IVECO launches projects to promote the benefits of natural gas and its key role in decarbonizing transport

IVECO has launched the IVECO Ambassador programme to give a voice to customers, enthusiasts and partners who share the brand’s values on different themes, and recognise their actions in these areas. As a pioneer and European market leader in natural gas technology, IVECO has started the programme with the Sustainability theme, aiming to raise the profile of natural gas and highlight the brand’s commitment to the environment.

The first IVECO Ambassadors have been selected for being transporters who share the brand’s belief in natural gas and contribute to protecting the environment by running IVECO LNG and bio-LNG vehicles in their fleet. Through this project, IVECO aims to give them a voice, as they tell the story of their experience with natural gas and the benefits for their operation. The project is up and running in the markets where natural gas is most widely available, such as Italy, France and the UK.

In parallel, IVECO has launched the Plant the Future project as part of its commitment to carbon reduction. It has partnered with reforestation organisations to plant an IVECO international forest, made up of tree planting projects in different countries. In Germany, IVECO will plant a tree for every NEW IVECO S-WAY natural gas and used IVECO Stralis NP sold via the PLANT-MY-TREE® reforestation project created to off-set carbon emissions. It aims to plant at least 1,000 trees to compensate for over 1,237 tonnes of CO2 over the next 99 years.

In Italy, IVECO has partnered with e-commerce platform Treedom, which will plant 300 trees – 30 in Italy and the rest in other parts of the world. A number of these trees will be dedicated to the country’s 2 IVECO Ambassadors, who will receive a code that will enable them to choose their tree and where to plant it. In Poland the brand has partnered with Ecobal, an organisation dedicated to forest protection, which will plant 5,000 tree seedlings on a 5-ha site to increase the biodiversity of the area and support compensation of the CO2 emission.

Giandomenico Fioretti, IVECO Head of Alternative Propulsion, commented: “At IVECO, we believe that natural gas has a key role to play on the path to zero-carbon transport. In long-haulage, this alternative propulsion technology is the mature solution available today to reduce the environmental impact of the transport sector. This positive impact can be even stronger with biomethane. Today, biomethane accounts for 17% of natural gas used in transport. Its use is set to grow significantly in the coming years, as new fuelling stations come on stream and its benefits become better known. With initiatives such as the IVECO Ambassador programme we want to increase awareness of the advantages of biomethane for transporters.”

IVECO has pioneered natural gas technology for more than 20 years, spearheading the transition to this sustainable fuel in transport. With more than 45,000 natural gas vehicles sold, it is the European market leader and the first manufacturer to offer a natural gas-powered heavy-duty truck specifically designed for international long-haul missions. The IVECO S-WAY has exceptional autonomy of up to 1,600 km in the LNG version and provides a truly green and profitable solution with best-in-class Total Cost of Ownership.

The natural gas distribution network is developing fast, keeping pace with the growth in sales of natural gas-powered vehicles. It currently counts 4,021 refuelling stations according to the NGVA (Natural & bio Gas Vehicle Association). This network can also be used to distribute biomethane, so that a dedicated infrastructure is not necessary to transition to bio-LNG. Currently it is supplied as a blend or under customers’ order. However, production volumes of biomethane are growing and this sustainable fuel is becoming increasingly available.