Elgiganten in collaboration with Gasum and Volvo for environmental friendly transport

Elgiganten, Gasum and Volvo Lastvagnar are now entering a testing period in which Elgiganten’s transport partners will run the outgoing transport from Elgiganten’s Nordic distribution centre in Jönköping on liquified biogas.

On the procurement of Elgiganten’s new transport agreement in spring 2020, there will be requirements for parts of the vehicle fleet to run on fossil-free fuels, of which liquified biogas is an option. A contributing factor is Gasum’s investment in a Nordic network of stations for gas, with a total of 50 stations up to and including 2020, of which one will be located in Torsvik close to Elgiganten’s Nordic distribution centre.

“We are happy that companies like Elgiganten are taking the lead on sustainable transport. With liquefied gas, there is great potential to reduce the emissions within the transport sector,” says Mikael Antonsson, Country Manager Traffic at Gasum.

Biogas reduces CO2 and particulate emissions and contributes to a circular economy

Elgiganten has chosen Volvo Lastvagnar and Gasum as partners for the testing period in which Elgiganten’s transport partners will test and drive transport from the distribution centre in Jönköping to different shops and home delivery hubs in the Nordic countries on liquified biogas. The planned route is to initially run back and forth to Oslo, Norway.

“Testing biogas for transport is important for us in order to take the next step to reduce emissions of long-distance transport and contribute to reaching the EU targets for 2030,” says Niclas Eriksson, MD at Elgiganten.

Biogas is produced from organic waste, and in the production process organic fertiliser is also formed, which contributes to a circular economy. Using biogas instead of fossil diesel reduces emissions of particulates and CO2.

Volvo Lastvagnar’s gas-fuelled vehicles can run on 100% liquefied biogas, which gives completely fossil-free transport. The hope is that the 70–100 vehicles that depart from the distribution centre in Jönköping every 24 hours to more than 250 destination will show the partners that are taking part in the testing that gas-fuelled vehicles reduce both the fuel costs and the emissions without any negative effect on performance.

The first step towards a cleaner future

The collaboration is closely linked to the opening of Gasum’s first filling station for heavy-duty vehicles in Västerås. From May, Gasum will open new stations every month up to and including 2020. There should then be a total of 50 new stations in the Nordic countries.

“Every week we talk to logistics buyers and transport companies that want their logistics be more environmentally friendly at the same time as they want to lower their fuel costs. Liquified gas meets these requirements; so now that availability is increasing quickly with the new filling stations, so will demand,” Mikael continues.

For more information, please contact:

Mikael Antonsson, Director, Traffic Sweden, Gasum
Tel. +46 72 454 33 82, Mikael.antonsson@gasum.com

Jessica Wallin, Press Contact, Head of Communications/PR Manager, Elgiganten
Tel. +46 70-359 36 36, press@giganten.se

The energy company Gasum is a Nordic gas sector and energy market expert. Together with its partners, Gasum is building a bridge towards a carbon-neutral society on land and at sea. Gasum imports natural gas to Finland and promotes the circular economy by processing waste and producing biogas and recycled nutrients in Finland and Sweden. The company offers energy for heat and power production, industry as well as road and maritime transport. Gasum is the leading supplier of biogas in the Nordic countries. The company has a gas filling station network that also serves heavy-duty vehicles. Gasum is also the leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) player in the Nordic market. The company continues to strengthen the position and infrastructure of LNG and supplies LNG to maritime transport, industry and heavy-duty vehicles in Finland, Sweden and Norway. www.gasum.com/sv

Elgiganten is one of Sweden’s leading chain store organisations in home electronics, white goods and kitchens, and has one of the biggest turnovers in the retail trade. In 2018, Elgiganten was named ‘Årets Butikskedja’ (chain store of the year) at the Retail Award gala arranged by the Swedish Trade Federation. Elgiganten was established in Sweden in 1994, and today it has almost 3200 employees and 165 shops and department stores. This also includes our Elgiganten Phone House shops that can be found in city and town centres all over Sweden.

Volvo Trucks provides complete transport solutions for professional and demanding customers, offering a full range of medium to heavy duty trucks. Customer support is secured via a global network of 2,100 dealers and workshops in more than 130 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 15 countries across the globe. In 2018, more than 127,000 Volvo trucks were delivered worldwide. Volvo Trucks is part of Volvo Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. Volvo Trucks´ work is based on the core values of quality, safety and environmental care.