A new biogas-power milk truck has been transporting milk to Valio’s Riihimäki and Jyväskylä dairies since the beginning of May. The liquefied biogas-powered truck has 85% lower emissions than a diesel-powered collection truck. Valio’s aim is to annually increase the number of milk collection trucks running on biogas as the distribution network develops.
Valio’s goal is to cut the carbon footprint of milk to zero by 2035. One way towards achieving carbon-neutral milk is to reduce emissions from transport. Using biogas can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport by up to 85% compared to fossil fuels.
”Using renewable biogas in transports is the circular economy at its best. The new biogas-powered collection truck is more powerful than previous biogas-powered trucks, and therefore it can collect and transport larger quantities of milk than the previous less powerful gas-powered trucks. The truck can take on as much as ca. 48 tonnes, i.e. on average, the milk from about 18 Valio’s dairy farms. Transporting more milk in a single load cuts costs and emissions,” reports Petteri Laine, Head of Logistics with responsibility for milk collection and transports.
The new milk truck is fuelled by liquefied biogas (LBG), produced from industrial by-products and municipal waste. The truck collecting milk from Valio’s farms in Hartola, Sysmä and Joutsa travels about 800 kilometres a day and is refuelled either in Jyväskylä or Lahti. Valio now has six LBG-powered trucks collecting milk.
Valio and transport operators have had very good experiences in terms of the availability, functionality and reliability of biogas trucks. The next biogas-powered trucks for milk collection will be on the road this coming autumn and in early 2025. The limited refuelling network is currently the main obstacle to a rapid increase in the number of biogas-powered vehicles. The number of vehicles will increase more rapidly in the coming years as the network of refuelling stations expands.
Valio’s milk collection trucks were driven a total of 18.8 million kilometres in 2023. Of these, about 1.2 million kilometres were driven by biogas-powered trucks. This reduced emissions from milk collection by around 750 tonnes of carbon dioxide during the year, which is about 6% of total milk collection emissions.
”Optimising logistics, saving kilometres and reducing emissions are part of the day-to-day work of Valio’s logistics, both in milk collection and distribution. In addition to reducing our own emissions, we are also helping our customers to achieve their emission reduction targets. Although transport accounts for only around 1.5% of the carbon footprint of the milk produced by Valio, reducing fossil emissions from logistics is important not only for Valio’s climate targets, but also for those of Finland as a whole,” Petteri Laine sums up.
