2012 Final IGU UN ECE NGV Report 2012 PDF
2012 Final IGU UN ECE NGV Report 2012 PDF
JOINT REPORT
NATURAL GAS FOR VEHICLES IGU & UN ECE JOINT REPORT
1. Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 3
2. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 6
3. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................. 9
4. Market Profile: World, Countinents, Countries .............................................................. 12
Europe ............................................................................................................................. 13
Africa ............................................................................................................................... 35
Australia & New Zealand ................................................................................................ 37
North America ................................................................................................................. 39
South America ................................................................................................................. 54
Central America and the Caribbean ............................................................................... 59
Asia.................................................................................................................................. 61
5. Minimum Infrastructure Needs For Methane Refuelling Across Europe .................... 83
6. Environment and Emissions............................................................................................. 87
6.1 EU emissions policies and its impact on the European NGV market ...................... 87
6.2 Carbon Footprint Matrix & Potential Supply Scenarios of Alternative Fuels for
Transports ....................................................................................................................... 93
7. Fuelling and Operation Technologies ........................................................................... 100
7.1 Fuelling of LNG/L-CNG vehicles ............................................................................ 100
7.2 Best practices: NGV fuelling stations ..................................................................... 104
7.3 LNG as a bunkering fuel ......................................................................................... 128
7.4 LNG is the sustainable fuel also for aviation.......................................................... 133
7.5 Fuelling technologies. Natural gas Blends Technology Gas Hydro ................... 136
7.6 From concept to reality: smart transition to clean alternative fuels ....................... 145
7.7 Promising NGV related technologies to enhance efficiency and safety ................ 149
7.7.1 Hybridization ................................................................................................... 150
7.7.2 Higher loads .................................................................................................... 151
7.7.3 Dual Fuel Technology ..................................................................................... 154
7.7.4 Supercharging / Turbochargingg .................................................................... 154
7.8 Synergy of biomethane and natural gas ................................................................ 157
7.8.1 Production of biomethane (incl. various origins & various processes) .......... 157
7.8.2 Biogas valorisations & their environmental benefits ...................................... 165
7.8.3 Renewable natural gas (RNG) / biomethane in the USA ............................... 177
7.9 Rfid Safety System ................................................................................................. 180
7.10 Case Studies ........................................................................................................ 185
7.10.1 Lille and the French case.............................................................................. 185
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1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The acknowledgements are extended to all members of 5.3 Study Group and Partners who
have contributed by their materials, knowledge, advice, comments, and personal attendance
at the meetings for preparation of this Report, and especially:
Special thanks to Eugene Pronin (Gazprom / NGVRUS) for Chapter 3: Executive Summary;
Chapter 4: Market profile: world, continents, countries, Chapter 8: Gas Vehicle Market In
2010 2020: Development Trends and Appendix I: Country data base.
Special thanks to Davor Matic (OMV Gas Adria) for Chapter 4: Market profile: world,
continents, countries, Chapter 8: Gas Vehicle Market In 2010 2020: Development Trends
and for Appendix I: Country data base.
Special thanks to Manuel Lage (General Manager of NGVA Europe) for Chapter 4: Market
profile: world, continents, countries; Chapter 6: EU emission policies and its impact on the
European NGV market; Chapter 7.1: Fuelling of LNG/L-CNG vehicles; Chapter 7.7.4:
Supercharging / Turbochargingg; 7.7: Promising NGV related technologies to enhance
efficiency and safety; Chapter 7.10.2: First public LCMG filling station in Sweden and
Chapter 8: Gas Vehicle Market In 2010 2020: Development Trends.
Special thanks to Jeffrey Seisler (Clean Fuels Consulting, Belgium) for Chapter 4: Market
profile: world, continents, countries, Chapter 7.2 Best practices: NGV fuelling stations,
Chapter 7.7: Promising NGV related technologies to enhance efficiency and safety and
Chapter 7.7.3: Dual fuel technology.
Special thanks to Peter Seidinger (OMV Gas&Power GmbH) for Chapter 7.2: Best
practices: NGV fuelling stations.
Special thanks to Trevor Fletcher (Hardstaff Group, UK, Westport Innovations Inc) for
chapter 7.7.3: Dual fuel technology.
Special thanks to Lee Giok Seng (Asia Pacific Natural Gas Vehicles Association) for
Appendix III: Blue corridors on our planet.
Special thanks to Andrey Andreevsky (Gazprom, Russia) for Chapter 3: Executive Summary;
Chapter 4: Market profile: world, continents, countries; Appendix I: Country data base and
Appendix II: Blue corridors on our planet.
Special thanks to Rich Kolodziej (NGV America / IANGV) for Chapter 4: Market profile: world,
continents, countries.
Special thanks to Ilmars Bode (LatviasGaze, Latvia) for Chapter 4: Market profile: world,
continents, countries.
Special thanks to Gitautas Tevialis (Lietuvos duyos, Litva) for Chapter 4: Market profile:
world, continents, countries.
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Special thanks to Mrs. Barbara La Licata, Fabio Sagnelli and Mrs. Paola Zitella
(ENVIRONMENT PARK S.p.A.) for Chapter 4: Market profile: world, continents, countries
and Appendix I: Country data base.
Special thanks to Matthias Maedge (EU Affairs Manager of NGVA Europe) for Chapter 6.1:
EU emission policies and its impact on the European NGV market.
Special thanks to Dr. Antonio Nicotra (Managing Director Air-LNG GmbH (Bonn), General
Manager Gasfin Investment SA (Luxembourg)) for Chapter 7.4: LNG is the sustainable fuel
also for aviation for Chapter 7.5: Fuelling technologies. Natural gas blends technology gas
hydro and for Appendix III: Carbon Footprint Matrix & Potential Supply Scenarios of
Alternative Fuels for Transports.
Special thanks to Olivier Bordelanne (GDF Suez) for Chapter 7.8: Synergy of biomethane
and natural gas.
Special thanks to Karen Hamberg (Westport Innovations Inc.) for Chapter 7.8.3: Renewable
natural gas (RNG) / biomethane in the USA.
Special thanks to Valery Nemov (Gazprom Eksport) for Chapter 7.3: LNG as a bunkering
fuel.
Special thanks to Viridis Technologies Inc. for Chapter 7.9: RFID safety system.
Special thanks to R.Fernandes (ALGNV Latin America NGV Association), Lee Giok Seng,
Executive Director, ANGVA for Appendix II: Blue corridors on our planet.
Special thanks to Claudio Kohan (NGV Communications Group) for Appendix III: Worldwide
NGV statistics.
The partners contribution to Chapter 7.2: Best practices: NGV fuelling stations, is
aknowleged at the end of the Chapter.
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Editing
Special thanks to Eugene Pronin and Andrey Andreevsky (Gazprom), Alexander Popov and
Andrey Evstifeev (Gazprom VNIIGAZ) for their time and efforts spent in providing overall
editorial support in preparing the final versions of this document.
2. INTRODUCTION
Global NGV market keeps growing. Each year new technologies, regulations, government
strategies and business scenarios are developed and introduced. The purpose of this Report
is to investigate these recent developments achieved during the 2009 2012 Triennium,
draw conclusions, prepare recommendation and present them to the world gas industry.
However, global, regional and national NGV markets have a range of constant inherent
features that should be traced back into history in order to examine near and mid term future
trends. These trends are a reliable indicator of the future NGV business course. Due to this
link between past and future readers may find in this Report certain repetition of the previous
2003 2006 and 2006 2009 NGV Study Group Reports. This is unavoidable, although all
data are updated as of December 2011. Thus continuity of the study is assured.
The specifity of this new study is represented by the fact that it is a result of the joint effort of
two international organizations: International Gas Uninon and Economic Comission for
Europe of the United Nations.
Such joint effort was due to the following. In January 2010 the 20th session of the UN ECE
Working Party on Gas has decided to prepare a study on use of natural gas in transport in
the UN ECE region. To an extent this study was meant as a follow-up of the study on the
Blue Corridor Project published in 2002.
The first coordination meeting of participants was hosted by Gazprom VNIIGAZ in Moscow in
spring 2010. Taking into account that almost identical topics are considered within the
International Gas Union by basically the same groups of NGV experts, participants of the
Moscow meeting have proposed to make one joint NGV study instead of two. Such synergy
would allow avoiding an ineffective duplication of work as well as saving time and resources.
This proposal has also been supported by the IGU Working Committee 5 and by the
Chairman of the IGU Coordination Committee.
This explains some emphasis made in the present study on the CNG/NGVs situation and the
market prospects in the European countries and in the UN ECE region in general, e.g. the
description of the state and prospects in the countries participating in the GasHighWay
project, as well as the NGVA Europe position paper on Minimum infrastructure needs for
methane (ng/biomethane) refuelling across Europe.
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Unless otherwise specified the term Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) in various combinations
(NGV market, NGV legislation, NGV equipment etc.) in general is related methane-based
fuels: compressed and liquefied natural gas and bio-methane as well as associated
technologies, politics and business.
For the purposes of this Report geographical sub-regions of the World are purely
geographical not political areas of macro-regions divided so by the United Nations
Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
Only those countries are subject to this report where natural gas vehicles and NGV related
infrastructure are available NGV according to the best knowledge of the S.G 5.3 Study Group
Members and Partners as of December 2011. If some countries are missed in this Report, it
is a matter of nothing but simple unawareness of the team. NGV related infrastructure is
understood to mean filling stations, mobile refueling units, conversion shops, cylinder
requalification facilities, training centers and other integral elements of the national NGV
market.
The following geographical sub-regions and countries are subject to this report:
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AFRICA
Northern Africa Eastern Africa Western Africa
Algeria Mozambique Nigeria
Egypt Tanzania
Tunisia United Arab Emirates
AMERICA
North America South America Central America Caribbean
Canada Argentina Mexico Dominican Republic
USA Bolivia Panama Trinidad and Tobago
Brazil
Chile
Columbia
Ecuador
Peru
Venezuela
ASIA
Central Asia Southeastern Southern Western Eastern
Asia Asia Asia Asia
Armenia Indonesia Bangladesh Turkey China
Georgia Malaysia India Japan
Kazakhstan Myanmar Iran South
Korea
Kirghizia Philippines Pakistan
Tadzhikistan Singapore
Turkmenistan Thailand
Uzbekistan Vietnam
EUROPE
Northern Europe Eastern Europe Southern Europe Western Europe
Estonia Byelorussia Bosnia and Austria
Herzegovina
Finland Bulgaria Croatia Belgium
Great Britain Czech Republic Greece France
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3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The present Final Report has been prepared due to valuable contributions of the members
and partners of IGU Study Group 5.3 listed above.
The aim of the publication is to reflect the changes in the field of use of natural gas in its
different kinds occurred in the world since the last Report published in 2009.
The peculiarity of this document is represented (as it was mentioned in the Introduction) by
the fact that this is a joint effort of two important international organizations and their experts:
International Gas Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE).
This reason explains the structure of the Report.
The main part of it is represented by the Market Profile, i.e. a global overview of NGV
situation in different continents and countries of the world.
The world statistics show the 12 times growth of NGVs compared to 2000, i.e. from 1.2
million to 14.55 million of vehicles. During the period considered in this Repot the leadership
in NGVs development has passed from Latin America to Asia. Pakistan leads in the world
with 2.85 M NGVs and large governmental program supporting the development in the field.
The more spectacular dynamics showed Iran, India and China.
Iran with more than 17% share of natural gas resources in the world has superior condition
for substituting common liquid fossil fuels by natural gas.Partially unexpectedly it has cached
up with the leading group and takes the worlds second place with 2.85 M NGVs and 1800
filling stations.
In India the use of gaseous motor fuels receives a large governmental support. The
government has made a list of 201 cities where CNG and LPG facilities would be installed in
the coming years. Due to this support India takes now the 5th place in the world with 1.1 M
NGVs. Although many of NGVs are converted after-market vehicles.
China also can be considered as one of the newcomers of the NGV market. The availability
of natural gas in China is growing year by year due to the completion of significant domestic
pipeline infrastructure projects that connect to neighbouring countries pipelines. Likewise,
the amount of imported LNG in coastal areas of Southeast China is steadily increasing. This
relatively recent abundance of natural gas provides the backdrop for the development and
growth of NGV usage in China. Now there are in total 600.000 NGVs and 2.500 natural gas
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refuelling stations in China. These figures are increasing rapidly each year, encouraged by
more than 60 NGV car makers (OEMs) that have developed in China.
The Market Profile presents a wide picture of legal conditions and governmental support (or
lack of support) of NGVs development existing in different countries. It shows the main
technological trends in production of methane vehicles, high pressure cylinders, refueling
and other equipement.
If compared to the privious Final Reports, this one contains some material showing the use
of natural gas in transport under a new aspect. In Chapter 7.3 there is an arcticle: "LNG as a
bunkering fuel", which discribes the ships refuelling technologies, infrastructure development
and environmental effect. In Chapter 7.2: "Best practices: NGV refuelling stations" there is a
detailed analysis of CNG refuelling stations operation prepared through questioning the
experts working in this field in different countries.
Some space of the Report is dedicated to substantial analytical materials concerning the
main conditions and prospects of NGV market development. In large part they are
represented by position papers provided by NGVA Europe, such as: Minimum infrastructure
needs for methane (ng/biomethane) refuelling across Europe; EU emissions policies and its
impact on the European NGV market.
The first article is based on the premise, that taking into account the great environmental
benefits being related to natural gas and biomethane and despite the fact that more and
more ex-factory methane driven vehicles are being introduced to the European market place,
the market share of CNG and LNG vehicles is still rather small, now making up close to 1
million vehicles in the EU, which is making up a market share of only 0.4 % of the total
running fleet. And it offers some ways of improving the situation.
The second concerning the EU emission policies stresses that a market share of 20% of
natural gas in transport fuels would allow a 5% reduction of the CO2 emissions from all
European vehicles. Assuming that 20% of the gas used would be made up of biomethane,
the CO2 reduction would increase to 7%. European emission policies are clearly and
increasingly supporting NGVs and will remain the main driver for further market development
of CNG and LNG vehicles.
The Report contains some important materials concerning new technologies, especially
biomethane and hydrogen: Synergy of biomethane and natural gas; Natural gas blends
technology gas hydro; From concept to reality: smart transition to clean alternative fuels;
Promising NGV related technologies to enhance efficiency and safety.
By 2030 natural gas consumption in the European Union should increase by around 16%.
With the supply of natural gas becoming ever more dependent on imports, the papers
evaluate the possible contribution that substitute products such as biomethane could make to
satisfy the future demand for natural gas.
Today, natural gas and biomethane represent the most practical, realistic and easiest way to
reduce pollution coming from road transportation. At the same time, Hydrogen as a vehicle
fuel certainly is an interesting solution taking into account its environmental benefits.
However, to be realistic, fully propelled hydrogen vehicles still remain an insecure long term
option facing various obstacles, which must be solved first: open questions include e.g.
production pathways with regard to coherent pollution, energy and cost dimensions; the
organization and realization of a dedicated distribution network; the complexity and cost of
hydrogen vehicles and their main components, etc.
As a consequence, the presented papers are intended to present the huge potential that
methane/hydrogen blends can bring for the transport sector, as an ideal bridge to a more
sustainable mobility, by using the existing NG/biomethane distribution infrastructure.
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Some interesting examples of use of natural gas in transport are shown in the case studies:
Lille and the French case and First public LCNG filling station in Sweden.
The main conclusions and prospects for the future are summarised in Chapter 8 entitled
Natural Gas Vehicle Market In 2010 2020: Development Trends.
The Appendices of the Report include some special information.
Due to the UN ECE cooperation within the preparation of the Final Report some emphasis is
made on the situation in the UN ECE countries. That is why the first Appendix is dedicated to
the European GasHighWay project and contains a detailed description of situation in the
participating countries as well as the prospective location of filling stations.
The project is co-financed by the European Commission under the Intelligent Energy
Europe, a part of the EU's Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP).
