First of a kind filling station is set to open in Leyland

The state-of-the-art facility, just off the M6 at Leyland, will be launched next week and should be up and running by the end of the year.

CNG Fuels and National Grid have teamed up to unveil the new station.

It is the UK’s first high-pressure grid connected compressed natural gas (CNG) filling station where vehicles can fill up on gas, directly from the high-pressure local transmission system.

Waitrose, part of the John Lewis Partnership, will be the station’s first major customer.

A National Grid spokesman said: “The filling station is the first of its kind in the UK and boasts a high-pressure connection, delivered by National Grid.

“This key piece of transport infrastructure is capable of refuelling more than 500 HGVs per day.

“Located near to junction 28 on the M6, the CNG filling station will be accessible around the clock, 365 days a year.

“The facility also supplies 100 per cent renewable biomethane and is an important part of the UK’s rapidly growing CNG refuelling infrastructure.

“The biomethane is made from waste at anaerobic digestion plants and delivered to the filling station through the National Grid pipeline system.”

Philip Fjeld, from CNG Fuels, said: “Because the new station is directly connected to a high pressure gas pipeline we can ‘fast-fill’ hundreds of HGVs a day.

“We plan to roll out additional public-access LTS CNG stations in the years ahead, meaning more companies can switch to CNG or Bio-CNG.

“Companies that choose gas will then be paying a lot less for fuel and also making big greenhouse gas savings.”

Waitrose has a regional distribution centre less than a mile from Leyland station and will be the anchor customer for the CNG station.

CNG Fuels will also be supplying to the HGVs of Brit European at the new station.