DHL: Ireland’s production facility to turn waste into biomethane

At a glance
Who: DHL
What: Biomethane production facility
Where: Cork, Oreland
Why: To create a low-carbon fuel for trucks
When: Work started September 2023

The Challenge

If organisations are to meet their net-zero ambitions, many will turn to the supply chain to combat carbon-intensive hotspots such as transport and logistics, which have historically proven costly – especially for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs)

The Solution

DHL Supply Chain has revealed an €80m investment plan for a specialised biomethane production facility set to be established in Cork, in a bid to offer decarbonisation options for trucks in Ireland.

How the Project Works

DHL has committed to a 10-year deal with Stream BioEnergy on the establishment of a biomethane production facility – enabling the creation of 130 jobs. DHL has also joined forces with retailer, Tesco Ireland, which will utilise the station to fuel some of its fleet.

The biomethane production site will be managed by Stream BioEnergy and will process 90,000 tonnes of industry and consumer food waste annually, diverting it from landfills. DHL has plans to extend its decarbonisation efforts to other sectors, including consumer, technology, aviation, life sciences, and healthcare.

Biomethane, a renewable gas which can drastically reduce carbon emissions by offering an alternative fuelling option, will serve as the primary fuel source for 150 trucks at the new facility.

To support the initial vehicle rollout and during the production ramp-up, DHL will subsidise biomethane from other sources.

Once the new facility is fully operational, DHL will operate 92 locally fuelled biomethane trucks throughout Tesco’s nationwide network.

Biomethane deployment at scale requires no upgrades to Ireland’s existing gas grid, making it a flexible and cost-effective means of decarbonising commercial road transport, according to the company.

Results

DHL expects the site to result in an annual reduction of 15,000 tonnes in carbon emissions, equivalent to more than 38 million miles driven by an average passenger vehicle running on petrol.

Business Benefits  

The production site aligns with DHL’s global GoGreen agenda. The deployment of biomethane trucks, as well as investment in domestic biomethane energy production, will play a part in helping the company achieve its target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Under the net-zero target, DHL has committed to setting targets for 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement through the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). These targets will be supported by a  €7bn investment plan focused on increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuels, designing all new buildings carbon neutral, offering a comprehensive portfolio of green products and electrifying 60% of its last-mile deliveries. DHL estimates that it will have more than 80,000 e-vehicles on the road.

Industry Context

Biomethane is compatible with Ireland’s natural gas networks making it an ideal retrofit solution for many vehicles as it can seamlessly replace natural gas across heating, industry and transport.

Research from Gas Networks Ireland’s Biomethane Energy Report found that the biomethane industry could replace more than 25% of the nation’s natural gas network. In turn, this would create new income streams for agriculture businesses by creating value for their by-products. The report found that the switch to biomethane could reduce Ireland’s total emissions by almost four million tonnes per year – accountable to more than 6% of the nation’s total emissions.

In the UK, HGVs account for more than 4% of the total carbon footprint, but aren’t often suitable for other transport decarbonisation methods such as electrification due to their size.