The aim of the project is promoting the uptake of gaseous vehicle fuels, namely biomethane
and CNG, and especially the realization of a comprehensive network of filling stations for
these fuels spanning Europe from the north, Finland and Sweden, to the south, Italy.
The main objectives of the project are: increase of the general awareness of target groups in
the use of natural gas vehicles (NGVs), increase the supply of NG/biomethane by boosting
the investments in distribution systems for these alternative fuels and in biogas production
and biogas upgrading to enhance NGVs demand.
Due to the fact that the Blue Corridor concept becomes reality the second Appendix is
dedicated to examples of the functionality of the concept. Its vitality is shown first of all by
NGVs rally organized in different parts of the world: in Europe, in Latin America and Asia.
Their aim was to attract the attention of local authorities, car manufacturers, mass media and
general public to the benefits of introducing natural gas into engines.
The last Appendix is dedicated to the world NGV statistics traditionally provided by NGV
Communications Group.
In general the experts of the joint IGU / UN ECE study have come to the following
conclusions concerning the prospects of NGV market development.
Natural gas with its environmental, economic and availability advantages will remain the
only alternative to oil and diesel in the short and medium prospective. Only natural gas is
fully technically and economically applicable in any transportation means: on-road vehicles,
scooters, heavy duty vehicles, ships, aircrafts, locomotives, etc.
The average rate of the world NGV fleet growth reached 15% in the last decade of the past
century, and 26% in the 21st century. With the average growth of 18% the world NGV fleet
will reach 60 million by 2020. According to the conservative energy development scenario, by
2020 the methane share in the bulk of motor fuels will reach 11% in Asia, 12% in Americas
and 14% in Europe. The world gas consumption in transport is expected to increase from 20
bcm in 2010 up to 40-45 bcm in 2030. The coming decades will show the dramatic growth of
use of liquefied natural gas and liquefied biomethane.
The alleged deficit of natural gas is not really foreseen. The World Energy Outlook 2011
published the last November by the World Energy Agency states that the Gold Age of natural
gas is coming. The total recoverable reserves of natural gas will last for about 250 years with
the present rate of consumption. Such forecast opens wide prospects for natural gas as a
motor fuel.
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Collected by: Mr. Davor Matic, OMV Adria, Croatia; WOC 5.3; UN ECE NGV Expert Group
(with updates by WOC 5.3 / UN ECE NGV Expert Group members and partners)
The purpose of this chapter is to provide description of national and regional market
developments since 2009. In other words it should provide an insight to the market profiles
since end-2009 (when previous WOC 5 report was published) onwards with an aim to cover:
Statistics, economics and technology is described more in details in the other chapters.
For the purposes of this Report geographical sub-regions of the World referred to in this
Report are purely geographical not political areas of macro-regions divided so by the
United Nations Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (DESA).
Only those countries are subject to this report where natural gas vehicles and NGV related
infrastructure are available NGV according to the best knowledge of the S.G 5.3 Study Group
Members and Partners. If some countries are missed in this Report, it is a matter of nothing
but simple unawareness of the team (or the data unavailability regarding latest
developments).
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EUROPE
The Transport 2050 roadmap sets different goals for different types of journeys within cities,
between cities, and long distance.
For intercity travel: 50% of all medium-distance passenger and freight transport should
shift off the roads and onto rail and waterborne transport.
For long-distance travel and intercontinental freight, air travel and ships will continue to
dominate. New engines, fuels, and traffic management systems will increase efficiency
and reduce emissions.
For urban transport, a big shift to cleaner cars and cleaner fuels 50% shift away from
conventionally fuelled cars by 2030, phasing them out in cities by 2050.
Halve the use of conventionally fuelled cars in urban transport by 2030, phasing them
out in cities by 2050, and achieve essentially CO2-free movement of goods in major
urban centres by 2030.
Methane is part of the EU strategy for the future of transport outlined in the final draft of the
report of the European Expert Group released on January 2011. After the efficient vehicles
strategy, the European Commission has sketched out for the second time in a few months
the advantages that natural gas vehicles can bring in the attempt to make transport cleaner
and less dependent on oil. To reach this target, the expert group says that alternative fuels,
such as electricity, hydrogen, natural gas and biomethane, biofuels and LPG, should be
available EU wide with harmonised standards, to ensure EU-wide free circulation of all
vehicles and should benefit of harmonised and EU-wide incentives. Concerning methane,
the document underlines that building additional refuelling stations to ensure widespread
supply and that setting harmonised standards for bio-methane injection into the gas grid are
absolute priorities. In particular the expert group underlines the need for an infrastructure
development plan and stresses how investments in the sector can pave the way for further
environmental improvements: The gas grid can be made available also for bio-methane
feed-in to allow for a smooth change-over from fossil to renewable methane gas sources. In
a 2030-2050 perspective, bio-methane could account for a considerable part of the total
volume of methane used in Europe and the total potential of bio-methane supply is
comparable to the total present natural gas consumption of the EU. According to EU
experts, methane gas vehicles can play an important role in urban and medium distance
transport in the medium term and natural gas and biomethane should be promoted as one
of the main fuels in heavy urban transport. This is one of the many elements suggested by
and inserted into the draft report.
Thanks to the strong intervention of NGVA Europe, the European Commission proposal for
raising minimum taxation levels for natural gas already in 2015, has been modified. It now
allows member states to apply exemptions in taxes for natural gas used as a vehicle fuel
until 2023, and according to the proposed amendment to Article 15 (i), the member state can,
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but is not obliged, to make use of this possibility. This in part means that one of NGVA
Europe main political postulations not to raise any taxes at least for 10 years from now has
been accepted. Nevertheless and at the same time, it should be noted that this new
approach is not enough coherent under NGVA Europe point of view, taking into account that
natural gas vehicles are still a niche market in most European countries, and also the
strategic and environmental benefits associated to its use. The environmental impact of each
fuel and the fact that natural gas is the cleanest alternative is therefore being disregarded
and also the consideration of the market share aspect as suggested by NGVA Europe has
not been picked up. The Commission appreciated NGVA Europe concise contributions,
including its final statement.
Following the main recommendations from the Expert Group of Future Transport Fuels, the
European Commission officially introduced the 5th FP7 call for 2011/2012 research,
innovation and demonstration projects. One of the transport related calls is on the
Demonstration of heavy duty vehicles running with liquefied methane to promote LNG Blue
Corridors on medium and longer distances. The project will be part of the European Green
Cars initiative, which is one of the three PPP (Public Private Partnership) included in the
Commissions recovery package, and is designed as a large scale project having a total EU
funding of 8 million Euro (total funding for road transport related calls is 37 million out of 150
million allocated to FP7). In this partnership 50% of all related costs will be refundable. NGV
Europe has been encouraged to come up with a concrete proposal to carry out and co-
ordinate the LNG Blue Corridors project and is inviting interested partners (manufacturers,
fuel suppliers, operators, cities/regions as well as possible end-users; transport and logistic
companies).
The main objective of the project is to initiate a European network for sustainable road
transport by tackling non-technological barriers to the production of Liquefied BioMethane
(LBM), expansion of supply routes for LNG, and the use of LNG in heavy goods vehicles.
This will be done through an analysis and development phase, followed by pilot projects and
the initiation of a European network of production/refuelling facilities. The high autonomy
(600 to 800 km) of the long distance LNG trucks will reduce the number of the minimal
necessary filling stations to a relatively small number. Going to real numbers, the aim would
be to install in Europe a minimum of 10 new LNG/LBG filling stations, strategically situated,
and able to give service in the different main routes to not less than 50 to 100 LNG heavy
trucks. The analysis will be aimed at determining the member state and European market
barriers. In addition, the differences in legislation, taxation and subsidy programmes will be
investigated throughout Europe by the project partners. Moreover, recommendations will be
formulated for European policy makers. Finally, an effort will be made to normalise and
standardise the various technologies related to both, LMB production and application in
methane vehicles using LNG.
Taking into account that today the Iberian Peninsula is the part of Europe with more LNG
terminals, imagined are three initial LNG Blue Corridors:
A fourth transversal corridor could link UK, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Russia;
taking advantage of the filling points for the previous ones. An additional inland waters
corridor going up the river Danube will link Romania up to Vienna.
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Within the pilot projects, LBM production and identifying strategic supply routes of LNG for
application in heavy goods vehicles will be demonstrated in partner countries and several
regions being interested to apply the LNG concept in heavy goods transport, functioning as a
connector to other regions and big European cities using the same principle, thus creating
the LNG Blue Corridors. All pilot projects results will be monitored and disseminated to
potential users.
The EU has set out an ambitious strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from road vehicles and
much has been achieved already. Regulation (EC) No 443/2009 setting emission
performance standards for new passenger cars requires a fleet average emission of 130 g
CO2/km for new passenger cars to be fully achieved by 2015. Industry will need to invest
even more in emission reduction technologies, including smart traffic management
technologies, and further improve engine efficiency. This requirement could be achieved
much sooner, however by increasing the proportion of natural gas vehicles. This was
revealed in a recent study carried out by the CAR-Center Automotive Research at the
University of Duisburg-Essen. According to its results, NGVs provide the ideal bridging
technology into the age of electric vehicles; no other technology will allow us to reduce
overnight the harmful CO2 emissions of the vehicles at such a low cost due to the low
emissions of natural gas fuel, which can be reduced even further by the addition of bio-
methane. According to the authors this would enable the target for 2020 to be achieved five
years earlier.
Moreover a Commission proposal to reduce CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles
(vans) is currently being discussed by the Council and Parliament. It proposes a fleet
average emission for all new vans of 175 g/km as of 2016.
The EU has also reduced emissions of pollutants such as particulate matter and NO x by
setting ever stricter standards. Euro 6 limits for cars and vans and Euro VI for heavy-duty
vehicles will apply as of 2014. Even though petrol and diesel combustion engines will
become less dominant in the 2020 perspective, every means available must be used to
reduce their negative environmental impact.
Type-approval for road vehicles has been extended to cover all propulsion systems with the
aim of removing potential regulatory barriers and to ensure that alternative propulsion
vehicles are at least as safe as conventional ones. Therefore, common rules have already
been set out for hydrogen powered vehicles, gas fuelled vehicles and biofuels. Common
requirements are needed for electric vehicles too.
Regulation 2009/33/EC requires contracting entities and public and private operators to take
into account lifetime energy and emissions impacts (costs) when purchasing road transport
vehicles for fleets. It does not prevent the choice of retrofitted vehicles upgraded for higher
environmental performance. As an additional instrument to help the implementation of this
directive, European Commission launched a new website, http://www.cleanvehicle.eu, to
help consumers and public authorities to choose the cleanest and most efficient vehicle, so
to make the best choice that can help to save money in the medium and long term. Beyond
all the information on the costs and the emissions of vehicles, from passenger cars to light
and heavy duty vehicles to buses, the Portal provides information on public procurement
rules and incentives schemes for clean and energy-efficient vehicles on EU level and in all
Member States. The increase of sales will help reduce costs through economies of scale and
will result in progressive improvement in the energy and environmental performance of the
whole available fleet.
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Regulation 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources is
setting mandatory share of energy from RES in transport; at least 10% of the final
consumption of energy in transport of member state by 2020. It includes also biomethane
injected into the grid. Member states were obliged to prepare National Renewable Energy
Action Plans (member states national targets) until June 30rd 2010.
The European Commission has published a report, in mid-July 2011 saying that sulphur
dioxide emissions have to be cut by as much as 90 percent and particle emissions by 80
percent before January 2015. In particular, the decrease in the allowed maximum level of
sulphur content of maritime fuels should be stronger in sensitive areas such as the English
Channel, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, from 1.5% to 0,1%. In other areas the reduction
in sulphur contents will be from the current levels of 4.5% to 0.5% by January 2020.
According to the report, projections made in 2005 showed that without further regulatory
action, the continued growth in emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from the
maritime sector will surpass total emissions of these pollutants from all land-based sources
by 2020. The Group of experts indicated the way forward explaining how achievement of
these standards can be via purchase and use of low sulphur fuels, and also through
alternatives fuels and stressing that there is an increate interest in LNG as a fuel, especially
for those ships carrying cargo across short distances. In particular, using LNG would enable
such ships to comply with the requirements and also remain competitive with other modes of
transport.
The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) is heading an EU project with the aim to make
recommendations for creating a framework for the establishment of a maritime LNG
infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel. The framework,
involving the fulfilment of a feasibility study and test of recommendations, is to be considered
along two dimensions: a hard dimension with maritime LNG filling stations and a soft one
with regulation, classification rules and industrial standards and cooperation, etc. The project
has been formed in response to the recent IMO (International Maritime Organization)
regulation on shipping sets limits on sulphur and nitrogen oxide emissions from 2010, 2015
and 2016 (the 2016 provisions). The recommendations are to target central stakeholders for
the establishment and use of an LNG infrastructure encompassing technical as well as
economic issues. Central stakeholders mean ship-owners, ports, LNG providers, industry
organizations, states, the EU and the IMO, etc. The EU project description states that the
use of LNG seems an obvious alternative to meet the environmental demands in a
competitive way. But the absence of an LNG infrastructure for supplying LNG to ships that is
supported by regulation, industry standards, etc. does not make this alternative viable. The
recommendations will address LNG infrastructure from a supply chain point of view, from the
reception of LNG and/or liquefaction of natural gas from the natural gas grid, via storage and
distribution of LNG to the use of LNG in ships for propulsion. The project is co-financed by
the EU and is strategic in relation to the implementation of Motorways of the Seas according
to article 12A of the TEN-T (Trans-European Network) Guidelines on Motorways of the Seas.
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NORTHERN EUROPE
DENMARK was until recently country without any NGVs or CNG stations (a very late piece
of positive news is the advent of the first public CNG station). Danish situation is a problem
considering refuelling needs in NGVs trying to travel between other Nordic countries to
continental Europe. The background is the Danish taxation of natural gas used as a vehicle
fuel which makes CNG as expensive as diesel and petrol.
ICELAND is the only NGV country fully dependant on biomethane. New laws were passed
by the Icelandic parliament in December 2010 and enforced on 1st January 2011 that reflects
a systematic change in taxation on motor vehicles and fuels. No longer will motor vehicles in
Iceland be taxed based on engine size or total weight of but instead based on documented
emission of CO2/km of fossil origin. Both the excise duty and VAT have been placed on
motor vehicles in Iceland in the past but the %-range for the excise duty have been widened
placing an added cost on vehicles releasing GHG, of fossil origin, over 160 gr/km. Bio-fuels
will carry a VAT of 25.5% as before but the new law confirms that a special fuel fine that is
placed on petrol and diesel will not be placed on bio-methane or bio-diesel for some years to
come. The new law provides for the ability to import vehicles, capable of using bio-methane
as a primary fuel, without paying an excise duty up to the maximum deduction of 1,250,000
kr (app. 7,900 EUR). The deductions apply for all bi-fuel vehicles with two fuel tanks, a
methane tank and a petrol tank, as well as dual-fuel cars (methane/diesel). Also, the new law
places a bi-fuel car and a dual-fuel car in the lowest category for the annual vehicle-fee,
5,000 kr/year (app.31 EUR/year), as opposed to a high as 73,800 kr/year (app. 466
EUR/year) for each passenger car. This will apply regardless of how the car became
registered as a bi-fuel or dual-fuel car. Finally, the new laws confirmed that the government
has no intent in placing a special fuel fee on bio-fuel usage in transportation in Iceland.
In IRELAND national gas company, Bord Gis has launched a report on The Future of
Renewable Gas in Ireland. The report outlines how grass and waste can be converted into
natural gas that can then be used locally or piped into the national grid for distribution around
Ireland. The report estimates that 7.5% of Irelands natural gas demand could be met by
renewable gas. Bord Gis, which is currently trialling OEM NGVs in its fleet, uses Swedens
biomethane industry to show what is possible for natural gas vehicles.
