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Groupe E Celsius will close, at the end of 2024, the two pumps it operates in Granges-Paccot and Payerne. There will only be one possibility left in Châtel-Saint-Denis for the people of Fribourg.
In Switzerland, service stations offer a mix at the pump with at least 20% biogas, which helps reduce CO2 emissions. © Jean-Baptiste Morel
Published on 10.06.2024
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
It will soon no longer be possible to refuel with compressed natural gas (CNG) in the north and center of the canton. Groupe E Celsius recently announced to vehicle owners the closure at the end of the year of the two pumps it operated in Granges-Paccot and Payerne. There will remain a single service station in Châtel-Saint-Denis, which is operated by another company.
Groupe E Celsius explains this decision by the reduction in the number of vehicles running on gas, as well as certain significant investments which would have been necessary to continue operations. This decision provokes a reaction. While a petition is circulating, one of our readers expressed their doubts and disappointment in a long letter.
Regulars of these service stations, who have chosen to run on gas out of environmental concerns, will now have to obtain their supplies in Bern. The Krummen company in Kerzers has around thirty trucks that run on gas. “We often fill up in Payerne,” reacts its director Peter Krummen. This will pose a problem, especially since a service station in Bern will also be closed.”
Specialist in the environmental assessment of vehicles at the Transport and Environment Association (ATE), Luca Maillard reacts: “It is a bit regrettable that suppliers do not maintain this offer for people who have made an ecological choice.”
306
Gas vehicles registered in the canton
1
Registration in 2024
Clearly visible on the pump in Granges-Paccot, a petition asks Groupe E Celsius to reconsider its decision and maintain a supply in Greater Friborg and Payerne. According to the arguments developed, the abandonment of gas as an automobile fuel should be coordinated at the national level and not decided at the local level. The text, available on the openPetition platform, notes that it is not only Friborg drivers who will be affected, but also passing tourists.
Necessary work
Groupe E Celsius indicates that the two CNG stations in Payerne and Granges-Paccot were approaching the end of their technical life with an increasing number of breakdowns and necessary spare parts. As for the fleet of vehicles running on gas in the canton, it barely exceeds 0.1%. The OCN confirms: there were 306 vehicles registered out of a total of almost 290,000 as of March 31. There were 7 new registrations in 2022, 4 in 2023 and 1 in 2024.
“We see that the number of gas vehicles is dwindling,” observes Michel Brischoux, deputy director of the OCN. This situation is not unique to the canton. Other companies and industrial services have recently announced the imminent end of their stations. The Swiss network currently has around 140 refueling points.
“The operation of CNG stations is not a public service”
Nathalie Salamin
“The activity has always been loss-making because the market for CNG vehicles has never really progressed,” reports Nathalie Salamin, spokesperson for Groupe E. These pumps were therefore financed by the other activities of Groupe E Celsius. All owners of a gas-powered vehicle have been informed in recent weeks.
Some believe that the canton should guarantee a supply. The State, for its part, ensures that it does not have the possibility of intervening in the operational aspects of Group E. “The operation of CNG stations is not a public service,” explains Nathalie Salamin. Groupe E Celsius has neither the obligation to supply CNG nor a monopoly on this activity.”
Electric competition
Natural gas engines were on the rise in the early 2000s. But everyone involved admits that this is no longer the case today. “Gas mobility is increasingly competing with electric mobility. It has lost importance in the field of individual mobility,” notes Gabrielle Bourguet, public affairs manager for French-speaking Switzerland of the Swiss Gas Industry Association.
“Transferring the entire vehicle fleet to gas would not have been possible”
Luca Maillard
Car manufacturers have focused on electric cars and are no longer offering new models running on natural gas. “If there are fewer models on the market, demand drops,” recognizes Gabrielle Bourguet. The ATE recommended the use of this type of vehicle until the beginning of the 2020s, but it revised its opinion.
“Transferring the entire vehicle fleet to gas would not have been possible,” believes Luca Maillard. For the environmental impact to be interesting, it would have been necessary to run 100% with biogas from the recovery of organic waste.” In Switzerland, service stations offer a mix with at least 20% biogas. It is this part which makes it possible to reduce CO emissions.2.
Heavy traffic
According to the gas industry umbrella, there remains interest in trucks running on biogas. “To reduce CO emissions2 in heavy traffic, gas can offer an interesting mode of propulsion, especially if it is renewable, reports Gabrielle Bourguet. Some logistics companies have actually done this successfully.”
Luca Maillard recognizes this possibility. But, for the ATE representative, this is clearly no longer the priority. “In relation to the energy transition, biogas produced in an ecological manner must be prioritized for industrial processes which necessarily need it.”
Is this the end of gas mobility? For Gabrielle Bourguet, we cannot answer in the affirmative: “It is difficult to make a precise forecast in the medium term. The evolution of discussions on a possible ban on thermal engines in Europe from 2035 will also have an influence on gas mobility.”
Companies are giving up on gas mobility
The Krummen transport company in Kerzers is one of the logisticians who have opted for trucks running on natural gas. “We have had around thirty since 2019,” underlines its director Peter Krummen. It was sustainability that motivated this choice. The company favors biogas, which reduces CO emissions.2 around 80%, continues Peter Krummen. But the logistician is not going to continue on this path.
“The problem with biogas is that it is relatively expensive compared to normal gas and we do not benefit from the RPLP advantages (heavy goods vehicle charge linked to services, editor’s note)” explains Peter Krummen. Gas trucks will therefore be replaced by another technology when they reach the end of their life. “For us, electricity is now favored,” reports the director.
SINEF, which offers services in the areas of water and sustainable energy, will follow the same path. The company, based in Givisiez, acquired around ten gas-powered vehicles in 2017. They will soon be replaced due to their age. “As the gas supply has not developed in the canton and has even declined, SINEF will no longer include gas vehicles in its new fleet. Charging stations are not sufficiently present and suppliers no longer offer this type of vehicle on the Swiss market,” explains Philippe Perritaz, general manager.
However, the company does not suffer from a supply problem since it has a private charging station. It is currently implementing a new mobility concept, including the introduction of small electric vehicles.
