Green on the move: REICHHART Logistik is powered by biomethane from VERBIO

International logistics giants rely on biomethane from VERBIO AG: REICHHART Logistik is now using bio-LNG and bio-CNG for heavy-haulage operations, thus reducing costs and CO₂. The family-owned company with over 800 employees currently operates nine trucks in its fleet that run on climate-friendly biomethane from VERBIO, with further expansion planned. By using biomethane in almost 100 trucks for one of its largest customers alone, by the end of the year REICHHART will be able to reach carbon neutrality for 25 per cent of its kilometres driven and achieve full decarbonisation by 2028. In autumn 2023, a VERBIO CNG filling station is scheduled to go into operation in the Upper Palatinate as a joint enterprise with a regional partner.

Enhancing the carbon footprint of short- and long-haul routes.

REICHHART Logistik has embraced sustainable transport logistics solutions, and trials innovative drive technologies on an ongoing basis. "We have just under 260 vehicles in operation for our customers. The tight schedules of the transport operations that we realise in the process depend on a very high level of reliability. Therefore, mature technology was a critical factor for us. At the same time, collaborations such as this enable us to fulfil our social responsibility and the increasing demands of our customers, who are prioritising sustainable logistics concepts to an ever greater extent", says Georg Berberich, Head of Fleet Technology and Organisation at REICHHART Logistik. "For us, the use of biomethane stands out from many other approaches as a practical and economical solution that we can implement immediately. Our goal is not just to achieve success with future solutions in ten years’ time, but to slash our emissions today."

Biomethane: Cost-effective and climate-friendly

"For logistics companies and businesses with their own truck fleets, the question of operating costs and carbon footprints is an increasingly crucial one. In both these aspects, our biomethane from agricultural residues is an excellent and competitive solution. Major partners including Heidelberg Materials already rely on bio-CNG from VERBIO, so we are all the happier to see REICHHART Logistik taking to the roads with straw in its tanks", says Heinz-Peter Küppers, expert in renewable fuels, bio-CNG and bio-LNG at VERBIO. "We not only offer a 90 per cent CO₂ reduction and a significant cost advantage over fossil diesel; in addition, we actively support freight forwarders and companies seeking to convert their fleets, by supplying fuels via our growing bio-CNG/bio-LNG filling station network", adds Küppers.

Truck freight transport better with straw in the tank

Biomethane offers a genuine alternative for low-emission heavy haulage. "As a truck fuel, bio-CNG delivers a range of 500 to 600 kilometres between two refuelling stops and can be refuelled quickly and much more cheaply than fossil diesel throughout Germany. With bio-LNG, i.e. liquefied biomethane, that range can increase to as much as 1,500 km. Bio-LNG trucks are thus in no way inferior to classic diesel trucks. More and more operators are just as convinced of this as we are. That is why we are installing our own filling station network and building at least 20 VERBIO filling stations for bio-CNG and bio-LNG in Germany", explains Heinz-Peter Küppers. VERBIO's biomethane is produced in Germany in three large-scale plants in Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg and is exclusively made from agricultural residues such as straw. The company also operates further production plants of this type in the USA and India. The VERBIO technology was developed in-house and is unique worldwide to date.