The situation and prospects of CNG/NGVs in LATVIA are considered in the Chapter
concerning the European GasHighWay Project. The main statistic data look as follow. With
the total number of on-road vehicles of about 700 thousand units the number of NGVs
amounts only to 18, with one CNG filling station in the country. The major CNG filling station
operator is Latvjas Gaze. The average prices for motor fuels: CNG (EUR/m3) 0.38; oil
RON95 (EUR/l) 1.32; diesel (EUR/l) 1.28.
In LITHUANIA with the total fleet of on-road vehicles exceeding two million units it has 195
NGVs and 3 CNG filling stations. No incentives are offered by the state, and the fuel prices
do not differ so much: CNG: 0.88 /Nm3; gasoline95: 1.32 /l; diesel: 1.24 /l.
Recent developments in SWEDEN are targeted primarily in the direction of use of liquefied
methane and especially biomethane in heavy-duty applications.
Clean Air Power (CAP) reported to deliver eleven dual-fuel systems to Volvo Bus
Corporation under a new supply agreement. The agreement follows on from the
development agreement signed with Volvo Bus Corporation in July 2010 which stated that
the companies would jointly develop the installation of dual-fuel systems on existing bus
engines. These eleven dual-fuel systems will be fitted directly onto the buses on the Volvo
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production line and these buses are expected to be in service in Sweden by July 2011. Due
to this positive environmental impact, this project is receiving considerable support from the
Swedish government who are contributing almost SEK 24 million (US$ 3.54 million) of
funding towards the project through the Swedish Energy Agency. Further to this agreement,
the company is in follow-on discussions with Volvo Bus Corporation regarding the joint
development of dual-fuel engines for the next generation of Volvo Buses and bus chassis.
This supply agreement is separate from the supply agreement signed with Volvo Powertrain
in July 2010, and represents a further extension to the relationship which began in 2007. 1
In parallel, Volvo Trucks initiated testing of the dual fuel trucks developed under the
agreement with CAP. Field tests started in 2010 with a mixture containing 70 percent
methane gas. Series production was scheduled to get under way in August 2011. The Volvo
FM MethaneDiesel will initially be sold in Europe. First off the mark will be the Netherlands,
Great Britain and Sweden, where the gas infrastructure is best established. At present there
are plans to build about 100 trucks in 2011. The new Volvo FM MethaneDiesel is offered with
a 13-litre engine producing 460 horsepower. The fuel consists of up to 75 percent liquefied
gas and the rest diesel, but the proportions can vary depending on how the vehicle is used.
When liquid methane and diesel are used in a ratio of 75-25 percent, a truck performing long
haul or intercity duties has an operating range 500 to 1.000 km, depending on driving
conditions. Volvo Trucks has also started retailing in Sweden of refuse trucks and distribution
trucks using a 7-litre engine fitted with a Hardstaff QVM dual fuel solution 80 units had
already been sold in November 2011..
Business Region Gteborg, together with industry and transport authorities, has received
SEK 23.95 million (US$ 3.3 million) in Energy Agency funds for demonstration projects for
long-distance biomethane trucks and bus. The project aims to produce a strong market-rate
alternative to diesel-powered heavy vehicles. AB Volvo and Volvo Buses are the OEM
project participants. The project uses the term BiMe a reference to methane gas engine
(MDE) technology using compressed and liquefied biomethane. Liquefied biomethane
infrastructure is being expanded to allow the use of LNG trucks. The projects will develop
biogas technology in all its various stages production, distribution and automotive part
thereby allowing for heavy vehicles to meet the tough environmental standards being set for
them now and in the future. This development of BiMe trucks and buses is described as
having a unique potential to develop a market for heavy duty vehicles powered by liquid
biomethane in Sweden and open up environmental technology export opportunities. SEK 19
million will be invested in the development of an energy-efficient MDE truck engine. The
projects goals include 67 long-distance heavy duty trucks being powered by liquid
biomethane and at least three filling stations, one each in Gteborg, Stockholm and Malm.
Truck project participants are AB Volvo, along with the leading biogas suppliers in Sweden,
AGA, Eon and FordonsGas. Business Region Gteborg, which includes Energas Sweden
and Biogas West, is the project manager. The project is co-funded by the Vstra Gtaland
region. SEK 4.95 million will be invested in the development of an energy-efficient MDE bus
engine suitable for regional transportation, aiming to have 20 biomethane-powered buses on
the road by project end.
1
CAP has formally signed a Supply Agreement with Volvo Powertrain and a separate Development
Agreement with Volvo Bus Corporation. The new Supply and Development Agreement, initially for five
years, has been signed with Volvo Powertrain, a subsidiary of AB Volvo. It follows 3 years of close
cooperation on a product development partnership and supersedes the Letter of Intent signed in
January 2009. CAPs OEM product will be marketed and supported by Volvo Truck Corporation. The
testing in commercial operation was set to begin in 2010 and initially take place in UK, Sweden and
Thailand.
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Three filling stations for liquefied methane gas have been planned in Sweden to date.
Besides the completed one in Gteborg, Aga will open a filling station in Stockholm, and Eon
will open one in Malm. Volvo Trucks is a partner in all the projects (there are tentative plans
to build some 20 additional stations to provide an adequate nation-wide coverage)..
Scania has been granted SEK 30 million (US$ 4.4 million) by Swedens Strategic Vehicle
Research and Innovation Initiative (FFI) to develop a biofuel (alcohol and/or methane based)
engine intended for heavy commercial vehicles. The company will focus on developing an
engine using sustainable biofuels that will combine the high energy efficiency of diesel
(compression ignition) technology with the more efficient exhaust after-treatment system of
Otto (spark ignition) technology.
In the LDVs segment, somet three years after the withdrawal in 2006 of Volvos popular bi-
fuel CNG/gasoline range, a Volvo bi-fuel model again became available. The company is
backing conversions from Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV), a privately-owned Gothenburg
based company, which has started converting the Volvo V70 model into a bi-fuel version.
Canadian Westport Light Duty in the autumn of 2011 purchased AFV. The Volvo V70 2.5 Bi-
Fuel, is based on Volvos current V70 model. The converted Volvo will be insured and
financed the same way as other Volvo cars in Volvia and Volvo Financial Services. The
buyer will also receive the usual 24-month new car warranty. The only difference is that AFV
will take over responsibility for the product after the conversion. The Nordic branch of
Japanese carmaker Subaru plans to produce vehicles in Sweden. Subaru Nordic plans to
convert its midsize Legacy and crossover Outback models to CNG system. Although the
company is confident that there is interest for more than 2.000 units of these vehicles, it has
not yet determined the number of cars that will be manufactured because it is awaiting a
government decision on company car income tax priviledges after 2012. The cars would be
sold in Finland and the rest of European market.
Latest status concerning incentives and supportive measures (end 2011) for methane use in
transport sector in Sweden is as follows:
40% reduction of taxable value of benefit via the free use of company cars is for NGVs
typically worth Euro 900 annually in tax savings.
Priority lanes for gas fuelled taxi-cabs at airports, railway stations, and ferry terminals
means much reduced time waiting for a new passenger and thus higher earnings.
A number of municipalities offer free or reduced cost parking for NGVs.
Annual road tax is about one third of the tax on petrol fuelled vehicles.
Previous large annual road tax advantage (some 3-400 EUR) compared to diesel
vehicles now, unfortunately, only valid when comparing with diesel vehicles older than
five years.
Many municipalities (also various private companies looking to improve their green
image) give priority to CNG cabs or other NGVs when ordering taxi services or other
transportation jobs.
Various incentives in support of new bio-methane production units, not only conventional
AD plants, but also projects aiming to gasify forest industry waste and reform into bio-
methane.
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Fuelling cost advantage for Otto engine NGVs on average up to 24% in comparison with use
of petrol and up to some 10% in comparison with more fuel efficient diesel vehicles. Fuelling
cost advantage for methane used in dual fuel trucks above 20%.
Norwegian Torghatten Nord has ordered four LNG ferries from the Polish Remontowa
shipyard in Gdansk. This order is additional to four earlier ordered ferries now being built by
Remontowa. Two new Fjord Line cruise ferries, to be built at Bergen, may be fitted with dual-
fuel LNG engines. LNG/LBG considered for future ships plying the Gotland to Swedish
mainland routes. GDF Suez subsidiary Cofely develops use of LNG/LBG fuelled ferry for use
on Dutch Harlingen-Terschelling/Vlieland route. Norwegian NSK shipping has ordered an
LNG fuelled coastal general cargo vessel to be built in Tersan (Turkey) with delivery in 2012.
Viking Line on October 25th, 2010, announced the intention to order a 240 million LNG ferry
for delivery in early 2013 from the STX Finland shipyard in Turku. The ship will be used on
the Stockholm-Turku route. The ferry has on overall length of 210 metres and a gross
tonnage of 57.000. The top speed is 23 knots, and the ship will hold 2.300 passengers, and a
crew of 200. The deal also includes an option on a sister ship. The Indian Bahrati Shipyard
will build two LNG powered RoRo vessels for Norwegian Sea-Cargo. Norwegian shipbuilder
Kleven Maritime has signed a new contract with Rem Offshore, fishing and supply shipping
company based in Fosnavg, for delivery of a LNG-powered offshore vessel, scheduled for
delivery in December 2012. STX Norway Offshore has entered into three separate contracts
in recent days to build LNG-powered platform supply vessels (PSVs) scheduled for delivery
in 2012.
Finlands Wrtsil Corporation, a ship power solution provider, has received an order from
Eidesvik Offshore for LNG Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) to be Eidesviks fifth LNG-powered
PSV. The vessel will be fitted for use in arctic waters with winterization and de-icing
solutions, and is to be built at Kleven Verft in Norway. The dual-fuel units enable, in addition
to heavy fuel oil (HFO) and marine diesel oil (MDO), the use of gas as a main fuel for marine
applications. Furthermore, Wrtsil is cooperating with Korean Samsung Heavy Industries,
the world second largest shipbuilder, concerning a new LNG powered container vessel
design. The intention is to jointly develop next-generation ships with efficient and competitive
propulsion machinery concepts that meet or exceed the demands of future environmental
regulations, especially relevant in Emission Control Areas (ECAs). In gas mode, this dual fuel
engines already complies with the IMOs Tier III regulations which come into force in 2016.
Wrtsil earlier on November 2010 signed an MoU regarding future cooperation with the
Russian United Shipbuilding Corp. for joint developments of ship designs and propulsion
systems. Wrtsil and Deltamarin (designers of cruise ships and ferries) in a joint press
release on October 2010 announced their co-operation concerning dual fuel powered ferries
intended for traffic in the North American coastal waters.
The Norwegian transport corporation Fjord1 has entered into a contract with Norwegian-
registered Fiskerstrand BLRT AS to plan and construct what is said to be the worlds largest
gas-powered ferry. The run for the records in this segment (see the section on France
bellow). The ferry will run on LNG and will be delivered on 30 November 2011. The new
LNG-powered ferry is designed by Multi Maritime AS in Frde and will have a total length of
130 metres and a capacity of 242 cars and/or 22 lorries in combination with cars. It will hold
600 passengers including staff. Maximum speed is to be around 20 knots. Following the
success of the worlds first ferry to run on natural gas with MF Glutra in 2000, Fjord1 is still
the only company using natural gas ferries for vehicle and public transportation with five
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more large vessels operating the busy links along the busy coastal roads of Norway. Fjord1
will by the end of 2011 have 12 gas ferries in operation along the Norwegian coast, making
the company a world leader.
The 25,000 dwt product tanker Bit Viking was the first vessel ever to undergo a conversion
by Wrtsil from heavy fuel oil to liquefied natural gas (LNG) operation. The unique fuel
conversion of the product tanker Bit Viking, from heavy fuel oil to gas operation, has been
finalised and in October 2011.
As regards the on-road situation in Finland, detailed overview can be found in the Gas
Higway project report in the Appendix of this report.
In Norway, a comprehensive report entitled Biogas as Fuel for Buses, prepared by HOG
Energy and signed off in December 2010, proposes that for climate and environmental
reasons Norway should focus on biogas as fuel for buses. An interim report resulted in the
City Council in Bergen deciding to build a biogas plant with sewage sludge as raw materials,
and build up an extensive infrastructure for natural gas. Over 80 buses now operate on
natural gas in that city. New gas buses are used in Trondheim (third largest town in Norway),
and biomethane is in use as a fuel in Oslo.
In the UNITED KINGDOM Iveco is extending its line-up of natural gas powered heavy duty
trucks in the UK and Ireland with the launch of a new range of Stralis rigids and tractor units
designed to run on LNG. Clean Air Power has received a purchase order from a global
manufacturer of construction equipment to develop a dual-fuel Snow-Blower demonstrator to
be delivered to Stockholm airport, Sweden. Under the terms of the agreement, CAP will
convert two 9 litre engines with the purpose of demonstrating the efficiency and cost saving
capabilities that its technology offers end users. To this effect, the target is to reach a 50%
substitution level, which is the measure of energy substituted by gas. The demonstration was
due to be completed by May 2011. End 2009, Optare plc, a bus designer and manufacturer
based in the United Kingdom, has reached an agreement with the Hardstaff Group giving it
exclusive rights to the Hardstaff OIGI (Oil Ignition Gas Injection) dual-fuel conversion system
for use in both new and existing passenger service vehicles. Buses using the injection
system will achieve carbon reduction levels in excess of 50% of those from a conventional
diesel only bus when utilising biomethane derived from landfill gas or anaerobic digestion.
These buses would also be eligible for the Governments Green Bus Grant.
Coca-Cola Enterprises will be delivering its branded soft drinks to the London 2012 Olympic
Games (of which it is an official sponsor) on trucks fuelled by biomethane as part of a drive to
cut carbon emissions within its fleet operations.
WESTERN EUROPE
In AUSTRIA the CNG network saw a fast growth of public CNG network since 2009. Based
on a Five Point Action Program to Promote Natural Gas/Biomethane as Automotive Fuel
signed by OMV and Austrian Minister for Environment in June 2006 Austrian gas industry
invested heavily in the needed infrastructure. Whereas in March 2008 the opening of the
100th public filing CNG filling station had been celebrated, only one year later, in November
2009 the number of public CNG sites reached 150. Per end of 2011 in Austria 171 public
CNG sites cover the whole country, with focus on major cities (19 CNG site in Vienna) and
main roads.
Incentives for NGV are still limited: for new cars a tax reduction up to 600 can be achieved
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and some gas companies support new NGVs with a one time incentive.
M. Stohl has been driving his CNG rally car very successfully in Austrian Rally Championship.
With 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in overall results in the last 3 competitions sponsored by FGW
Austria he showed a great performance. FGW as Austrian association of gas industry had
his 2010 image campaign fully dedicated to NGVs.
Some companies starting tests with HD NGV to reduce the CO2-footprint in delivery.
For more details see also report on Gas Highway project in the Appendix of this report.
BELGIUM is improving natural gas fuel highway connections with its neighbours Germany
and the Netherlands. Two of planned four unmanned CNG refuelling facilities (provider
Dats24) have been opened in 2010, in the Antwerp port region, and two more were planned
for completion by the end of 2010. Additionally there are plans for another four stations in the
near future. Currently, Belgium has only a handful of CNG filling stations, but soon it should
be possible in refuel NGVs in Antwerp, Anderlecht, Ninove and Halle.
In FRANCE, a joint ministry (Ecology, Economy and Budget) statement in France has
declared several changes to the 2011 ecological bonus-malus scheme which sets incentives
for purchasing low-emission vehicles. The government says the bonus-malus, which was
initiated in 2008, has fully met its objectives by encouraging buyers of new vehicles to
choose low CO2 models. Declaring their goal achieved, the government has removed the
bonus for buying a natural gas vehicle from 1st January 2011. Reduced bonuses remain in
place however for purchasers of low-emission vehicles in general, including any NGVs that fit
within the approved emission brackets. The average CO2 emissions per kilometer for new
vehicles changed from 149 grams in 2007 to 131 grams in 2010, representing a 12%
reduction of CO2 emissions from automobiles, placing France at the top of European
countries according to the ministerial statement. This improvement was also accompanied by
a significant decrease in fuel consumption.
