Bio-LNG sets the pace

That even motorsport has to meet sustainability criteria is nothing new – and at the truck races even a bio-LNG truck from Iveco sets the pace. Further proof of how innovative and sustainable the transport industry is already today.

In the 2023 season, the LNG Iveco with bio-LNG in the tank will again set the pace in the Goodyear FIA ETRC. Source: Iveco

A whopping 73 per cent of all goods are transported overland in the EU, so climate-friendly logistics while maintaining supply chains is hugely important. At the same time, commercial vehicles are responsible for 27 per cent of the CO₂ emissions of the mobility sector in Europe. Even if politicians are flirting with a switch to e-drives here as well, studies show that through the targeted use of renewable fuels ranging from e-fuels to so-called HVO – short for Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil – to biodiesel, biogas and bio-LNG, a CO₂ reduction of 66 per cent could be achieved and thus almost the required 70 per cent.

Pure emotion and spectacle is what the race trucks offer when they are on the track, and all this with sustainable fuels. Source: Goodyear FIA ETRC

Their use in truck racing also shows how competitive biogas and bio-LNG already are today. As an official partner of the ETRC 2023, the Italian truck manufacturer Iveco supports the decarbonisation goals of the European Truck Racing Association (ETRA) again this season with an Iveco S-Way LNG as pace truck. This is “Bio-LNG ready!” and thanks to Bio-LNG significantly reduces nitrogen dioxide and soot emissions as well as CO₂ emissions by up to 95 per cent compared to a diesel truck. The pace truck will be used at all races as a vehicle in front of the race pack on the run-in lap and before the flying start. In addition, the S-Way with LNG propulsion neutralises the race in dangerous situations, for example after an accident or in extremely adverse weather conditions, thus ensuring the safety of the drivers.

Motorsport events, such as the Goodyear FIA ETRC European Truck Racing Series, attract hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic fans. Source: Goodyear FIA ETRC

Truck racing and sustainability are not contradictory: the organisers try to minimise the impact of such a mega-event. The Goodyear FIA ETRC achieved an excellent 16th place among 105 racing series in the global sustainability ranking of two- and four-wheel motor sport championships. This is in recognition of the series’ efforts to achieve a net-zero footprint as early as 2038 and to use the emotionally evocative truck racing platform to drive change in the transport industry.

Thanks to HVO diesel or even the extra Bio-LNG powered Iveco with LNG propulsion and other efforts, the European truck racing series has managed to do very climate friendly racing. Source: Goodyear FIA ETRC

“We are very proud to have received this very respectable ranking and mention in the ‘Sustainable Championships Index‘,” reveals ETRA Managing Director Georg Fuchs. “It is also a recognition of our efforts to accelerate the switch to and uptake of alternatively fuelled ‘Sustainable Championships Index’ trucks.” The Goodyear FIA ETRC was the first motorsport series to successfully switch to 100 per cent sustainable fuel and bio-LNG. It is also working with tyre specialist Goodyear to recycle racing tyres for retreading on the road, reducing the use of natural resources, waste generation and energy consumption: Another step towards a circular economy.

Source: Goodyear FIA ETRC

Unavoidable emissions from the truck races, which after the event in front of hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic fans at the Nürburgring in mid-July will still be held in Most (Czech Republic), Zolder (Belgium), Le Mans (France) and Jarama (Spain) at the end of August, will incidentally be offset by investments in projects that have been certified according to the strict requirements of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as recommended by the United Nations.

With bio-LNG in the tank, a ship, a truck or even this Iveco Pace Truck with LNG propulsion, which will be used in European Truck Racing Championship, is almost CO₂-neutral on the road. Source: CNG-Mobility.ch

The major events are always an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the enormous potential for decarbonisation in heavy goods transport by means of CNG or LNG propulsion compared to diesel trucks – without compromising on performance, payload and versatility! After all, gas trucks emit up to 35 percent less CO₂ than comparable diesel trucks. If they are fuelled with Swiss biogas or the highly cold, liquefied bio-LNG/-LBG, they are even almost CO₂-neutral – on the racetrack as well as on long everyday tours, where they then save CO₂ kilometre by kilometre. (pd/jas, 1 August 2023)