Clean pipelines and clean air

Stringent environmental regulations also apply to the vehicles used by the French city of Lyon to maintain its water supply network. As a result, it has been using Europe’s first ever flushing and suction vehicles with CNG drive since November.

One of the two CNG-powered flushing and suction vehicles in service for the city of Lyon since November 2022. Source: Iveco

Air quality is of great importance to the French city of Lyon. For this reason, numerous measures have been taken to improve it, including the introduction of the “Grand Lyon ZFE” – a zone in the greater Lyon area that is subject to strictly limited emissions. Not surprisingly, the city takes care to use ecologically compatible vehicles when it comes to its own fleet, too. As a result, two CNG-powered vehicles were added to the fleet of the city’s water authority in November 2022: two pressure and suction vehicles that were developed based on an Iveco S-Way chassis.

“Nowadays, CNG drive is the only reliable technology for this type of use that meets environmental zone requirements, allowing us to move away from diesel engines,” explains Bruno Wendling, head of mechanised interventions at DTEE Lyon. “With our new S-Ways running on CNG, we achieve the same performance spectrum as with a diesel, whether in terms of range, payload or output – but with minimal impact on the environment.” The drivers are also impressed by these more environment-friendly vehicles that are now being used by the water department and the grid operators, says Wendling: “They particularly appreciate the low noise emissions, comfort, manoeuvrability, flexibility and performance.”

The CNG Iveco falls under the “Crit’Air 1” category, which guarantees transport companies unhindered access to French environmental zones. Source: Iveco

The two CNG vehicles fall into the category “Crit’Air 1” which guarantees transport companies unhindered access to the environmental zones in France. CNG-Iveco vehicles significantly reduce emissions of local pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and particulate matter compared to a diesel vehicle of the latest generation, while still maintaining the same level of performance. Running on biogas, the pressure and suction trucks are virtually carbon-neutral. The CNG vehicles also have “Pieck Quiet Truck 71 dB” certification, so they enable low-noise operations, especially at night.

The two pressure and suction trucks with CNG drive – a European premiere for this type of deployment, incidentally – are the result of a collaborative venture undertaken by the teams of Iveco France and body manufacturer Kaiser Moro. Iveco France invested a lot of time in adapting the base of the 6×2 Iveco S-Way with CNG drive in such a way that it was possible to integrate a full-power auxiliary drive in the chassis between the engine and the transmission. It is this compatibility that places the highest demands on the CNG drive, along with the high power consumption during static use, which usually extends over long periods of time – sometimes more than four hours.

CNG-powered pressure and suction trucks – a European first for this type of operation – were developed by Iveco France and body manufacturer Kaiser Moro. Source: Iveco

The two CNG vehicles will now enable the Lyon water authority to carry out virtually carbon-neutral suction and rinsing work in the maintenance of the 3200-kilometre sewerage network in the 59 municipalities in and around the French city, not only ensuring clean pipelines but also cleaner air thanks to lower CO₂ emissions. (pd/jas, 26 January 2023)