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NATURAL GAS FOR VEHICLES IGU & UN ECE JOINT REPORT
Renault Trucks is continuing to expand its Clean Tech Natural Gas offering. As a
complement to its refuse collection version (RCV) introduced in autumn 2010. Renault
Premium Distribution NGV is now available in France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, the
Netherlands and Norway. Renault Trucks is also planning to update its NGV offering on the
Midlum. The Renault Trucks NGV range is mainly designed for urban or suburban
applications by captive fleets in distribution activities (of fresh or dried goods), street cleaning,
industrial or domestic waste transport as well as for the collection of waste requiring a boom
arm, such as glass. With reduced noise level, which can be as much as 2 dB, fleet managers
can extend their vehicles operating hours, using it earlier in the morning and later in the
evening.
In the off-road segment, French ferry operator, Brittany Ferries, and shipbuilder, STX France,
are embarking on a joint project to develop a new generation of environmentally-friendly
passenger ferries. Powered by dual-fuel engines, which will burn LNG combined with a high
efficiency electric propulsion system, the new vessel will reduce energy consumption and
CO2 emissions by 15 20% compared to current ferries. Furthermore, pollution by nitrous
and sulphurous oxides will be almost eliminated. The new ship is planned to be able to
accommodate 2,400 passengers, 650 cars and 40 lorries and have a maximum speed of 25
knots. The vessels structure will make use of lighter compound materials and high strength
glues, together with advanced hull design.
The Government of LUXEMBOURG has set up the premium CAR-e and the premium CAR-e
plus funding schemas aiming to promote the CO2 reduction of car traffic. The premium e-
CAR is a financial support of the state of 750 EUR, and is aimed at people who have
purchased a car that fulfils the following CO2 emission limits/standards:
120 g/km (160 g/km, under certain conditions, i.e. for NGV) when the car from 31st July
2010 is registered for the first time.
110 g/km (160 g/km, under certain conditions) when the car from 1st August 2010 is
registered for the first time.
To get the benefit of the premium e-CAR the first registration of the cars in the following
periods has been held:
Between the 1st June 2007 and 31st December 2010, when the owner is a "personne
physique".
Between the 1st June 2008 and 31st December 2010, when the owner was a personne
morale de droit priv".
The premium is doubled to 1,500 EUR if the car's CO2 emission limit of 100 g/km does not
exceed and is registered in the course of 2010 for the first time. A latest modification on the
schema reduces the threshold of CO2 emissions from 120 g/km to 110 g / km as from 1st
August 2010. The amount of 750 will continue to apply, as the threshold of 160 g/km for
large family cars, electric cars, hybrid or gas cars.
In NETHERLANDS the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, has set aside 2.6
million (US$ 3.79 million) in grants for the purchase of new company cars that run on green
gas, biogas and higher blends of biofuels. The program starts July 1st 2011 and is an
initiative of the ministry to encourage companies, water authorities and research institutions
to use of clean fuels while reducing CO2 emissions and the use of fossil fuels. The pilot grant
program for sustainable mobility: biogas and higher blends of biofuels, will run from July 1st to
December 30rd, 2011. A minimum of three new commercial vehicles (passenger cars or
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NATURAL GAS FOR VEHICLES IGU & UN ECE JOINT REPORT
vans) per application. The grant is 3.000 (US$ 4.370) per car and up to 100.000
(US$ 145.700) per project. The cars must be purchased ready to operate on clean fuels or
be converted to operate on clean fuels immediately upon delivery. In the Netherlands Fiat
Natural Power vans are being offered at the same price as diesel models and with free green
gas (biomethane) in collaboration with regional gas supplier OrangeGas, for the first 10.000
km.
In the heavy-duty LNG segment, Vos Logistics, together with Mercedes-Benz Nederland,
LNG Europe, Van Gansewinkel and Indox CryoEnergy Spain, has taken the initiative to
enable trucks in the Netherlands to run on LNG. The group has collaborated on the first LNG
filling station in mainland north-west Europe. Vos Logistics is planning to replace a significant
part of its distribution fleet with LNG trucks if economically feasible, beginning with 50 to 100
trucks. Rolande LNG B.V. (Rolande), a Kaatsheuvel-based specialist in supplying LNG and
liquefied biogas (LBG) for road transport applications, has facilitated in early 2010 what could
be the first heavy-duty mono-fuel truck in Europe to run on liquid biomethane. Working in
close cooperation with IVECO in the Netherlands, Rolande brought the concept to reality by
converting an IVECO Stralis CNG to run on LNG/LBG. It is currently being used to
demonstrate and convince the transport industry of the many advantages of using LBG as
fuel. In July 2011, Volvo Trucks has delivered the first FM model dual fuel trucks to logistics
transporters (Wezenberg Group and Dasko Group) and Jumbo Supermarkets.
LNG fuelled river boat transport is paving the way in Netherlands. In end 2011 a 5,600 dwt
motorized barge was delivered in the Netherlands. This ship will travel up and down the
Rhine river as far as Basle in Switzerland.
In GERMANY the government has outlined its new long-term energy strategy for the
promotion of natural gas and biomethane as a fuel for vehicles. Under the title of The
Challenge of Mobility, the government clearly states: The Federal Government supports the
growing sales of natural gas vehicles. It plans to continue indefinitely the tax concession for
natural gas as part of its drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The strategic
commitment by the federal government is intended to provide long-term planning security for
gas suppliers and vehicle manufacturers and will further boost the market. Also for gas
station operators, this is seen as an important signal to continue to invest in alternative fuel.
Deutsche Energie-Agentur (DENA German Energy Agency) has released the results of a
study entitled Enhancing the role of natural gas and biomethane in transport: concept for a
roadmap process. Amongst an array of findings it recognises that in Germany transport is
still over 90% dependent on oil, while CO2 emissions from transport have only been reduced
by about 6% since 1990. The study contains recommendations for several courses of action,
aimed at greater uptake of natural gas vehicles and recognition of the potential contribution
of natural gas and biomethane toward achieving Germanys CO2 reduction goal over 40%
across all sectors by 2020. Recommendations for action focus on vehicle offers, fuel supply
infrastructure, taxation, and price display, ending with a strategy for development of a
Roadmap process.
Since January 2011, Daimler AG offers a natural gas version of the E-class, following on
from the very successful B-class. The 4-cylinder engine produces 120 kW (or 163 hp) and
reaches a top speed of 224 km/h. the developers have managed to reduce gas consumption
compared to its predecessor. On average, the Mercedes E 200 NGT BlueEFFICIENCY only
requires about 5.5 kilograms of natural gas per 100 kilometres. This not only results in lower
fuel costs but also in a much improved carbon footprint. According to the manufacturer, CO2
emissions are 149 grams per kilometre. Around 360 kilometres can be covered with natural
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gas without a need to refuel. A petrol tank is also included for emergencies, thus extending
the range to around 1.100 kilometres.
Daimler and the Linde Group plan to construct an additional 20 hydrogen filling stations in
Germany over the coming three years, ensuring a supply of hydrogen produced purely from
renewable resources for the steadily increasing number of fuel-cell vehicles on the roads.
Construction and commissioning of the new filling stations will already start in 2012. The aim
is to use existing sites belonging to different petroleum companies that are strategically
located in the traffic network. This will make it possible to drive anywhere in Germany with a
fuel-cell-powered vehicle for the first time.
Daimler AG and Robert Bosch GmbH have in July 2011 completed their negotiations and
signed agreements on the establishment of a 50:50 joint venture for electric motors. The
preparatory activities for the establishment of the joint venture have already begun, and the
production of motors is due to commence at the start of 2012. From that same year, the
traction motors will be used in the electric vehicles of both the Mercedes-Benz and smart
brands, starting with the new generation of the smart fortwo electric drive, which is to go on
sale in early 2012.
Volkswagen has produced a new re-styled Passat. Promoted as a long distance touring car
for business or private use, the Passat is once again offered with with a bi-fuel
(gasoline/natural gas) EcoFuel engine. VW says all ten engine options for the new Passat,
including the 110 kW / 150 PS (TSI EcoFuel), have achieved up to 18% fuel reduction over
the previous model.
Furthermore, Volkswagen has launched its new up! small car range, which will include a
natural gas engine variant. The basic bi-fuel engine (petrol/natural gas), with output of 50 kW
/ 68 PS, has a combined fuel consumption of 3.2 kg/100 km (natural gas), equivalent to a
CO2 value of 86 g/km. As a BlueMotion Technology version the natural gas-powered up!
attains a low CO2 value of 79 g/km. The natural gas up! will be launched on the European
market after the petrol versions (due in December), so should be available in 2012. With its
3.54 metre length and 1.64 metre width, the up! is one of the smallest four-seat cars; it is
1.48 metres high.
Audi will begin series production of CNG models that will be powered by e-gas, which is
synthetic methane created via the methanation of hydrogen produced by electrolysis with
renewable electricity, starting in 2013. Although no official announcement has been made, a
spokesperson from Audis Product and Technology Communications has confirmed that Audi
is developing a natural gas variant of the next generation A3 (2013) named A3 TCNG and
the next generation A4 (2014). No technical details or image for the A4 TCNG are available
at this stage.
The new generation Opel Combo is available with six engines: four diesel, one gasoline and
a CNG Compressed Natural Gas unit. The CNG version delivers 88 kW/120 hp. The new
Opel Zafira Tourer will be unveiled in September 2011 and, according to Opel, it will once
again be available in a natural gas version not long after this initial launch.
Although not the primary topic of this chapter, which has an emphasis on market
development and key drivers, several technology developments are worthwhile mentioning.
Meta Motoren-und Energie-Technik GmbH (Meta) developers are working on a concept for a
compact class natural gas engine that produces 66 kW (90 hp), consuming 2.5 kilograms of
natural gas per 100 km only. This would correspond to CO2 emissions of just 69 grams per
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kilometre on CNG and almost nil using biomethane. It is anticipated the Meta engine will
emulate the performance and running smoothness of comparable diesel and gasoline
engines. Based on the Meta-owned technology the 2-piston-engine will be about 25-35%
lighter compared to conventional combustion engines of the same performance; it will be
highly charged and optimized regarding efficiency.
Opel, Robert Bosch, IVK (Internal Combustion Engines and Automotive Engineering) and
FKFS (Forschungsinstitut fr Kraftfahrwesen und Fahrzeugmotoren Stuttgart) have been
working on a natural gas hybrid vehicle, aimed at developing an NGV prototype emitting less
than 90 grams CO2/km emissions. The primary goal is developing a prototype of a CNG-
fueled parallel hybrid based on an Opel Astra Caravan with less than 90 grams CO2/km
emissions. In recent years two methods, namely downsizing and downspeeding, were
established on the market to reduce CO2 emissions while maintaining the driving
performance of engines with identical effective power but a larger displacement.
Characteristic for both methods is the shift of engine operating points towards higher loads
and therefore to areas of better brake specific fuel consumption.
In the biomethane segment positive examples can be recorded as well. The German waste
collection operator BSR has started the construction of a biogas facility in Berlin. The new
site will be capable of displacing 2.5 million litres of diesel per year. So far, the company has
put into operations 93 CNG powered Daimler trucks, and plans to expand its fleet up to 140
vehicles.
On the 2010 and 2011 Geneva Motor Shows Swiss Gasmobil exhibited concept car: the Fiat
500 1.4 Natural Power Turbo with efficient engine technology and natural gas/biogas fuel. It
delivers higher performance coupled with extremely low CO2 emissions and optimum
efficiency. The 5-speed, 2-cylinder turbo delivers 62 kW/85 HP at a natural/biogas
consumption of only 2.9 kg/100 km and a climate-relevant CO2 output of 72 g/km.
Environmental Car List of the VCS Traffic Club of Switzerland for the first time placed a
natural gas vehicle (Fiat 500 natural gas-turbo MTA) on the first place.
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EASTERN EUROPE
BELARUS with the total number of on-road vehicles of about 3.3 million has about 4600
NGVs filled by 26 mother and 16 daughter stations. No incentives are offered by the state.
The development of NGVs in the country is supported by low prices for CNG: 0.19/ncm
compared to gasoline95: 0.66/l and diesel: 0.59/l.
In BULGARIA LPG is already in saturation phase and has some tendencies to decline as a
car fuel (opening the option for CNG as far as CNG is still not excised). 2% of total number of
registered vehicles are NGVs (reached in 7 years), 99% retrofits but with increasing OEM
models import. Oil and gas companies are introducing CNG at its petrol filling stations. The
total number of NGV is 61.2 thousand, the total number of CNG refuelling stations is 87.
CZECH REPUBLIC is well covered with the OEM CNG manufacturers and models present,
both in the Light and Heavy Duty segment with the Tedom, SOR and Irisbus Iveco CNG
buses also manufactured locally. The Czech Republics government passed a resolution in
2005 for the promotion of natural gas as an alternative fuel. The resolution aims to build
natural gas up to 10 percent or all transportation fuel consumed by 2020, in line with
European White Paper on transport policy in effect at that time. That target would see
400.000 CNG vehicles and 400 CNG stations in operation by 2020. Currently the Czech
Republic operates 50 CNG stations.
Skoda auto presented CNG prototypes in May 2007, but unfortunately, with no further steps
towards commercial production until now.
Police in Ostrava, the Czech Republics third largest city, have decided to switch half of their
36 patrol vehicles to CNG operation. Skoda models, the Octavia and Fabia, have been
selected for conversion.
For more detailed information on the Czech Republic situation see Appendix I concerning the
GasHighWay Project.
In HUNGARY gas distributor for Hungarys capital city of Budapest, Fvrosi Gzmvek Zrt.
(FGZ), has entered into a strategic agreement with MOL Hungarian Oil and Gas
Company to install the citys first CNG dispenser at a public filling station. The first dispenser
was scheduled for opening in summer 2011 and may be followed by installations at other
MOL stations. The company is aiming to increase public awareness of CNG as a vehicle fuel
following a successful pilot project launched in 2008. The initiative forms part of the FGZ
corporate citizenship strategy for environmental improvements. The total number of NGV is
300, the total number of CNG refuelling stations is 16.
The total number of on-road vehicles in MOLDOVA is about 540.495. The total number of
CNG filling stations is 24. The main operator of CNG filling stations is Moldovagaz. The gas
realization per year is about 5 mil nm3. The exact number of NGVs is unknown. No incentives
are offered by the state. The development of NGVs is supported by prices for CNG: 0.45
/nm3, i.e. about half price of gasoline (1,047 /l) and diesel (1 ).
In POLAND crucial aspect of the use of NGVs is public transportation and vans that operate
on a limited area. On February 2010 the Board of Directors Polish Oil and Gas Company
decided to accept the strategy for the POGC Capital Group for the development of the
natural gas market for the propulsion of vehicles. Currently (spring 2011) there is intensive
work on the accepted document. Activities for support CNG sector in the regulatory area:
application to the Ministry of Economy on maintaining a zero rate of excise duty; lobbying
activities undertaken by the Chamber of the Natural Gas Industry in order to maintain a zero
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rate of excise duty; participation of representatives of POGC in the Inter-ministerial Group for
the competitiveness of the automotive industry at the Ministry of Economy; introduction of
flexible CNG price by reference to wholesale price of diesel (order and acceptation with
complicity with the Chamber of the Natural Gas Industry); a study of legal and fiscal
environment in the CNG segment; obtaining a decision from Transportation Technical
Supervision for allow unattended fuelling CNG and application to the Ministry of
Infrastructure for creation a CNG road sign. Actions to support CNG sector in the marketing
area includes cooperation with importers of cars (Fiat, Iveco, Mercedes, Volkswagen) and
cooperation with the media in the promotion of CNG as a fuel. Characteristics of the main
strategic objectives for future years: the increase in operating profitability in POGC
framework in order to ensure long term viability of CNG segment within the Company in
terms of creating economic value; construction of new CNG stations for corporate clients in
order to ensure the strategic development of infrastructure for CNG in Poland, which
international experience has shown that in the long term can lead to increased use of CNG
as fuel in road transport and increase the volume of sales of compressed natural gas and
CNG sales volume growth to drive revenue POGC either directly for the segment (CNG
sales) and in the other areas (distribution).
