Stadtwerke Augsburg: 100 percent bio natural gas from VERBIO

As of 1 November, natural gas drivers in Augsburg are set to become even more environmentally friendly. Beginning on this date, four Stadtwerke Augsburg natural gas filling stations will be offering 100% bio natural gas produced by VERBIO AG. This means that natural gas vehicles will be saving 90% CO₂ compared with petrol-driven vehicles. Since May, 35% bio natural gas has been added to the natural gas filled from the city utilities’ gas pumps. Stadtwerke Augsburg and VERBIO AG have now increased their service agreement to 100%. This also means that the almost 100 natural gas buses in Stadtwerke Augsburg’s bus fleet drive almost CO₂-neutral in normal operation.

As a fuel, compressed natural gas (CNG) is not only more economical than petrol or diesel, but also more environmentally friendly. With bio natural gas – that is, bio gas processed to the quality of natural gas – CO₂ emissions can be cut even further. The advantage: the fuel price stays the same. Bio natural gas produced by VERBIO is produced exclusively from agricultural waste without the use of foodstuffs and reduces CO₂ emissions by more than 90% compared with petrol and diesel.

"After Augsburg became the model city in Germany for the introduction of natural gas as a fuel 15 years ago, we are once again taking the lead by introducing bio natural gas", says Stadtwerke Augsburg CEO, Dr Claus Gebhardt. With more than 1,600 vehicles, Augsburg has the country’s largest density of natural gas cars. Stadtwerke Augsburg uses only natural gas buses for local transport – these are already almost CO₂-neutral. “This is not only good for the microclimate in Augsburg but also contributes to achieving the climate protection targets”, says Gebhardt. Germany could be a lot further ahead in this respect if more diesel and petrol vehicles were replaced by natural gas vehicles. “The technology was matured years ago and natural gas is universally available as a fuel”, comments Gebhardt. “With bio natural gas every driver could contribute to protecting the environment”.

Claus Sauter, CEO of VERBIO AG, adds: “The intensification of our cooperation with Stadtwerke Augsburg is evidence that we are fulfilling two important requirements with our product: bio natural gas is available to consumers at no extra charge while offering maximum climate protection. The growing number of municipalities and companies which are choosing our new bio fuel produced using exclusively agricultural waste is proof that these two factors ideally complement each other.”

The important thing here is that bio natural gas is the same quality as natural gas and can also be used in all natural gas vehicles without restrictions. “The debate surrounding E10 for petrol has unsettled drivers, but owners of natural gas vehicles can rest assured that bio natural gas will not have any negative effect on consumption, engine output or engine wear,” explains Dr Claus Gebhardt.

Driving with CNG not only protects the environment, but is also good for the wallet. Over identical distances, the fuel costs are less than half that of petrol and around one third less than diesel. And with 900 filling stations, natural gas is available as a fuel throughout the country.