Global retailer Carrefour is testing its first lorries running on biomethane fuel produced using waste from its stores. Run in partnership with GNVERT, a subsidiary of the GDF SUEZ Group, haulage company Perrenot and manufacturing company Iveco, these vehicles will be making deliveries to around fifteen Carrefour stores in the Lille region of France.

  Biowaste produced by hypermarkets (rotten fruit and vegetables, pastries, meat waste, plant waste, etc.) is recovered and then processed in a methanisation plant which transforms it into biogas. This biogas is then purified and transformed into fuel biomethane before being sent out to the service stations that make up the GNVERT network. It is then used to power Carrefour delivery vehicles.

  Using this innovative new process, around fifteen Carrefour hypermarkets in the Lille region will now be supplied by 3 biomethane-powered lorries. The scheme – currently in its test phase – will mean deliveries made to stores are carbon neutral: by recycling their biowaste, the stores will succeed in being energy-efficient as far as having goods deliveries are concerned.

  Using this new mode of transport will reduce emissions levels by 80%. It will also half noise pollution, completely stop emissions of fine particles and address the problem of food wastage by recycling stores’ non-consumable waste.

  The Iveco 40 tonne trucks have an operating range of between 400 and 600 kms depending on load and conditions, engine power of 330 hp for weights of 42/43 t and can carry a payload of 25 t, comparable to conventional fuel vehicles of the same size.

  This new local initiative is consistent with the retailer’s sustainable development strategy. For more than 20 years now, Carrefour has been actively involved in developing a form of responsible trade that does not damage the environment.