35 thousand kilometers. This was the distance covered by bioLNG trucks, which transported steel products from the steel mills in Dąbrowa Górnicza and Kraków to customers in Belgium and the Netherlands, and returned with ArcelorMittal products from Ghent to customers in Silesia and Małopolska. This is the third test of alternative fuel in the company's land transport – after electric vehicles and vehicles powered by HVO100 fuel, the time has come for biogas, which was supplied by Shell.
In the last quarter of last year, two vehicles refuelled with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a novelty on the market – bioLNG, i.e. liquefied biomethane, made a total of almost 30 trips from Poland and back, transporting nearly 600 tonnes of steel products to ArcelorMittal's customers in Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands. The trucks travelled as much as 35,000 kilometres and reduced CO2 emissions from the company's land transport in Poland by nearly 50 tonnes.
The time has come... for biogas
"There are many possibilities of replacing traditional fuel with alternative forms, but not all of them can be successfully implemented in the Polish reality, which is why we are successively checking what and how we can use in the transport of steel" explains Grzegorz Kotarba, Head of Road Transport Purchasing for ArcelorMittal Poland. “We are preparing for the upcoming transformation, which will affect not only the production process, but also transport. We want to be prepared now to plan deliveries also in a situation of limited access to alternative fuels in Poland" he adds.
The logistics of the tests was provided by REGESTA S.A., which delivered two trucks to international routes.
"The trucks we delivered to ArcelorMittal Poland had to be refueled in Germany and the Netherlands, because this is where constant access to bioLNG was ensured. As a result, we had to plan our routes in such a way that the vehicles could make the most of their capabilities and transport as many steel products as possible, while wasting as little time as possible on refueling ," emphasizes Rafał Kwiecień, chairman of Regesta.
"We have long been actively supporting the decarbonisation of the transport sector by creating products that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fleets, and bioLNG is undoubtedly such a product, which can provide up to 100% reduction in CO₂ emissions over the entire life cycle of a product, compared to diesel" says Alicja Badowska, marketing manager at Shell Commercial Road Transport Poland. “We met the needs of ArcelorMittal Poland, which used Shell Bio LNG fuel at stations in Germany and the Netherlands, so that it was possible to carry out pilot steel deliveries between Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands. We continue to support Polish companies in their decarbonisation goals" she adds.
Trucks at the decarbonization station
ArcelorMittal Poland started pilot tests of steel transport using an alternative power supply in 2023. At that time, the first 200 tons of steel were delivered to the company's customers on the wheels of an electric truck. Then the company tested vehicles powered by HVO fuel, now it is time for biogas.
"Our efforts to reduce our environmental impact include not only million-dollar investments in installations in the raw material part of our concern. It also includes valuable projects in the area of logistics, such as tests of alternative fuels. Land transport, due to logistical conditions, will be intensively used in steel deliveries for a long time to come, which is why we are doing everything we can to reduce CO2 emissions at this stage now. When fuels such as biogas are easily available in Poland, we will be ready to efficiently implement them in our company. We have already tested this and are just waiting for the possibility of commercial use of one of these solutions. However, as I have already mentioned - for this to be successful, these fuels must be widely available in Poland, in large quantities" emphasizes Wojciech Koszuta, chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal Poland.