NGV advocates in Russian industries, Government and Parliament are drafting the federal
law on the use of gaseous transportation fuels to support natural gas and LPG markets.
The Government Resolution of 1993 sets the upper limit for the retail price of CNG at the
filling station. It shall not exceed 50% of the regional retail price for the lowest grade gasoline
A-76. It is a very encouraging incentive: In August 2011 natural gas for vehicles costs 2 3
times cheaper than diesel or gasoline. No other economic or administrative incentives are
enforced in Russia.
In the Russian Federation there is no single document that would regulate projection,
construction and operation of CNG or LNG filling station. There are about 400 plus norms,
standards and code of practice that have to be taken into account during the construction of
natural gas filling facility.
The lack of national Law and appealing incentives is one of the reasons why Russian vehicle
manufacturers are not very much encouraged to invest into OEM supply of NGVs. However,
KAMAZ Russian leader and champion in commercial truck production (10 times winner of
Paris-Dakar Rally in trucks category) has designed a CNG chassis that is used for a broad
range of NGV applications: trucks, garbage collecting, buses and other.
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The key players on the Russian NGV market are: Ministry of Energy, JSC Gazprom, National
Gas Vehicle Association (NGVRUS).
Billionaire Mikhail D. Prokhorov introduced Russias first electric car with gas system in
December 2010. The car, named after the Russian letter (Yo) uses a small petroleum
engine powered by petrol or natural gas which should run nearly continuously (therefore, at
its most efficient rate at all times) to generate electric power. Then the electricity is used to
directly move the engine/car or fills a bank of capacitors that can hold only a small charge.
The two electric motors are the ones that will propel the car. The Yo consume about 67 miles
per gallon (about 28.5 km per litre). Mass production will begin in St. Petersburg plant (by
Yo-Avto, joint venture between the Prokhorovs Onexim Group and Yarovit-Motors, producer
of multi-axial highway trucks and cargo capacity for working in difficult road and weather
conditions) in mid-2012 with initially 10.000 cars a year at a cost of US$ 12.000 to
US$ 15.000. Annual production should achieve 45.000 units and by mid-June 2011 122.800
vehicles were ordered. Yo has a maximum speed of 120 km per hour with a driving range of
almost 1.100 km if both its natural gas and petrol tanks are filled (400 km on methane). The
average fuel consumption is 3.5 liter/100 km. Two of the Yo-mobile models were showcased
at prime-minister Putins Novo-Ogaryovo residence and prime-minister Putin drove the CNG
hybrid Yo-mobile from his residence to President Dmitry Medvedev's country house outside
Moscow, and hailed it as an example to the governments innovation commission.
Company AvtoVAZ commenced development of a test model Lada Priora which runs on
gasoline and CNG. Expectations are that by late 2011-early 2012 this car will leave the
conveyor line. Russia also has three major truck manufacturers that sell NGVs: ZIL, GAZ and
KAMAZ.
KAMAZ recently introduced Farid Minipac MK2 garbage truck. The medium-tonnage rear-
loading garbage truck powered by CNG is designed for mechanical and manual collection of
solid wastes in cramped urban environments. The vehicle is equipped with an imported Euro-
5 compliant engine and is especially useful for cities where large-size machinery is denied
access.
On the infrastructure development side, Gazprom has raised the possibility of a CNG corridor,
to run from Moscow to Kaliningrad on Polands north-eastern border. The subject was
reportedly discussed during a recent visit by President Medvedev and government officials to
the region. Additionally Gazprom has expressed interest in the further development of
Polands natural gas fuelling infrastructure. In Russia, Gazprom plans to double the number
of natural gas filing stations in the country (it aims at the installation of 200 of these stations).
90% of all CNG sold in Russia was taken from Gazproms filling stations. The firm has
already started cooperation with the Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Kaluga, Tambov, Oryol,
Kaliningrad regions and cities of the Moscow region and Nadym.
Russia updates it national standards and harmonises the norms with the ISO. Apart from
revising outdated national standards, today Russia wishes to eliminate regulatory gaps in
areas where there are no standards at all. The main area that got a lot of attention is the
standardization of the rules for the production and supply of LNG. It was resolved to develop
a regulatory framework for small-scale production, storage and utilization of LNG. This
project has been funded by Gazprom. Many of the firms corporate standards are adopted
into the national norms. There is a possibility that some Gazprom standards would be used
to form the basis of ISO standards.
The city council of Moscow passed in June 2010 Resolution: State of the Works and Further
Measures to Promote the Use of Compressed Natural Gas as a Motor Fuel for the
Automotive transport of Moscow. The Resolution aims to reduce the harmful effects of
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transport on environment and health of the population of Moscow by expanding the use of
CNG as a motor fuel in the city. Practical implementation is underway, facilitated by an
earlier decision by the Moscow government which introduced alternative motor fuels for road
transport to the city. Areas for potential investment are: building CNG/LNG filling stations;
assembly / construction of OEM NGVs; manufacturing high pressure cylinders and setting up
transportation companies (taxis, buses, trucks) that use NGVs. The key points of the
Resolution are: social facilities (hospitals, kindergartens, schools) shall be served by Euro-4
vehicles or CNG vehicles; electrical and CNG trucks vehicles will be exempt from the ban to
enter the central area of Moscow; communal vehicles in the central are of Moscow shall use
alternative fuels (CNG, electric power), multifuel filling stations in Moscow, where CNG make
no less than 30% of the overall fuel sales, and automotive companies, where no less than
50% of the fleet are vehicle powered by alternative fuels (CNG and electric power) may get
at least 5-year land tax holidays; six Moscow bus companies will switch to CNG; 21 sites are
approved for construction CNG filling stations; filling stations without CNG options will not be
allowed in Moscow; a Moscow law on the Use of Alternative Transportation Fuels will be
developed; electrical and CNG trucks vehicles will be exempt from the ban to enter restricted
traffic zones; Government of Moscow intends to begin OEM production of NGVs in the city;
Moscow NGVs will be used to serve the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, in February
2014 and biomethane from sewage water and landfills will be produced in Moscow.
Stavropol Krai, a federal subject located in Russias south-west is running a regional program
called The use in the Stavropol region of CNG as motor fuel in 2011-2013, implemented
under federal law in 2009. The program aims to have 6.000 vehicles start using CNG during
this time (the predominant focus on KAMAZ products). The administration of Stavropol Krai
plans not only to gradually transfer vehicles to the use of CNG, but also to construct and put
into operation new CNG filling stations and other measures for transferring vehicles to
natural gas.
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In SLOVAKIA main CNG consumers are bus transportation companies with the share of
around 95% of total CNG consumption. Majority of big CNG FS are located in bus
transporter depots or in local centres of the SPP Company (most of them are public). At the
end of 2010 was opened the first CNG filling station located at a petrol service station, under
agreement between SPP and fuel refiner and supplier SLOVNAFT (which operates 209 filling
stations across the country and sees the potential for adding more CNG facilities).
Adjustment of excise tax legislation which came into effect on 1st January 2011 brought
cancellation of tax exemption on CNG; increase of excise tax on diesel, petrol and LPG and
increase of VAT from 19% to 20% resulting in change of relations among motor fuels prices.
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Excise tax put on CNG is 0.141 /kg equal to minimal tax rate of EU (2.6 /GJ). Increase of
CNG price by 20 30% in comparison with average CNG price in 2010 occurred.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
On the technology development side Landi Renzo SpA has been working on the dual fuel
CNG/diesel conversion kit for light-duty vehicles. The cost will be similar to standard CNG
kits. The kit has also been designed to increase the life of older diesel engines. In Europe
homologation of dua fuel vehicles is currently problematic as existing rules do not cater for
fuels with variability. Efforts are now underway to address this issue, both in the light and
heavy duty arenas.
On the OEM side Fiat offers the complete line up (Qubo, Panda, Punto, Doblo) with
Natural Power Euro 5 CNG models (achieving market share in Italy of around 15% in first
quarter of 2011).
The new Iveco Daily, a light range commercial vehicle, will be launched during September
2011. The updated version includes all Natural Power versions operating on CNG EEV
certification. In terms of model availability, the new Daily retains full coverage from 2.8
tonnes to 7.0 tonnes maximum permitted mass, allowing a useful payload of up to 4.7 tonnes.
Since 2009 the situation in PORTUGAL regarding NGV has not changed significantly.
Number of CNG stations remained the same (5) and 32 new garbage trucks has been added
to the overall fleet. Previous government (which finished its mandate in June 2011) provided
huge subsidies to electric vehicles, but none for NGVs. The present government issued the
new Strategic plan for transport sector development for 2011 2015 period ("Plano
Estratgico de Transportes 2011-2015") which doesn't mention NGVs. The main focus of this
Strategic plan is the financial situation of some public enterprises in transport sector (buses,
metros, ferry-boats). As regards fiscal aspects, on 1st October 2011 the government
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increased VAT on natural gas from 6% to 23%, thus reducing the favorable price difference
of natural gas in relation to other combustibles that had already the 23% rate.
According to local expert opinion, companies that distribute and retail both natural gas and
petroleum products show absence of enthusiasm for NGVs in order not to cannibalize
petroleum products market. On the other hand, small regional natural gas distributors
(without links with petroleum products) show enthusiasm for NGV. This is the case, for
instance, of Sonorgas installing a new station in Mirandela municipality - the North Interior
Natural Gas Complex (NINGC). The LNG complex will be constructed bearing in mind
creation of CNG and LNG filling station for vehicles, taking into account the future growth in
the number of vehicles using this fuel. The consumption of vehicular natural gas in liquid and
compressed form is estimated at approximately 700,000 Nm3/year. The NINGC project, the
first of its kind in Portugal, is currently under construction. It is anticipated that all
components of the Complex will come into operation at the middle-end 2012.
Since 2011 the economic situation in the country is in process of shrinkage under financial
measures of IMF/EU/ECB. Theoretically, a situation of crisis would be a good opportunity for
transport sector to try to reduce operational costs changing from diesel to CNG or LNG.
However, the financial situations of Portuguese transport enterprises are not bright this
moment or have not dimension enough for this initiative (fleets with little number of trucks).
This is an opportunity for foreign enterprises to penetrate in Portuguese market to install
public CNG/LNG stations and to convert existing fleets of trucks to dual-fuel or dedicated
engines.
In ROMANIA development of national CNG filling station standard was underway with
discussions between industry and ANRE. CNG tax exists but lower then equivalent tax for
LPG (5% lower), diesel (70% lower) and petrol (75% lower). Dacia (Renault) Logan CNG is
available as OEM product but for markets in India and Iran (not available in Europe till now).
In SPAIN Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and Gas Natural Fenosa are trialling
a new hybrid bus prototype with electric and natural gas engines, a pilot scheme under an
agreement signed between TMB and Gas Natural Fenosa to reduce emissions from buses,
with the aim of improving air quality in Barcelona and the metropolitan area. Gas Natural
Fenosa estimates that hybrid technology will enable a 20% to 30% reduction in energy
consumption and emissions, compared to a non-hybrid bus of similar characteristics. The
agreement between TMB and Gas Natural Fenosa anticipated an increase in the CNG fleet
by 204 buses by 2015. This will take the number to 500, almost half of the total, which is
1.080.
Gas Natural Fenosa and Carrocera Castrosua SA, builder of buses and coaches, work
collaboratively in the development of hybrid (CNG and electrical) vehicles and LNG-fuelled
prototypes suitable for long intercity trips. Its first CNG-electric hybrid bus, named Castrosua
Tempus has been tested in both Barcelona and Madrid cities. Madrids EMT (Empresa
Municipal de Transportes) has passed a first order for 13 units, now under construction. Also
TATA HISPANO, the Spanish branch of the Indian manufacturer introduced in Spain the
TATA Starbus CNG-electric hybrid. EMT also passed an order for other 11 units of this CNG
hybrid.
Spains HAM Group, a LNG distributor and transport company was in development of four
more LNG fuelling facilities facilities scheduled for finalization until mid-2011, one of them
near the Autovia A-2 (Madrid-Barcelona).
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Gas Natural Fenosa has launched its new operations center Sanchinarro (Madrid), designed
to service the fleet of about 400 buses for the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid (EMT).
It is said to be the largest European NGV refueling station, both by fleet volume and
compression capacity, and one of the largest in the world, being the first one exclusive for
buses running on CNG. The main characteristic and advantage of this installation is that the
configuration permits to refuel and clean each vehicle within a total time of 3 minutes (with
nine simultaneous refuelling lanes that can serve up to 180 buses per hour). The company is
planning on refurbishing and adapting two its existing facilities in order to make them
available for working with CNG and reach the figure of 645 CNG buses by the end of 2011,
and even try to reach 1.350 CNG buses in 2015.
The Madrid City Council has approved an amendment to the Fiscal Ordinance which
regulates the rate for parking in certain areas of the capital, thereby promoting alternative-
fuelled vehicle usage and assisting in the reduction of inner-city pollution. Effective 1 January
2011, commercial vehicles up to 5.000 kg powered by CNG or LPG, and hybrid vehicles, will
have their annual fee for parking in Differentiated Areas For Commercial and Industrial
Vehicles reduced from 362.60 (US$ 482) to 272 (US$ 362), a saving of 25%.
Endesa, an electricity and natural gas utility company in Spain has inaugurated the first CNG
refuelling station in the Balearic islands to service 12 new buses belonging to Palmas
municipal transport company. The refuelling station is the first of its kind in Mallorca and
coincides with the recent arrival of natural gas to the islands. This project could be extended
to other vehicles (such as taxis, courier or delivery vehicles).
As regards the Light Duty segment it was announced that Seat would start production of the
Mii City Car (a car using the same platform as the Volkswagen up!). The CNG version is
expected to become available during 2012.
In the region of former Yugoslavia, key promoter of CNG as automotive fuel is still industry
and private sector and CNG filling stations today are still mostly stand alone meaning (in
general) not integrated into classic petrol stations. Situation for CNG filling stations
standards is improving; CROATIA issued its national CNG filling stations standard based on
Austrian standard and a draft European norm. In SERBIA development of national standard
is underway and in the meantime it is possible to use official translations to Serbian language
of: draft European norm, Italian, German and Swiss standard. In BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA official translation of German standard is available. In FORMER
YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA (FYROM) development of national standard is
underway. Full integration option of CNG into classic petrol filling stations is (economically)
required (LPG is fully integrated so it should be CNG to provide same comfort to the
customer).
OEMs CNG offer still limited and OEMs are waiting for the stations, but three OEM HD
CNG buses producers are operating in Serbia (Ikarus, FAP and Vulovic Transport). On the
customers side recent activities in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia were primarily
linked with the introduction of CNG buses (pilot project in Sarajevo, 60 CNG buses in Zagreb,
CNG bus project(s) in Belgrade, Novi Sad and Kragujevac) also with the tender for 20 CNG
buses in Ljubljana, capital of SLOVENIA. Furthermore, Slovenian company ENOS LNG with
three other companies started demonstration project for use of CNG in Slovenia. Also, as
part of the promotion campaign four largest cities installed VRAs and gain CNG vehicles. In
FYROM, public transport company of Skopje is increasing number of its (mainly retrofitted)
CNG buses while other private transport company operating OEM CNG buses in the city of
Kumanovo is planning to increase its number significantly. National oil and gas company
Makpetrol plans to open 3 public CNG filling stations (first to be open in Kumanovo by the
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end of March 2011) having a long term plans to integrate number of CNG filling units at its
petrol filling stations across FYROM.
