SOLUTRANS On Air #33 — Gas and Biogas: Prospects and Growth in the French Commercial Vehicle Market (with C. Chandon of France Mobilité Biogaz)
Hervé Rébillon: Interest in gas seems to be rising again, particularly with registrations of gas-powered heavy trucks. Can this trend be attributed to a more diversified offering from manufacturers?
Clément Chandon: Registrations of CNG heavy trucks are up 9%, marking the third-best start of the year for the sector, even though the overall market is down 22%. Three factors explain this momentum:
- First, the three major historical manufacturers of the sector have all launched a new 13-liter engine, more powerful, with longer range and reduced consumption. This explains the strong growth of gas tractors, which had been hit hard by the 2022 energy crisis.
- Second, demand from shippers remains solid, whether in food distribution, furniture, DIY, or parcel delivery.
- Finally, the third factor is that the TCO (total cost of ownership) has become competitive again.
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Hervé Rébillon: Biogas and CNG still seem overlooked by public authorities in favor of electric solutions. Is this due to a lack of awareness of these energies, even though the technology continues to evolve?
Clément Chandon: The carbon performance of biomethane is well documented. Life cycle analyses carried out within Carbone 4 and IFPEN studies show that biogas offers performance equivalent to that of electric vehicles.
The current position of the French administration is all the more surprising since we are very strong on this subject: we have the largest CNG market in Europe, and bio-CNG production in France shows the strongest growth in Europe. It is a sector of excellence at every level! The sector also supports agriculture and industry: 75% of buses and 60% of heavy trucks running on gas are produced in France or with French engines. Yet the State seems to pay less attention to this energy. Meanwhile, research continues, both in production and engines. Each new generation brings higher efficiency and power, enabling missions that vehicles ten years ago could not accomplish.
Hervé Rébillon: The new IRIC mechanism, which replaces the TIRUERT, now includes gas fuels such as CNG and LNG. Is this progress?
Clément Chandon: Yes. The sector fought to obtain this equal treatment since TIRUERT, at the time, enabled the development of liquid biofuels. B100 and HVO are two products that could not have found their markets otherwise, as they were simply too expensive.
IRIC will replace the current State support. Companies investing in methanization will initially bear the actual cost, but will later be able to generate GHG credits, which can then be sold to fossil fuel distributors. In short, mobility and fuel distributors will finance tomorrow’s methanization units. Other advantages are also expected, such as decoupling the price of bio-CNG from fossil gas prices. This will prevent a repeat of the 2022 crisis and guarantee economic performance, just as is currently the case for liquid biofuels.
Hervé Rébillon: With the growing number of gas stations in France, can we now speak of a truly structured national network? And is the 2022 crisis, which made gas less attractive for some carriers, now behind us?
Clément Chandon: There are already 370 public stations, designed for heavy trucks, plus an equivalent private network. Companies thus benefit from both a public network and private stations, avoiding wasted time and additional mileage. On the pricing side, the situation has stabilized: carriers can now purchase their gas for 2026–2028 at 2019 prices, without depending on Russian gas. The energy crisis is now behind us, and this stability benefits both gas and electricity.
Hervé Rébillon: Does gas now enjoy a better image among carriers?
Clément Chandon: Carriers have always supported gas. What is interesting is that this support does not come at the expense of electric solutions: if we take the example of companies within France Mobilité Biogaz, almost all favor a mixed approach, combining electricity and biogas. However, price remains the key factor: if the solution becomes too expensive, their customers cannot keep up. That situation is now behind us, and many shippers, such as La Poste and Carrefour, confirm their commitment to decarbonizing their fleets with bio-CNG by 2030.