LONDON, October 20 /PRNewswire/ --

- Gasrec Commercial Trial With Veolia and Iveco Enters Next Phase

- With Photo

In August, Gasrec, the UK's first commercial producer of liquid biomethane fuel, Veolia Environmental Services, the UK's largest waste management company, and full range commercial vehicle manufacturer Iveco, announced the beginning of a commercial trial of a CBM-powered street cleansing vehicle in Camden that could drastically reduce society's reliance on fossil fuels.

Further to that announcement, Gasrec and The London Borough of Camden today announce Gasrec's successful installation of London's first biogas fueling station at the Borough Council's York Way Depot to support the trial. The facility is capable of providing the trial Iveco Daily vehicle with fuel for its 60 mile per day route for an initial period of six months. Gasrec was supported in the project by their fuel logistics partner the Hardstaff Group and by technology consultant Igas.

This step allows for more convenient refuelling for the trial vehicle and highlights the suitability of CBM for back-to-base operations. It also widens the scope of the trial to allow evaluation of a complete, scalable solution, and provides the opportunity for the Borough Council to fuel vehicles in its own fleet from the York Way Depot.

Richard Lilleystone, Chief Executive Officer at Gasrec, said: This step makes concrete the infrastructure for our trial and also lays the foundations for possible further collaboration with Camden Council. In doing so, it helps underscore the potential for further commercial fleets, both within additional London Boroughs and other key UK locations, to follow in Veolia and Camden's footsteps conveniently and above all economically. While the environment remains of prime concern, at the present time cost is a more important planning and management concern than ever, and Gasrec is pleased to be able to offer help to its partners in managing both their emissions and their budgets.

It is also important for the UK to minimize the substantial sums of money exported to purchase vehicle fuel from abroad and this small but significant step will hopefully help pave the way by using fuel sources that are not only home grown but also carbon neutral, to the benefit of society as a whole.

Cllr Chris Knight, Camden Council's Executive Member for Environment, said: Improving the environment and tackling climate change are top priorities for Camden Council. The opening of the capital's first bio-gas re-fuelling station here in Camden is a massive achievement as bio-methane is seen as one of the most climate friendly fuels around today. If this trial proves successful we aim to fuel part of Camden Council's own fleet, helping to protect the environment and save money. We always encourage our contractors to deliver their services in environmentally friendly ways and this is a perfect example of this ethos being brought to life.

Notes to Editors

About Gasrec

Gasrec is a producer of liquid methane fuel utilising gas generated by the decomposition of biomass. It obtains its gas supply from existing landfill sites or from controlled digestion of the biomass byproducts of food manufacture, retail and other industries. In creating and selling the fuel product, Gasrec recovers the latent energy stored in material discarded by society to power vehicles, especially those operating in the urban environment, or to generate electricity or CHP (Combined Heat and Power).

The generation of power from landfill sites in the UK is tried and tested, with over 300 UK landfill sites generating approximately 1,700 MW/h each year. However, a proportion of sites continue to flare unused gas as hitherto their development was not economically viable, thereby wasting the energy potential of the gas.

Gasrec has identified a clean, efficient use for this gas in the production of LBM (Liquid Bio Methane), a commercially competitive and environmentally sound fuel that can be directly substituted for both CNG (compressed natural gas) and LNG (liquefied natural gas) for use in gas-powered or dual-fuel vehicles, or to generate electricity or CHP (Combined Heat and Power).

Gasrec was recently awarded the Greenfleet Alternative Fuel Supplier of the Year award and made a finalist in the Capital Fuel Challenge event. For further details see: http://www.greenfleet.net/content/view/52/1/

About Camden Council and the Environment

Camden Council is committed to protecting the environment for present and future generations with ambitious plans to create a low carbon and low waste borough. These are contained in the Council's Environmental Sustainability Delivery Plan 2008-12, Delivering a Sustainable Camden, which was agreed in July and include an extra GBP3m to tackle climate change at a local level.

Camden has already made public its commitment to the environment in its community strategy Camden Together, which focuses on how the Council will address the concerns of residents and business over five years. The goal is to reduce C02 emissions by the equivalent of 10 per cent per Camden resident by 2012 and household waste by 20 per cent.

Delivering a Sustainable Camden includes a range of wide-ranging new proposals to reduce carbon emissions at good value for money.

These include making homes in Camden as efficient as possible through a domestic insulation programme, increasing our support for car clubs in the borough and leading by example through a new eco-centre.

Enquiries: Gasrec Richard Lilleystone, Chief Executive +44(0)20-7436-6805 M: Communications (PR for Gasrec) Elly Williamson or Charlotte Kirkham +44(0)207-153-1530 Camden Council Lynn MacDonald, Senior Press Office +44(0)20-7974-5238 Veolia Environmental Services Dan Lester +44(0)207-812-5035 Iveco Nigel Emms, Director Brand Communication +44(0)1923-259513

Photos are available from M:Communications or Camden Council on request

A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire. It can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk.

Enquiries: Gasrec, Richard Lilleystone, Chief Executive, +44(0)20-7436-6805; M: Communications (PR for Gasrec), Elly Williamson or Charlotte Kirkham, +44(0)207-153-1530; Camden Council, Lynn MacDonald, Senior Press Office, +44(0)20-7974-5238; Veolia Environmental Services, Dan Lester, +44(0)207-812-5035; Iveco, Nigel Emms, Director Brand Communication, +44(0)1923-259513