AFRICA
Both North and South Africa in prospective will produce natural gas from shale gas fields.
North Africa carried out its exploration in 2010, while South Africa will commence work by
2013, earliest. So far, seven African countries have conducted demonstration projects and
adopted NGVs and CNG stations which include Algeria, Egypt, Mozambique, Nigeria, South
Africa, Tanzania and Tunisia. All of these countries also have gas fields in their territories.
Although Kenya has no domestic gas, this nation tries to get pipelined gas from its
neighbouring country Tanzania. Morocco, Rwanda, and Senegal are looking for the
possibilities of having alternative energy source such as the cheaper natural gas to enrich
their energy basket.
Africa has three OEM NGV manufacturers so far (status on mid-2011). Two of those are in
Egypt while the other one will come from Ethiopia (a joint venture between Ethiopian and
Dutch companies that assemble eco-friendly high-market cars for Ethiopia and export
markets).
NORTHERN AFRICA
In ALGERIA, with a view to environmental protection, the development of the NGV market is
a major axis of the Algerian energy policy, consolidated by the abundance of the gas
resources and the development of the distribution network of natural gas. The national
program of public distribution of natural gas envisages by the year 2020 a natural gas
penetration rate of about 60%, which will result in a consequent development of the public
distribution network of natural gas, facilitating at the same time the connection of CNG
compressor services to the network. The national program of promotion and development of
the NGV market, with the participation of big national companies such as SONATRACH
(production, transport and marketing of natural gas), SONELGAZ (distribution of natural gas)
and NAFTAL (domestic distribution company) includes: the acquisition of buses fuelled by
natural gas, the conversion of existing vehicles and the investment in distribution equipment.
In EGYPT, around the 160.000 new natural gas vehicles plus 260 new stations was planned
to be added in the two years period by 2012. Apart form the popular bi-fuel cars, taxis and
LDVs, and thousands of buses and trucks, the Egyptian Government wishes to convert
motorcycles into NGVs in the near future. Domestic and Canadian companies have been
working together to study the potential of this conversion. Under the Egyptian traffic law
which came into effect in August 2008, owners of 20 years old taxis had until August of 2011
to replace their vehicles with newer cars, preferably with more environmentally friendly cars
that run on natural gas. The Minister of Interior stated that traffic authorities would no longer
renew the license of any taxi older than 20 years. The government has approved five models
of taxis assembled in Egypt to replace the old vehicles. Natural gas models consist of
Daewoo Motors Speranza CNG A516 and A113 and Hyundai Verna powered by gasoline or
CNG. To encourage the owners of old taxis to replace their cars, the above-mentioned car
manufacturers offer cheap cars plus LE 2.000-LE 5.000 (350 870 US$, based on the
exchange rate valid in the time this data source was written) discounts. The remaining cost of
the new car which is more than LE 50.000 (8.725 US$) will be settled in the form of a bank
loan. Banks offer fixed rate loans to finance the taxi owners, and the government waive sales
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taxes for the purchase of the cars. The Ministry of Finance has granted LE 100 (17.5 US$)
monthly allowance to these taxi owners to help them pay the settlements in several
instalments. Supported by MOF, local advertising agencies also have agreed to place
advertisements in taxis at a rate of LE 550 (95 US$) per month.
In TUNISIA because of the shortfall in gas production, the electricity and gas distribution
company, Socit Tunisienne de l'Electricit et du Gaz (STEG), is examining the diversity of
gas supply sources. This requires the promotion of exploitation and the reinforcement of the
transmission network for natural gas, on the national level and on the level of inter-
connections with Maghrebian and European networks. Two CNG buses were delivered by
Iveco to Tunis City in Tunisia and used to demonstrate the advantage of CNG technology. As
per a cooperation agreement between the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Tunisian
Ministry of Transport, 100 CNG buses would be made available for Tunisia.
EASTERN AFRICA
In MOZAMBIQUE, natural gas annual production in 2008 reached 3.3 bcm. With gas
consumption of only 100 mcm per year, Mozambique exports 3.2 billion cubic meters of its
gas while importing almost all of its oil mainly from South Africa. Therefore, the Government
sees the importance of switching to natural gas for all segments including transport (with an
objective to reduce transport (petroleum) fuel cost by a third). Following the plan to replace
diesel buses with the CNG ones, a prototype of Caio Induscars urban bus Apache S21 is
going to be demonstrated in neighbouring countries with Mozambique as final destination.
The prototype is equipped with a Brazilian conversion kit. The government had promised to
purchase 100 natural gas buses, local developer (company Autogas) promotes its services
and hopes to get at least 40 more buses using their facility to allow the business to become
profitable. Maputo Transports Company (TPM) also has 85 CNG buses (OEM Yutong buses
imported from China). Not all of these buses are in operation because they do not fully meet
the requirements in Mozambique (to hold around 100 passengers and travel along hilly
areas). TPM has received in June 2011 the first consignment of 50 Tata CNG buses from
India and 50 more buses were planned to arrive in July and the final 50 in August 2011.
In its effort to convert all 8.000 state vehicles to NGV technology, the government of
TANZANIA has ordered Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) to
implement a mega NGV project in partnership with Pan African Energy Tanzania Ltd. Within
this project, three CNG refuelling stations will be constructed. In due time, the authority will
issue a mandate regarding the conversion (so far for state-owned vehicles only). Presently,
the country has found four natural gas fields (all fields producing natural gas). Scientists from
the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT), known as the Triangle, and those from the
University of Dar es Salaam have established retrofit centres that convert gasoline cars with
electronic fuel injection system to NGVs. All components used in the conversion are made in
accordance with international standards to guarantee safety and the cars are inspected by
experts both before and after the conversion. The focus is also on the safety of CNG
cylinders and filling stations.
The Prime Minister of KENYA visited a CNG fuelling station and vehicle conversion
workshop in Egypt in 2010. The aim of the visit was to introduce the economic and
environmental benefits of the CNG project. It is expected that Kenya will use the fuel at a
later date to power the transport sector.
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WESTERN AFRICA
Although NIGERIA has oil and gas, the country imports oil from abroad to meet its 32 million
liters of fuel demand. Nigerias oil importation is also due to the continued closure of its four
oil refineries. The government wants to see around 2 million after-market converted NGVs on
Nigerian roads by 2015. The main actors in this field include a joint venture among Nigerian
Independent Petroleum Company (NIPCO), Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), and Green Gas
Limited. The three companies agreed to commence Benin City CNG project. The joint
venture is aiming to convert 50.000 vehicles to run on bi-fuel CNG/petrol system by 2013-
2014, and to build 8-10 CNG stations, 2 conversion workshops, and lay around 50 km gas
pipeline, all to be completed during the first 2 years after project commencement.
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Through research conducted by South African National Energy Research Institute (Saneri),
SOUTH AFRICA plans to use compressed natural gas as transport fuel in the entire country.
Saneri is trying to get a demonstration project off the ground. The Johannesburg based
company, Novo Energy, has received a licence from the National Energy Regulator of South
Africa (Nersa) to distribute gas in six areas. The companys plan is to compress the gas to
CNG at central points and to transport it by road to clients, or to gas-refilling stations for
vehicles.
Today, AUSTRALIA has a number of OEM CNG vehicles on offer in its vehicles market from
manufacturers like Mercedes and Isuzu and the expectation is that in a near future even
more vehicles will be available. The conversion of existing or new vehicles is also available
using the latest CNG technologies and authorized conversion workshops. Australia is also a
progressive dual-fuel and LNG for vehicles market.
On the vehicles side, Clean Air Power launched its Volvo Genesis Euro 5 dual fuel product to
replace its existing Caterpillar product. Kleenheat Gas, a provider of gas services in Australia,
has entered an agreement with US-based GreenMan Technologies and its subsidiary
American Power Group Inc (APG) to carry out a 90-day trial for a conversion demonstration
of heavy-duty trucks to APGs patented dual-fuel dieselLNG system. Subject to successful
completion of the trial, Kleenheat Gas and APG wish to enter into a Strategic Alliance for the
exclusive distribution of APG Dual Fuel Systems in Australia (according to the latest data
(June 2011) this trial was successfully completed). Australian company iGas Energy has
been toiling over a new solution for fuelling of heavy duty long-distance transportation in
Australia, using CNG fuel storage instead of LNG. The CNG is stored in carbon fibre
composite cylinders at 350 bar, and as the gas is used to fuel the engine the iGas process
maintains high pressure in the cylinder by displacing CNG with a liquid, one CNG cylinder at
a time, allowing gas to be injected into the HPDI engine. A fuel pack comprising four
Australian-approved cylinders will give a truck the same range as a 450 litre tank of diesel
using a conventional engine. Westport is working closely with iGas to integrate the Westport
GX engine with the iGas system to optimise overall performance, range, and cost with the
objective of developing a CNG fuel storage system to complement the Westport technologies.
Perth-based Advanced Engine Components Ltd (AEC) with the assistance of an AusIndustry
Commercial Plus Grant, developed the Sitec 295hp, Euro 4, diesel engine to operate on LNG.
This enables AEC to convert the Isuzu 295hp diesel powered trucks to LNG. Isuzu has
approximately 40% of Australias urban return-to-base truck market. The Isuzu 295hp
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vehicles, used for refuse collection, concrete delivery, urban delivery and general transport,
represent approximately 17% of Australias total truck market.
In the fuelling segment, Tas Gas has developed an alliance with Advanced Fuels Technology
as its NGV Technology partner and together the parties are looking to provide a total CNG
solution to commercial fleets in Tasmania. Plans are to focus on developing depot based
refuelling for fleets such as concrete, courier, bakery, local council and bus fleets. At the
same time, public refuelling stations are planned to be developed in several cities.
Tasmania has also embarked on an LNG expansion plan for larger articulated vehicles.
Furthermore, Australian gas company BOC has opened the micro-LNG generating plant in
Northern Tasmania to supply vehicle fleet operators on the island. The plant can generate up
to 50 tonnes of LNG a day (equivalent to 70.000 litres of diesel). Presently, it supplies gas to
six fueling stations built by the Tasmanian company, LNG Refuellers Pty Ltd, five of them
along major trucking routes. LNG Refuellers will also invest in new LNG-powered trucks and
has signed an initial 15-year supply deal with the facility. The clean fuel project is supported
by the government. Furthermore, Brisbane-based Blue Energy Limited has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) to investigate
the feasibility of developing small scale LNG and CNG projects within Eastern Australia. A
joint working group was announced to be formed to identify potential opportunities for the
development and operation of micro LNG and CNG facilities.
LNG is also progressively makes way or secures its position in the customers segment: MGC,
Australias largest producer of dairy products has extended its existing LNG supply
agreement for its 57 LNG prime movers (representing 57 percent of its total fleet).
Wettenhalls Group, an Australian transport, warehouse and logistics company, has
commissioned its first LNG heavy transport vehicle. Depending on the expansion of refuelling
facilities and the success of the initial vehicle, Wettenhalls envisage that up to 60 LNG-
powered trucks could be on the groups fleet within 10 years, providing a significant reduction
in greenhouse gas emissions. The Noske Group, a Melbourne-based bulk transport logistics
solutions service provider was to be complemented by the building of a LNG refuelling facility
in Portland to supply its extra long trucks for transport of the woodchips to the Port of
Portland.
Finally, in the home-fuelling segment, OES CNG, based in Melbourne, Australia has
designed a range of compressed natural gas (CNG) home refuelling units capable of
delivering 300 or 360 bar, drawing natural gas from the home supply. First field test units
have been installed and the company expected to have the CNG refuelling unit approved as
a domestic appliance in the second half of 2011 with the range of capacities scheduled for
release in the first half of 2012.
In order to attract customers and create demand for its filling stations, certain companies are
offering free fuel for a year for the first hundred conversion clients (OES CNG Pty Ltd, also
with CNG filling station in Melbourne). The offer has been extended to private and business
excluding taxis or courier companies.
New developments in the NEW ZEALAND observed lately are going into the way of utilizing
domestic gas sources, biomethane and coal seam gas.
Transpacific Industries (TPI) since recently collect their waste in Auckland using waste-
generated biomethane. It is also the first time that landfill gas has been converted to vehicle
fuel in the country, as New Zealand emulates biomethane developments in Europe and the
U.S.
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L&M Energy Ltd. has signed an agreement with HW Richardson Group Ltd. (one of New
Zealands largest trucking companies) to investigate the feasibility of developing small scale
LNG projects within New Zealand, beginning with investigating the potential for a project
utilising gas from Coal Seam Gas (CSG) asset near Ohai in Southland.
NORTH AMERICA
In North America, four factors promise to make natural gas a viable alternative to oil-based
fuels. First, revolutionary technology is unlocking enormous new supplies of shale gas.
Second, unrest in North Africa and the Middle East has underlined U.S. oil-supply
vulnerability. Third, there are clear environmental advantages to clean-burning natural gas
(which emits 25 percent less carbon dioxide than diesel). Fourth, there have been major
advances in natural gas fuel technology.
In CANADA the deployment roadmap report, sponsored by the government ministry Natural
Resources Canada, highlights the competitiveness and environmental benefits of introducing
natural gas for trucking along key corridors and for urban fleets in Canada. The report
resulted from work undertaken by the members of the Natural Gas Use in Transportation
Roundtable. The key finding of the report was that trucking fleets that operate along regional
corridors and in urban areas can improve their competitiveness and reduce their
environmental impacts by using natural gas. Canadian communities will also benefit: first, by
the use of lower emission natural gas refuse collection trucks and other commercial vehicles;
and second, from local jobs created by Canadian companies who are leading suppliers of
innovative natural gas vehicle and station technologies.
On the technology development side, Westport Innovations Inc. announced (in May 2011)
that it has entered into an agreement with Caterpillar, Inc. to evaluate direct injection, natural
gas fuel system technologies for possible use on Caterpillars large engines. Through this
evaluation project, Westport and Caterpillar are seeking to demonstrate that the integration
of their respective direct injection, natural gas technologies can deliver the high performance
and high efficiency requirements which large engine applications will demand. Under the
terms of the agreement, the evaluation is expected to be completed in 2012, with program
expenses shared by both Caterpillar and Westport.
As regards off-road applications, Gaz Mtro and Canadian National Railways Co. joined
Westport Innovations Inc. to develop a new LNG technology for locomotives in Canada. A
first in Canada, the venture will receive $2.3 million in funding from Sustainable Development
Technology Canada, a not-for-profit corporation created by the federal government. Gaz
Mtro is also involved in a venture involving LNG engines for heavy trucks. The new project
aims to demonstrate the technical, economic and environmental viability of LNG engine
technology for locomotives (offering greenhouse gas reductions of up to 500 tonnes per year
for each natural gas locomotive relative to diesel locomotives). If all goes according to plan,
the consortium expects the prototype to be in operation in 2013.
Investigate the design and feasibility of high performance natural gas technology for high-
horsepower applications such as mining, rail, and marine.
Design, build, and test prototype hardware suitable for a high-horsepower application.
Performance and durability testing of liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel system with both
fuel and test facility provided by Gaz Mtro Transportation Solutions.
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Install prototype fuel system, test, and demonstrate in service using a Canadian National
Railways locomotive.
Funding support requires that every project involves representatives of each part of the
supply chain: researchers, product developers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and end
customers.
On the fuelling infrastructure development side, Terasen Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Fortis and principal natural gas distribution utility in British Columbia, has submitted an
application to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to provide commercial
fuelling services through Terasen Gas owned and operated CNG and LNG fuelling stations.
If approved, commercial customers will be able to safely and economically refuel their fleet
vehicles, such as buses and refuse trucks, on their own premises, using stations provided by
Terasen Gas at rates regulated by the BCUC.
