicle brand IVECO , collaborated with LC3 Trasporti, LIDIL and Edison to produce five new biomethane-fuelled vehicles for Lidl Italy’s fleet. This is a first in the Italian Retail and Mass Distribution Sector, which again highlights the partners’ unwavering commitment to sustainability.
Pietro Rocchi, Managing Director of Sales and Logistics at Lidl Italia commented on Lidl's commitment to favouring greener logistics, “We are extremely proud to be the first Italian company to use the newest vehicles powered by biomethane, a fuel that promotes an economic model based on sustainability and the circularity of resources. Our long-term goal is to gradually switch from transport that mainly runs on fossil fuels to alternative fuels with reduced CO2 emissions, such as biomethane and liquid natural gas (LNG), already used in a large fleet of vehicles.”
The choice was only made possible thanks to the advanced technology developed by IVECO. “IVECO has realised that the path to sustainable transport requires alternative traction systems and has met the increasingly pressing demands in this area with natural gas-powered vehicles,” said Alessandro Oitana, Medium & Heavy Business Line Manager at IVECO. “They are currently the only concrete and immediately available alternative in providing sustainable transport.”
Mario Ambrogi, Executive Director of LC3 Trasporti continued, highlighting that, “Ever since LC3 was founded we have paid maximum attention to technological innovations and technologies in the heavy-duty road transport production sector. It is only thanks to the first vehicles introduced by IVECO in 2013, the innovative LNG-fuelled vehicles, and an awareness of environmental problems shown by Lidl, that LC3 have been able to develop our own new method of organising transportation.” He continued, “We have achieved another important result by choosing biomethane fuelled trucks. There still remains a lot to do as regards biomethane production systems, storage, liquefaction and widespread distribution systems; but in any case, LC3 confirms its commitment and reliance on biomethane, as do its partners IVECO, Lidl and Edison.”
The topic of environmental sustainability and the protection of resources are what drive Edison Energia, as Davide Macor, Edison Business Market Director stated, “The use of renewable energy sources and the decarbonisation of transport are some of Edison's core objectives, in line with European targets on sustainability. Today we are extremely proud to announce another step forward in the mass distribution model, thanks to the responsible and joint commitment of all operators in the chain."
The five biomethane-fuelled vehicles will operate in the areas surrounding the logistics centre in Somaglia, in the north of Italy, one of the ten Lidl logistics platforms located across the country.
Lidl Italia has been operating in Italy for 28 years, today the Company has a network of more than 650 points of sale and 10 logistical platforms to ensure shops are restocked daily.
Since 2014, with the introduction of the first five LNG vehicles, LC3 was the first Italian company to use LNG vehicles and is still a leader in the sustainable transport sector, with a fleet of liquid methane-powered vehicles, one which is continually expanding.
Edison is one of the primary energy operators in Italy and Europe, working in the supply, production and sale of electrical and natural gas energy and in environmental and energy services. With a history spanning more than 135 years, Edison has contributed to the supply of electricity and the development of Italy. Today, the company operates in Italy, Europe and the Mediterranean Basin and employs 5,000 people.
