Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and Air Water Inc. (Air Water) announced that their pilot project to help decarbonize heavy-truck logistics has been adopted for inclusion in the Ministry of the Environment’s Low Carbon Technology Research and Development Program. The project will fuel LNG-powered heavy trucks via a network of compact filling stations.
The aims of this project are twofold. Firstly, it will take advantage of compact LNG filling stations installed at space-limited logistics facilities to optimize the fueling of LNG trucks. The stations, which will be networked through the application of IoT technologies, will receive the fuel from large, LNG tanker trucks. Secondly, by mixing the LNG with biomethane, the project will endeavor to achieve significant reductions in CO2 emissions compared to those generated by conventional, diesel heavy trucks.
Since 2020, MC and Air Water have been testing this system in Hokkaido. The partners plan to continue assessing its overall effectiveness and how much it can reduce CO2 emissions and fuel costs typically generated by heavy trucks. The results of the tests will help the partners to determine whether or not to make the system commercially available.
The LNG station developed by MC and Air Water is the first portable filling system in Japan. It is equipped with an off-grid power-generation system capable of fueling even during power outages. It is capable of fueling 50 to 60 heavy LNG trucks per day with a fueling time of just 10 minutes per vehicle.
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