On the customers side several examples can be listed. Robert Transport from Quebec has
issued a purchase order for 180 Peterbilt LNG trucks featuring Westport HD Systems. Robert
Transport is one of Canadas largest for-hire trucking companies with an estimated 1.100
tractors and 2.300 employees. The new trucks will be used on line haul routes between
Montral and Qubec City, and Montral to Toronto. Fuelling the Robert Transport fleet is
Gaz Mtro, a distributor of natural gas in Quebec, who plans to install three refuelling sites
along the corridor between Quebec City and Mississauga, Ontario. Currently, no LNG
fuelling infrastructure exists in the area. Helping drive innovation and improve carbon
footprints in Quebec, the government announced that that the depreciation rate applicable to
commercial trucks or tractors was increased from 40% to 60% for any new equipment
acquired after March 31st, 2010. Furthermore, an additional 85% cut for amortization
reduction is granted if the truck or tractor runs on LNG.
Pilot projects with waste collection truck started in the City of Toronto, and in Miller Waste
Systems from Ontario (leader in the refuse industry in Canada). U.S company Waste
Management was about to deploy 20 vehicles in January 2011 to serve businesses in the
area surrounding Vancouver. The contribution from BC-based Terasen Gas is from their
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program, which will help offset the incremental cost of
the CNG powered trucks versus their traditional diesel counterparts. Waste Management
operates the largest fleet of clean air CNG recycling and waste trucks in North America (in
July 2011, Waste Management added a 1.000th natural gas truck to its fleet).
End-2009, Westport Innovations Inc. has entered into an agreement with Volvo as a Tier 1
Development Supplier for its heavy duty natural gas engines and associated supply chain.
Under the new agreements, Westport and Volvo share program development expenses. The
agreement requires Westport and Volvo to work to negotiate further agreements regarding
certain elements of the development program. It also requires Westport and Volvo to satisfy
certain milestones in order for the development program to continue, including the
completion of the relevant technological, engineering and cost requirements and the
completion of the further agreements.
Westport and Volvo will mutually agree on the priority for commercial launch of gaseous
fuel engines and will share the risks of development.
For products requested by Volvo, Westport will be reimbursed for engineering and related
development costs at passage through each successful major development gate.
Westport will arrange for or supply gas-related components.
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The New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) of 2011 was
introduced in April 2011. The bill, H. R. 1380, had 76 original co-sponsors when it was
introduced. The NAT GAS Act would restore and expand the NGV tax credit that makes
NGVs eligible for a credit equal to 80% of the vehicles incremental cost subject to caps
depending upon vehicle size. It would also extend for five years the 50-cent-per-gallon
alternative fuel credit for the purchase of natural gas fuel, and would expand tax credit
incentives for developing natural gas fuelling infrastructure.
A tax credit for up to 80% of the incremental cost of buying a natural gas vehicle, with a
maximum value ranging from $7.500 for a light-duty passenger vehicle to $64.000 for the
heaviest trucks. Recognizing the innovations in vehicle engine technology, the bill
includes incentives for both bi-fuel vehicles those that run on either natural gas or
gasoline and dual fuelled vehicles where there is a mixture of small amount of diesel
fuel with the natural gas. There are no vehicle tax credits in place today.
An infrastructure tax credit of 50% of the cost up to a maximum tax credit of $100.000 per
station. For stations built in 2011, there is an existing infrastructure tax credit of 30% with
a maximum credit of $30.000. These credits cover only a small portion of the cost of
building a station. This credit would also extend to home refuelling units, where
purchases would be eligible for a $2.000 tax credit.
A tax credit to the manufacturer for the production of natural gas vehicles. The bill also
includes other provisions that will facilitate the production and use of natural gas vehicles.
President Barack Obama has issued a Memorandum requiring the Federal fleet, the largest
fleet of light duty vehicles in America, to lead by example to help meet national goals of
reducing oil imports by one-third by 2025 and putting one million advanced vehicles on the
road by 2015. Federal government agencies are accordingly instructed to acquire alternative
fuelled vehicles, including those operating on natural gas (CNG, LNG, biomethane), and to
make sure vehicles with multi-fuel capabilities actually use alternative fuels. Investment in
fuelling infrastructure is recommended where inadequate supply exists. The memorandum
sets out measures, with time limitations for compliance, to help achieve Federal fleet
performance goals first iterated in October 2009.
In summary:
By 31st December 2015, all new light duty vehicles leased or purchased by agencies
must be alternative fuelled vehicles. Those vehicles must use, and be able to readily
source, the alternative fuel for which they were designed.
Executive fleets are required to achieve maximum fuel efficiency and be sized in shape
and performance to that essential to meet agency needs.
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The General Services Administration (GSA) shall develop and distribute to agencies a
Vehicle Allocation Methodology (VAM) for determining the optimum fleet inventory,
eliminating non-essential vehicles and assisting agencies in selecting vehicle options
based on lifecycle cost analysis, including projected fuel costs, warranty, operations,
mileage, maintenance, and disposal.
Targets defined using the GSA VAM will be published on Agency websites. Plans
approved by GSA must be achievable by end December 2015.
Under strict guidelines certain vehicles may be exempted, as used for law enforcement,
protective, emergency response, or military tactical operations.
Supportive measures can be seen on the regional, national and municipal level.
The Texas Senate sent a bill (which passed on August 2011) that will establish incentives for
companies to buy natural gas-fuelled vehicles and help fund fuelling stations in the Texas
Triangle between Houston, San Antonio and Dallas-Ft. Worth. Senate Bill 20 would redirect
the funds (funded with $41.7 million) from the existing Texas Emissions Reduction Program,
which replaces or retrofits heavy-duty construction equipment and other vehicles that emit
high levels of pollution with less noxious equipment, toward those that specifically use natural
gas. This legislation will foster the development of a Texas Clean Transportation Triangle by
increasing the number of natural gas-refuelling stations and replacing the heaviest diesel
trucks with natural gas-powered trucks, thus improving Texas air quality and economy. At
least 10 percent of the U.S. transportation sector travels through the Triangle each year, and
the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates this number will increase significantly over
the next 25 years.
The State of Oklahoma has signed into law the Oklahoma Energy Security Act. The
Legislature hereby expresses its intent to take steps to increase the energy independence of
the U.S by increasing the use of domestic energy and renewable energy sources in
Oklahoma. Included are specific provisions for natural gas vehicle refuelling. The Legislature
declares the intent of the State of Oklahoma to increase the number of public access CNG
fueling stations located along the interstate highway system in the state. There is established
a state goal to have at least one public CNG fuelling station located approximately every one
100 miles along the entire interstate highway system in the state by the year 2015. The state
goal shall increase to at least one public CNG fuelling station approximately every fifty 50
miles by the year 2025.
The City of Chicago has set up a $1 million federally funded Green Taxi program to
reimburse cab companies for using hybrid cars or those powered by natural gas. Companies
will be reimbursed $2.000 for buying hybrids, and between $9.000 and $14.000 for
converting cars to CNG or LPG. Electric vehicles do not qualify under this program.
The California Governor signed into law a bill granting to solo drivers in natural gas or pure
electric vehicles access to the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in the state until 1st
January 2015. Drivers of hybrids and plug-in hybrids will lose their access to the HOV lanes
at the end of 2011. In August 2011, in a document titled, The Investment Plan for the
Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, the California Energy
Commission updates current progress, and outlines a redistribution of funds related to
alternative fuel vehicle technology. The scheme is focused on several key areas including
new electric vehicle charging sites, demonstrating and deploying medium and heavy duty
natural gas and hybrid electric trucks, Manufacturing facilities for electric vehicles, alternative
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fuel vehicles, vehicle components and batteries, biofuels and biomethane production,
hydrogen fuelling infrastructure, new E85 fuelling stations etc.
Overview of the results of collected conducted marketing surveys and studies in this
triennium is presented bellow.
TechnoMetrica has been conducting its Alternate Fuel Tracker Survey in which added two
questions regarding the use of natural gas as an alternative to gasoline. Surprisingly, more
than 70% of those surveyed said they were familiar with natural gas as a motor fuel, and
almost half said they would be interested in a natural gas powered car. Survey respondents
were asked how likely they would be to consider purchasing a number of fuel saving and
alternate fuel powered vehicles. Given below is the share of drivers who are interested
("Very" or "Somewhat") for each alternative powertrain:
This survey was the seventh wave of TechnoMetrica's Quarterly Alternate Fuels Tracking
research. Approximately 900 interviews were completed yielding a margin of error of +/- 3
percentage points.
In addition, the U.S. consulting and technical training firm Alternative Fuel Vehicle Institute
(AFVi) has carried out in 2010 a phone survey of 135 companies with fleets ranging in size
from 70 to 72.000 vehicles. The survey showed almost half of fleets plan to purchase
alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in the next three years. By fleet size, these companies are in
the top 10 percent of all commercial companies in the U.S. Important considerations included
availability of right alternative fuel vehicle, fuel availability, return on investment and
environmental concerns.
The Marcellus Shale Coalition has released a Gladstein, Neandross & Associates (GNA)
authored report: NGV Roadmap for Pennsylvania Jobs, Energy Security and Clean Air.
GNAs NGV Roadmap report provides a development plan by which a comprehensive
natural gas refuelling infrastructure can be successfully established in the Pennsylvania
transportation sector to support the replacement of heavy-duty diesel fleet vehicles with ones
powered by natural gas. The report primarily focused on return to base fleet operations such
as refuse collection, transit bus and other that are the primary entry points for natural gas in
transportation. By using a concentric circle approach, fueling infrastructure will eventually be
linked in a corridor connecting the major metropolitan areas, including Philadelphia,
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh. Founded in 2008, the Marcellus Shale
Coalition (MSC) is an organization committed to the responsible development of natural gas
from the Marcellus Shale geological formation and the enhancement of the regions economy
that can be realized by this clean-burning energy source. Members of the coalition work with
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partners across the region to address issues with regulators, local, county, state and federal
government officials and communities about all aspects of producing clean-burning, job-
creating natural gas from the Marcellus Shale.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has completed a two year study which examined
the scale of U.S. natural gas reserves and the potential of this fuel to reduce greenhouse-gas
(GHG) emissions. Undertaken by the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), the study concluded that
natural gas will play a leading role in reducing GHG emissions over the next several decades.
The findings were presented to lawmakers and senior administration officials in Washington.
The U.S. has a significant natural gas resource base, enough to equal about 92 years worth
at present domestic consumption rates. Much of this is from unconventional sources,
including gas shales. Environmental issues associated with producing unconventional gas
resources are manageable but challenging. In the transportation sector, the study found a
somewhat smaller role for natural gas. The use of CNG or LNG as a fuel for vehicles could
help to displace oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but to a limited extent because of
the high cost of converting vehicles to use these fuels. By contrast, making methanol, a liquid
fuel, out of natural gas requires much less up-front conversion cost and could have an impact
on oil usage and thus improve energy security, but would not reduce greenhouse gases.
From the report comes one recommendation directed toward the transportation sector:
remove policy and regulatory barriers to natural gas as a transportation fuel.
A report released (mid-2010) in the US by Resources for the Future (RFF) and the National
Energy Policy Institute (NEPI) concludes that expanding the use of natural gas trucks is the
most effective and cost-effective policy option available to decrease reliance on petroleum.
The report Toward a New National Energy Policy: Assessing the Options assesses 35
different policy options for reducing oil consumption and carbon emissions. Using
assumptions concerning first-cost of vehicles, fuel savings, discount rates, and petroleum
displacement, the report found that natural gas trucks could displace petroleum at a cost of
about $15 per barrel. From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, natural gas trucks were the most
effective of all policy options evaluated. For its report, RFF and NEPI prepared a detailed
background report on natural gas trucks. The report includes various assumptions regarding
fuel costs, truck costs and discount rates. The assumptions above regarding cost-
effectiveness show that for many fleets natural gas trucks are a cost-effective solution that
provides real paybacks and lower net costs than diesel vehicles. However, the report also
reveals that NGVs, like many other advanced technologies, could have longer pay-back
periods than most businesses are willing to accept, and, therefore, require incentives to
encourage their expanded use.
On the industry and customers side, major stakeholders are grouping and organizing
together.
Leading U.S fleet operators announced the formation of the Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) Fleet
Forum, a new membership organization dedicated to advancing the use of clean, domestic,
abundant and low-cost natural gas in the U.S. transportation sector. The NGV Fleet Forum
will provide a members-only venue for fleet operators to share technical expertise,
collaborate on product development and procurement, and support other members in the
successful deployment of natural gas vehicles. Charter members in the NGV Fleet Forum
include Sysco Corporation, Ryder System, Inc., UPS, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, Paper Transport,
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Sempra Energy Utilities, Border
Valley Trading, HayDay Farms and Chesapeake Energy.
More than 50 producers and distributors of natural gas from Americas Natural Gas Alliance
(ANGA) and the American Gas Association (AGA) are working collaboratively to advance the
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development and utilization of natural gas vehicles and fuelling infrastructure in the North
American marketplace. The ANGA-AGA joint initiative will encourage stakeholder dialogue to
advance greater use of North American natural gas for transportation. Specifically, the
collective effort will focus on infrastructure development, greater fleet usage, vehicle
production, and marketing and education for natural gas transportation. Natural gas
producers and distributors recognize that the private sector must play a leading role. This
joint work will continue important efforts to help manufacturers meet demands for vehicles
that run on natural gas, and ensure that the infrastructure is in place to fill them up.
In February 2011 American Public Gas Association (APGA) Board approved the creation of
NGV Task Force. The Task Force will focus on three key areas: to act as a clearinghouse of
information on NGVs; to provide advice to APGA members on matters about NGVs; and to
play the active and leading roles in APGAs NGV-related advocacy efforts.
The American Public Gas Association (APGA), NGVAmerica, and Hybrid Kinetic Motors
Corporation (HK Motors) in April 2010 announced the formation of a strategic collaboration to
promote the mass production and sales of natural gas-powered hybrid passenger vehicles.
HK Motors plans to begin producing a family of light-duty natural gas hybrid-electric
passenger vehicles at its plant in Alabama beginning in 2013.
Development of the technology and availability of vehicles are, of course, an integral part of
the equation for successful market development and opening of the new workplaces. State-
of-the-art in this segment (based on the available data) is presented below.
On April 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of
Transportation (DOT) issued final regulations for new greenhouse gas emission controls and
fuel efficiency requirements. The rules cover model years 20122016 and, when fully
phased-in, will require that passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger
vehicles meet a combined average emissions level of 250 grams of carbon dioxide per mile
(225 g/mi for cars, 298 g/mi for light trucks), equivalent to 35.5 miles per gallon (MPG) (39.5
mpg for cars, 29.8 mpg for light trucks). The new rules (according to EPA) will add an
average of $950 to the cost of new vehicles. EPA also finalized several provisions in the
rules that should provide an incentive for manufacturers to produce NGVs. The rule provides
significant greenhouse gas emission credits for dedicated NGVs produced in model years
20122015. The rules also leave in place the current fuel economy credits for dedicated
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vehicles. Bi-fuel vehicles also can earn greenhouse gas emission credits under the rule for
years 20122015; for purposes of the credits the vehicles will be assumed to operate on
alternative fuel 50 percent of the time. According to NGVAmerica, the new rules will generally
not apply to aftermarket conversions. This is because there is an exemption for small entities
(1.000 employees for vehicle manufacturers and 750 employees for engine and parts
manufacturing). There also is a separate exemption for small volume manufacturers who
produce less than 5.000 vehicles per year. It is likely that, at least for a while, that most
conversion manufactures will satisfy the Small Business Administrations definition of a small
entity, or will have fewer than 5.000 annual sales. EPA intends to address coverage of these
other companies in a later rulemaking.
