The station at Aylesford is owned by a joint venture (JV) with Foresight Group. It will feature 12 fuel pump islands, allowing more than 500 trucks to be refuelled per day with a total capacity of more than 19 million kilograms (kg) of Bio-CNG annually.
Serving major UK haulage routes, including the M20 and M2, the site is being built on land acquired from the John Lewis Partnership adjacent to Waitrose’s southeast distribution centre.
This will enable the retailer to grow its fleet of biomethane-powered heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).
Commenting on the announcement, Justin Laney, General Manager – Fleet, John Lewis Partnership, said:
“John Lewis Partnership took delivery of its first dedicated CNG trucks in 2015 and now operates 400 CNG trucks, which is the largest biomethane-powered truck fleet in the UK. We are delighted that CNG Fuels has started construction of a high-capacity Bio-CNG station in Aylesford, where Waitrose has its southeast distribution centre. John Lewis Partnership is committed to all of its 520 heavy-duty trucks running on biomethane by 2028, and the Bio-CNG station in Aylesford is another important step towards realising this goal.”
Philip Fjeld, CEO of ReFuels, added:
“Bio-CNG is the only fuel available today that can decarbonise the UK’s HGV fleet at the scale and pace required to meet net zero. Well over one hundred fleets across the UK are now adopting the fuel en masse and our new site in Aylesford, built on land acquired from one of the UK’s biggest retail HGV fleets, is a testament to this growing demand and the value fleet operators place on Bio-CNG refuelling infrastructure.”
The current CNG Fuels network in the UK can refuel more than 6,000 HGVs daily. This equals an annual dispensing capacity of more than 264,000 tonnes of biomethane annually and a potential saving of more than 750,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually when compared to diesel. The year-end 2026 target of 30-40 stations in operation equals a total capacity of up to 15,000 HGVs per day and more than 600 million kg of biomethane annually.
ReFuels has one more station under construction in Bangor, North Wales, which is due to start operations in the next months. At least two further stations are expected to commence construction during the calendar year.