Safeway hopes to save money and lift night time delivery curfews after it opened its second compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling site in Aylesford, Kent.
The new site, installed and maintained by Esso, will support 40 Safeway CNG-fuelled vehicles, accounting for 45% of the Aylesford fleet.
Safeway claimed that CNG vehicles were cleaner, cheaper and 50% quieter than those running on diesel.
"We have calculated that the operational cost savings of using CNG is around 10% of the cost of running a diesel operation," said Safeway's supply director Lawrence Christensen.
The CNG trucks will also be exempt from the London congestion charge as they are classed as alternative fuelled vehicles.
Safeway opened its first CNG operation at Welwyn Garden City in March 1998 and plans to open a third at Bellshill near Glasgow in the New Year. It aims to operate up to 100 CNG vehicles across the three sites, accounting for 11.5% of the Safeway fleet and 6.5% of miles covered.
The Aylesford refuelling site will be open to commercial third parties wishing to trial CNG vehicles.

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