OREANDA-NEWS. La Poste Group and ENGIE, via its wholly owned subsidiary GNVert, are developing various eco-mobility projects that make use of natural gas and hydrogen in conjunction with their green and sustainable mobility goals. La Poste Group and ENGIE will be cooperating for example to design refueling solutions for certain La Poste fleets of VNG/bioVNG and hydrogen vehicles.

Philippe Wahl, Chief Executive Officer of La Poste group, and Isabelle Kocher, Chief Executive Officer of ENGIE, signed a cooperation agreement to develop various eco-mobility projects, in particular through the use of Vehicle Natural Gas (VNG), an alternative fuel with recognized environmental and economic advantages, and hydrogen (H2), a promising fuel that offers good driving range that emits only water vapor. Their European scale agreement covers 5 years. The objective for La Poste Group is to establish its leadership in sustainable mobility by prioritizing large-scale use of low CO2 fuel emission vehicles, making a significant contribution to reducing air and noise pollution in cities. Through GNVert, the partnership will enable ENGIE to contribute to the development of the promising alternative fuels market, based on fuels that are less CO2 emitting and without particulates. The agreement also establishes conditions necessary for the development of biomethane fuel (bioVNG), a renewable natural gas fuel from methanization of waste.

At the same time, La Poste Group and ENGIE commit to collaborate on an awareness campaign and coordinated communications on eco-mobility in conjunction with the energy transition.

For over 10 years, La Poste Group has been carrying out a significant sustainable development policy and today has one of the largest electric vehicle fleets in the world, with close to 30,000 motor vehicles – trucks, automobiles, 4-wheel and 3-wheel all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and electric bicycles. La Poste is also engaged in an ambitious research and development program focused on the use of the clean vehicles of tomorrow, testing cars and bicycles operating on hydrogen. For the past year, La Poste Group is also involved in developing Vehicle Natural Gas (VNG) vehicles for use throughout France. The Group has already deployed 40 light vans used to make last-mile express package deliveries and will have a hundred in circulation by the end of the year.

As an energy revolution pioneer, ENGIE considers transportation a major development focus. Transportation is responsible for 23% of CO2 emissions in the world (and even 30% in Europe); 95% of the energy consumed by this sector comes from oil. Today, the transformation to mobility that is less CO2 emitting, less polluting, and more fluid is essential, particularly in cities where three out of every four persons will live by the year 2050. To meet this challenge, ENGIE is developing urban planning advisory activities, solutions for public transport (electrification, signal system installations, service optimization), alternative fuels (including natural gas and electric mobility) and digital platforms to increase traffic flows. To accelerate the adoption of alternative fuels, the ENGIE Group has decided to invest up to €100 million over five years to develop natural gas fuel for trucks in Europe. 

About La Poste group

La Poste group is a public limited company wholly owned by the French government, organized into five subsidiaries: Mail and Parcels Service, Postal Bank, GeoPost, and Digital. The group is active in 40 countries and on four continents. Each day, La Poste’s 17,000 outlets, constituting France’s leading local sales network, services 1.6 million customers. Each year, six days a week, La Poste distributes 22.9 billion items throughout the world (letters, printed advertising materials, and parcels). In 2015, the group generated revenues of €23.045 billion, including 20.8% from international operations, and employed 260,000 people. More accessible, more connected, La Poste is speeding its digital transformation by offering a range of services on the basis of its role as global exchange operator. In its strategic business plan, “La Poste 2020: Winning the Future,” La Poste set the objective of accelerating the development of its five subsidiaries and capturing new territories. Available for everyone, everywhere and every day, La Poste puts the human element and trust at the heart of customer relationships, with the ambition of becoming the leading human services company with a local focus.

About ENGIE

ENGIE develops its businesses (power, natural gas, energy services) around a model based on responsible growth to take on the major challenges of energy’s transition to a low-carbon economy: access to sustainable energy, climate-change mitigation and adaptation and the rational use of resources. The Group provides individuals, cities and businesses with highly efficient and innovative solutions largely based on its expertise in four key sectors: renewable energy, energy efficiency, liquefied natural gas and digital technology. ENGIE employs 154,950 people worldwide and achieved revenues of € 69.9 billion in 2015. The Group is listed on the Paris and Brussels stock exchanges (ENGI) and is represented in the main international indices: CAC 40, BEL 20, DJ Euro Stoxx 50, Euronext 100, FTSE Eurotop 100, MSCI Europe, DJSI World, DJSI Europe and Euronext Vigeo (Eurozone 120, Europe 120 and France 20).

About GNVert

A wholly owned subsidiary of the ENGIE Group, GNVert has been the leader in France since 1998 for alternative fuel solutions (CNG, BioCNG, LNG, H2, etc.) and operates 140 VNG stations and 1 H2 station. GNVert employs 45 people and achieved revenues of €30 million in 2015.