Slovenia’s first CNG (compressed natural gas) filling station for vehicles running on methane has opened in Ljubljana.

At the same time, the first new city buses running on methane began to carry passengers around the city. The purchase of 20 new natural gas buses by Ljubljana Passenger Transport (LPP) has been co-financed by EU funding as part of the CIVITAS ELAN project.

Energetika Ljubljana takes a step forward in broadening its activities

Utilities provider Energetika Ljubljana has supplemented its district heating, gas and natural gas system with this expansion into the supply of vehicle fuel.

The initiative to set up a CNG filling station was conducted jointly with Geoplin d.o.o., Slovenia’s natural gas supplier, and Ljubljanski potniški promet d.o.o. (LPP), the public transport company that serves the Slovenian capital.

With the construction of the station at Cesta Ljubljanske brigade (Ljubljana Brigade Road), Energetika Ljubljana implements one of the environmental requirements of the European Union to reduce emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. The use of methane as a fuel for transport significantly reduces the amount of combustion products released into the atmosphere.
The CNG filling station enables refuelling and therefore the use of natural gas powered vehicles and is oriented to raising environmental awareness of users to the selection of vehicles with environmentally-friendly fuel supply.

The CNG station was established at a cost of €1.1 million, excluding VAT. This sum includes all costs of demolishing the previous building and the preparation of the land for construction of the filling station, gas processing, utility and road infrastructure.

From environmental, professional and safety points of view, the selection of compressed natural gas as a fuel supply is a sensible decision today for a better tomorrow.

Methane buses

LPP’s purchase of buses and the commitment of the public companies linked together in Ljubljana Public Holdings that they will give priority to compressed natural gas vehicles in their new purchases represents an important step forward in the improvement of air quality in Ljubljana.

Via natural gas, namely methane, buses, the LPP public company will improve the quality of urban life in Ljubljana, provide for a better and more beautiful environment, cleanse the air and reduce noise levels. Twenty of the most contemporarily technologically equipped natural gas buses that are soon to replace LPP’s oldest diesel buses will reduce the adverse effects of emissions on the environment by up to 80%.

Motor buses running on natural gas, namely methane, meet the strictest discharge criteria and the corresponding EEV (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle) standard, meaning that the emission of particles measuring only a few thousandths of a millimetre that are harmful to people and the environment is almost zero. Furthermore, the content of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC) is also very low. Compared with the Euro 4 diesel engine, a methane bus emits 80-90% fewer nitrous oxides (NOX). Compared with the oldest buses, methane buses emit 10% less CO². The methane fuel supply is stored in tanks mounted on the roofs of the buses. The gas, which is lighter than air, is compressed in tanks at a pressure of 20 MPa (Mega Pascal) which corresponds to 200 bar.