OrangeGas Germany became the market leader in the operation of CNG filling stations in Germany. With the sale, EWE bundles its mobility activities in accordance with the group strategy on battery and hydrogen-driven electro mobility.
Like the Dutch mother, the new market leader OrangeGas wants to massively increase the sales of regeneratively produced biomethane, especially with customers from the transport and logistics sector, as well as inner-city delivery traffic, thus establishing the climate-friendly CNG drive across Germany.
“As a pioneer in CNG mobility, EWE has shaped it in Germany for decades and has given it good prospects for the future through the use of biomethane. The current sale of the CNG filling stations is due to the fact that we want to focus our mobility strategy on battery and hydrogen-driven electromobility, "explains EWE boss Stefan Dohler." With OrangeGas, you have an experienced buyer found who will continue to operate the CNG filling stations in the sense of the previous EWE customers and who will provide them with a good filling station network in the long term.
“The acquisition of the EWE filling stations is a very important step for OrangeGas. Because we aim to become the largest provider of clean fuels in northwest Europe, ”said OrangeGas founder and CEO Marcel Borger. OrangeGas consistently relies on climate-friendly biomethane, which is also offered under the acronym Bio-CNG in Europe.
With the purchase of the 75 petrol stations, OrangeGas anticipates an increase in sales of around 15 percent. OrangeGas' growth strategy includes optimizing the filling stations for commercial vehicles from vans to heavy trucks and specifically convincing customers from the transport and logistics sector to switch from fossil diesel vehicles to gas drives with regenerative bio-CNG.
Climate protection puts pressure on - exemption from truck toll lures
"We have two drivers, which is why climate-friendly CNG mobility with the 100 percent regenerative fuel bio-CNG has great growth potential," explains Wijtze Bakker, managing director of the German OrangeGas subsidiary. On the one hand, there is growing pressure on companies to follow the fine words about their commitment to climate protection with action.
“Bio-CNG is the fastest, the most economical and the most practical lever for transport companies to use CO 2 in their core business- massively reduce emissions, ”he says. Customers would increasingly ask their logistics partners to minimize carbon dioxide emissions in the supply chain. "Greta" and the "Fridays for Future" movement are also creating growing social pressure. "We now have a number of customers who have anchored sustainability and climate protection in their corporate guidelines and who bring this to life with CNG mobility," says Bakker.
But CNG mobility is also of financial interest for the logistics industry. Because the exemption from the truck toll, which has just been extended by a further three years, would quickly recoup the additional costs when buying the heavy truck.
The elimination of the truck toll and the prospect of lower fuel costs enable CNG trucks to drive economically even at low freight rates. "CNG mobility is therefore a benefit for climate protection and at the same time contributes to the economic success of transport companies," summarizes the head of Germany at OrangeGas.
Bakker indicates how important it is to OrangeGas with the CNG business area in Germany: “We are currently negotiating with other petrol station operators and will take a very big step in the number of petrol stations at the turn of the year - we are investing heavily in the market because we are involved our know-how, which we have acquired in the Netherlands, sees very good prospects in Germany. ”
After the takeover of the EWE stations, OrangeGas operates around a fifth of the almost 850 CNG filling stations in Germany. The focus is on the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Bremen, Hamburg, Thuringia and Brandenburg. With the exception of the Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg, OrangeGas is active in all federal states.
As part of the group strategy, the EWE Group deals with the topic of battery electric drive with the mobility company EWE Go, which was founded especially for this purpose. It is already the market leader in the operation of e-charging stations in north-west Germany with over 800 charging points.
EWE Go also offers new mobility concepts as well as products and services related to electromobility. The portfolio ranges from simple wall boxes for private households to complex, innovative mobility solutions for companies - all over Germany.
With the "Hyways for Future" project funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport as part of the "HyLand Hydrogen Regions in Germany" idea competition, EWE aims to promote the market ramp-up of regeneratively produced hydrogen in the northwest with around 90 partners from industry and politics.
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