As climate change progresses, fundamental change is sweeping through the history of humanity. Slowing this change is the most urgent challenge facing us in the 21st century. At the Paris Conference two years ago, the 195 participating countries agreed to drastically reduce CO₂ levels. As the host of the conference, France adopted a pioneering role in implementing the climate targets. Developments were drastically accelerated by the diesel scandal. France drew up the extremely ambitious target of cutting CO₂ levels from road traffic by 40 per cent.

For example, diesel vehicles will be prohibited in Paris from 2025. Energy companies and service providers are likewise changing their practices. 9,000 trucks ply the roads every day to serve Carrefour, Europe’s second largest retail group; those trucks will now be gradually converted to operation with climate-neutral biogas by Air Liquide, the world’s largest producer of special gases. The necessary fuelling station infrastructure will likewise be established by Air Liquide. As a strategic partner, BAUER will supply the natural gas infrastructure that is necessary for efficient, failsafe and reliable fuelling of large vehicle fleets.

On 7 April, the first of five biogas fuelling stations in Greater Paris was ceremonially opened in Sevron. Two large-scale BK26 and BK52 compressors, the flagship models in BAUER’s compressor block portfolio, now reliably supply compressed biogas as climate-neutral fuel, and are already serving 80 large delivery trucks a day even in this start-up phase. At the opening, leading representatives of Air Liquide gave statements enthusiastically confirming the quality of BAUER systems and the smooth professionalism of the project completion.

Pierre Etienne Franc, Vice-President of Air Liquide, explained why BAUER had won the tender for the contract: “There were several reasons why we chose BAUER, including their technological expertise and the high quality of the materials they use. Support in project development was also crucial, as is BAUER’s customer service once the fuelling stations are in operation. The reliability of the systems is of critical importance to our customers. We found during testing that the products BAUER had supplied were exactly in line with our specifications and our expectations of the project.”

Xavier Pontone, Vice President Advanced Business & Technologies and responsible for driving future technologies at Air Liquide, adds more detail about why BAUER was selected as key supplier by Air Liquide: the quality and reliability of BAUER’s compressor module, he notes, enables Air Liquide to offer its customer Carrefour an outstanding integrated solution that he is confident will deliver long-term customer satisfaction.