The 26-tonne rigid trucks were taken into the fleet last week. Gas technology, believes the company, is one of the few viable options for decarbonising road freight.

Howard Tenens is a participant of the Dedicated to Gas Project which is part of the Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial, funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) in partnership with Innovate UK. These vehicles will be the first dedicated gas trucks to be deployed under the trial.

Earlier this year Howard Tenens announced that it would be trialling biomethane-powered 26-tonners.

The OLEV trials will see over 300 low and zero emission vehicles being deployed on UK roads in 2017 and 2018. The goal is to make an important contribution in helping the freight sector in the UK make the switch to lower emission vehicles in the coming years.

The new CNG vehicles will be based at Howard Tenens' Swindon depot, but they deliver to a range of customers in urban areas including London. The vehicles will be monitored over the 18 months of the trial, which will help answer important questions about operating cost, range, reliability and emissions. Part way through the trial the vehicles will switch to biogas instead of CNG, delivering a 75% reduction in carbon emissions.

Howard Tenens has worked closely on the project in partnership with Scania and Don Bur since April 2017 to ensure the vehicles were built in the quickest possible time. Scania developed and provided the chassis, with Don Bur providing the trailer bodies using its Teardrop design to improve aerodynamic flow and reduce fuel consumption.