In addition to the above, in August 2011 the state of California and 13 vehicle manufacturers
had agreed on a proposal for more stringent fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions
standards for cars and light trucks. Under the agreement, which covers model year (MY)
2017-25 vehicles, industry average light-vehicle fuel economy will rise from 35.5mpg in MY
2016 to 54.5mpg by MY 2025. The Administration also agreed to industry requests for a mid-
term review to determine whether the rules should be adjusted for MY 2022-25. Federal
regulators indicated that a number of credits and incentives would help vehicle
manufacturers to meet the new standards. These include off-cycle credits for stop-start and
other technologies not properly recognised in current test procedures; special treatment for
electric, plug-in hybrid, fuel cell, and CNG vehicles; incentives for technologies that make full-
size pickups more fuel-efficient; and credits for air-conditioning improvements that reduce
GHG emissions and improve vehicle efficiency.
The U.S. EPA decided to streamline the requirements for certifying aftermarket systems that
are used to convert vehicles to run on alternative fuels such as natural gas. EPA is
responsible for ensuring that all vehicles and engines sold in the United States, including
clean alternative fuel conversions, meet emission standards. The new regulations will make it
less burdensome and less expensive for companies that offer vehicle conversion systems for
many existing cars and trucks. EPAs decision is particularly important in the case of heavy-
duty fleets, since currently, because of cost, there are no EPA approved conversion systems
for diesel vehicles. Because heavy-duty fleet vehicles are the biggest consumers of fuel, they
have the greatest potential for reducing the countrys dependence on foreign oil in the near
term. Under the Clean Air Act, all new motor vehicles must meet stringent emission
requirements, regardless of the fuel they use. Newly manufactured natural gas vehicles have
been subject to EPA regulations since 1996. However, converted vehicles initially were
exempt from the regulatory requirements but have been subject to the rigorous and
expensive certification rules since 2002. Manufacturers encouraged the EPA to take steps to
reduce the burden imposed by the regulations and to include additional flexibility for
aftermarket systems. The revised regulations establish three new tiers: relatively new
vehicles; vehicles more than two model years old; and vehicles beyond their useful life, the
definition of which varies depending on the size and weight of the vehicles. The revised
regulations codify existing flexibility for conversions intended for use on vehicles produced
within the past two model years and extend more flexibility to vehicles that are more than two
model years old. The new rules will continue to require that manufacturers demonstrate that
their conversion systems maintain emissions performance of the vehicle.
Together, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)s National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL), the California Energy Commission (CEC), and the South Coast Air Quality
Management District (SCAQMD) will invest up to US$13.5 million to support the
development of natural gas engines and vehicles. As part of the cost-shared projects,
companies selected for awards will invest nearly US$8 million in additional funds to support
US$21 million in total projects. NREL will oversee the Natural Gas Engine Research and
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Development projects to develop highly efficient natural gas engines that meet or exceed
2010 emission standards, integrate natural gas engines into different chassis and vehicle
platforms, and verify fuel efficiency, petroleum reduction, and emissions benefits in real-world
operation. The focus is on medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses, which currently
represent 22 percent of the fuel used in on-road vehicles.
Clean Air Power, the developer of dual-fuel combustion technology has entered into a
concept development agreement with Navistar, Inc. to develop a MaxxForce 13 Natural
Gas/Diesel Engine Program for the North American market. The purpose of the development
program is to utilize Clean Air Powers dual-fuel combustion technology to deliver a Class 8
engine that achieves the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2010 emissions
standard. Subject to a successful Concept Ready Phase, the agreement will then enter a
second stage known as the Product Development Phase which will deliver a U.S. EPA 2010
certified dual-fuel engine. Navistar and Clean Air Power will together seek U.S grant funding
for full production. In October 2010, International Trucks announced a partnership with
Emission Solutions, Inc. (ESI) to provide a new natural gas engine offering in the
International WorkStar truck. The International WorkStar CNG 7300/7400, which is 2010
EPA and CARB certified, is now available. GreenMan Technologies, Inc. announced (in
December 2010) that its American Power Group Inc. (APG) subsidiary has received a
Vehicular Memorandum of Exemption and eleven initial Test Exemptions from the U.S EPA
for the testing and verification of APGs non-invasive dual-fuel upgrade system for
aftermarket diesel truck and tractor engines. Both CNG and LNG fuelling systems will be
tested. The initial vehicles to be tested include nine Class 8 tractors covering various
Caterpillar, Detroit Diesel, and Mack engine models ranging in age from 1994 to 2005 as well
as a 2008 Ford F450 Pickup and a 2004 Sprinter Van with a Mercedes Benz engine. APG
expects to apply for additional test exemptions for a wide range of third-party engine models
classified as intermediate age or over full useful life due to age or mileage. Based on
independent marketing research conducted by Power Systems Research, it is estimated that
over four million vehicles or 80% of the five million medium to heavy-duty diesel vehicles on
the road today, are model year 2006 or older therefore ideal candidates for upgrade
technology.
Two heavy duty natural gas vehicle technology projects are included in the array of
proposals approved for funding by Drive, Californias Alternative and Renewable Fuel and
Vehicle Technology Program. The first seeks to demonstrate the efficiency of a natural gas
engine for demanding applications, while the second will demonstrate a hybrid-electric drive
system that uses a natural-gas-powered micro-turbine. The Gas Technology Institute and
Cummins Westport, Inc. will demonstrate a unique, low-emission; high efficiency natural-gas
engine designed for regional hauling and heavy vocational truck applications. The advanced
ISX11.9 G natural gas engine fills an important market gap since there is currently no such
engine option available for long distance class 8 trucking. Swift Transportation will
demonstrate one of the engines in a highway tractor for 12 months. The project will complete
all necessary development, testing, certifying, and demonstration needed to commercialize
the ISX11.9 G natural gas engine, with a goal of achieving 20 percent market penetration for
this class of engine. For heavy-duty class 8 trucks, the Kenworth Truck Company will
demonstrate a hybrid-electric drive system that uses a natural-gas-powered micro-turbine.
The goal of the project is to make cost and efficiency improvements to the hybrid system and
its batteries. The system will use an intercooled recuperated (ICR) 350 kilowatt microturbine
that will be run on natural gas because of the fuels low emissions and low cost. FedEx will
take delivery of the demonstration truck and integrate the vehicle into its on-going operations
starting in 2012. The test vehicle will be equipped with data-logging equipment to record
information on the vehicles operation for analysis. The system will initially be designed for
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class 8 trucks, but can be readily scaled to fit all class 6, 7, and 8 vehicles over a wide range
of operations. Kenworth projects that this technology will be commercially viable in 2013.
The Port of Long Beach and Vision Motor Corporation of El Segundo, California entered into
an agreement in November 2010, to develop and demonstrate a hydrogen fuel cell/plug-in
electric class 8 on-road truck, the Tyrano Freightliner, and one hydrogen fuel cell/plug-in
electric zero-emission terminal tractor (ZETT), to be produced jointly by Vision and Capacity
of Texas. Tyrano Freightliner was delivered in July 2011 and will be tested to evaluate their
suitability for short distance cargo-hauling (drayage) and terminal operations. The truck,
using a 536 HP engine draws its power from a battery kept recharged with H2 fuel cell.
Volvo Trucks is expanding its alternative fuel vehicle lineup with the introduction of a natural
gas-powered (9L Cummins Westport ISL G engine, 320 hp, in LNG or CNG option) Volvo
VNM daycab with first ten units being delivered in July 2011. The natural gas option is
targeted toward port drayage, pickup and delivery applications, grocery and beverage
haulers or any private fleet concerned about CO2 emissions. Freightliner Trucks, a division of
Daimler Trucks North America LLC, is to introduce a 114 Severe Duty (SD) set-back axle
(SBA) truck with natural gas technology to the North American market. Designed for severe
duty segments such as construction and other markets, the new 114SD SBA is a lightweight
durable truck for heavy-duty vocational applications. Developed in collaboration with VAC-
CON, Freightliner Trucks has also delivered the Freightliner Business Class M2 112V CNG
truck, claimed to be the first the first turnkey natural gas truck in Northern America upfitted
with a vacuum body. It will also be equipped with a CNG-powered auxiliary-mounted engine
that powers the trucks water system. Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc., distributor of
low-cab-forward trucks, is to commence production of gasoline-powered Isuzu N-Series
trucks on April, 2011. Production is to include an engine option with modified CNG/LPG
compatible (hardened) valves. U.S automotive retail group EVCARCO, Inc. has decided to
sell CNG powered Foton MD 3000 medium-duty class 3-5 trucks at its green auto
dealerships. The MD 3000 and LD 1000 are versatile for multi-use applications and are
equipped with cargo delivery bodies. The vehicles chassis and Euro-style cab design allows
for easy multi-conversions for uses such as street sweepers and refuse collection. Mack
Trucks, Inc. has introduced a natural gas-powered version of its versatile TerraPro
Cabover model for the refuse and construction applications. The MACK TerraPro Cabover
model is available with heavy-duty natural gas engines supplied by Cummins Westport. The
9-liter Cummins Westport ISL G is rated at 320 hp, can use CNG or LNG, and has a three-
way catalyst to meet EPA 2010 emissions standards. A growing number of municipalities
mandate alternative fuel vehicles as a condition of contracts with refuse haulers. US-based
Peterbilt, manufacturer of dump trucks, refuse (garbage) trucks and other commercial
vehicles, presented the three variants of its CNG refuse truck (for waste management). All
are equipped with Cummins ISL-G engines with a maximum output of 320 horsepower, with
three-way catalytic converters in each model to significantly reduce emissions. Full
production of the vehicles was scheduled for 2011. Enviromech Industries (EMI) joins hands
with Gillig Corporation to reintroduce Gillig buses to the NGV market in California and to the
rest of USA. EMI is a provider of advanced alternative fuel systems and propulsion
technologies for heavy-duty trucks, buses, automobiles, and specialty vehicles while Gillig
Corporation is a producer of heavy-duty buses for mass transit systems, mainly the Bus
Rapid Transit (BRT) and the Low Floor buses. Kenworth Truck Company has expanded its
green product line with the introduction of the Kenworth T440 natural gas model powered by
the Cummins Westport ISL G engine, focused on local and regional haul and vocational
applications, and becoming the latest Kenworth truck able to operate on both CNG and LNG,
joining Kenworths W900S which began offering those options in the late 2009. Kenworth
also offers the T800 LNG truck equipped with the Westport GX engine.
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Altech-Eco Corporation, has obtained a Certificate of Conformity (COC) from the U.S
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for their dedicated (100% natural gas driven) 2011
Ford E-Series CNG conversion system, and already holding COC for their 2010 Ford Fusion
passenger sedan CNG conversion system and has also received EPA certifications for the
2010 Ford Transit Connect, the Ford F-250 and F-350, the Mercury Milan, and the Ford
Focus. IMPCO Automotive, subsidiary of Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc. and a designer,
manufacturer and supplier of alternative fuel components and systems has ramped up
production of its CNG system designed for Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana Cargo vans.
Each Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana CNG van is covered by GMs three-year, 36.000
mile new vehicle limited warranty and five-year, 100.000 mile limited powertrain warranty. All
vehicles comply with EPA: BIN 5 and CARB: LEV2 SULEV emission requirements,
certified in all 50 states. One of the first major fleet orders received by GM and built at the
IMPCO Automotive Union City Plant was an order of 101 Chevrolet Express 2500 Cargo
vans for AT&T, to be used in its customer service fleet. AT&T had previously announced a
goal to deploy 15.000 alternative fuel vehicles by 2018. Also, IMPCO Technologies has been
issued 2011 model year Certifications for IMPCO dedicated CNG Fuel Systems for Ford
Motor Company vehicles. Baytech Corporation (Baytech), a wholly owned subsidiary of
Landi Renzo USA (Landi Renzo), has developed a 50-state CARB and EPA certified
dedicated compressed natural gas (CNG) system for the 2011 Chevrolet Impala and Buick
Lucerne. Since this CNG vehicle is rated as SULEV (Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle), the
CNG Impala and Lucerne will be eligible for the High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes in California
as well as many other states. Baytech has also obtained 2010 U.S EPA and Californian Air
Resources Board (CARB) emissions certifications for its dedicated CNG and bi-fuel (CNG or
gasoline) 6.0L and 8.1L engines for General Motors, Isuzu and Workhorse medium and
heavy duty vehicles. Vehicles covered by these new certifications include cab forward,
cutaway van, chassis cab and custom chassis models. First CNG Conversion Provider in
U.S. to Earn Designation by Ford BAF Technologies, Inc., Clean Energy Fuels Corp.
subsidiary, has been officially designated by the Ford Motor Company as a Ford Qualified
Vehicle Modifier (QVM) for gaseous-fuelled vehicles. BAFs alternative fuel vehicle upfitting
capabilities include aftermarket CNG conversions of Ford-manufactured vans, cutaway
shuttles, taxis, pick-ups and light-duty trucks. Leggett & Platt Commercial Vehicle Products
(L&P CVP), a Qualified Vehicle Modifier (QVM) of Ford vehicles in the USA, will install Landi
Renzo alternative fuel systems at its Ford ship-thru facility in Ohio, in a new strategic
partnership that will see more NGV choices available for fleet operators and vehicle owners.
NatGasCar LLC, a U.S provider of natural gas vehicle conversion and refuelling systems,
has developed and recently received EPA certification for a CNG conversion system for the
Dodge Ram 1500, Dodge Dakota, and Mitsubishi Raider. The certification is for model years
2010 and 2011 and is available in CNG Dedicated or Bi-Fuel (gasoline/CNG) configurations.
NaturalDrive Partners, LLC, has obtained model year 2011 certification from the California
Air Resources Board (CARB) and the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its
dedicated CNG system for General Motors full-size vans. This certification meets Californias
SULEV emission standard. The U.S Department of Treasury confirmed that 2011 General
Motors Vehicles converted by NaturalDrive to operate solely on natural gas meet the
requirements of the Qualified Alternative Fuel Motor Vehicle Credit, earning a tax credit of
US $8.000. NaturalDrive Partners has also previously obtained model year 2010 EPA
emissions certification for its dedicated CNG retrofit of the General Motors 6 liter three
quarter and full ton trucks, and retrofitted vehicles can also qualify for the maximum federal
tax credit of US $8.000 for vehicles in this weight class. Vehicle models covered by this
certificate were originally produced by General Motors in model year 2010 to operate on
gasoline and have been modified by the above named manufacturer to operate on CNG.
Fleets can convert a wide variety of sedans, trucks and vans to CNG operation with certified
NaturalDrive systems, including the Chevrolet Impala, Malibu, G6, HUMMER H3,
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Ford has developed and tested a CNG/LPG Gaseous Engine Prep Package to be installed
by preferred upfitters, who install the CNG/LPG tanks and hardware. The engine comes with
hardened exhaust valves and valve seats for improved wear resistance and durability for
gaseous fuel systems, and Ford engineers work with the upfit companies to ensure
consistent and reliable performance. The new engine calibration maintains engine operating
limits as specified for cylinder pressures, piston temperatures and engine speed, among
others. Ford maintains the engine and powertrain warranty (five years/50.000 miles) and the
upfitter is responsible for the system component warranty. By 2012, half of all Ford vehicles
will be capable of running on alternative fuel.
Chrysler could bring natural gas vehicles (NGVs) to the North American market in as little as
two and a half years, but Fiat NGVs are unlikely despite their success in Europe. The U.S.
has different prerequisites for vehicles entering the natural gas market than does Europe,
ranging from crash testing to onboard engine diagnostics, so Fiat product adaption is unlikely.
The introduction of Chrysler-engineered bi-fuel NGVs is apparently the most likely option.
American Honda Motor Co. Inc. has introduced its 2012 Honda Civic concept model,
confirming the inclusion of the natural gas powertrain amongst the range of options.
Promotion of the new Honda Civic natural gas sedan was announced in July 2011.
General Motors signed in July 2011 an agreement with Westport Innovations Inc. to develop
natural gas engine controls, emissions and performance strategies. Project will focus on
light-weight engines as small as 0.5 litres, a size that would be used in small, passenger
vehicles. Currently the only commercial, OEM natural-gas powered passenger car on the
U.S market is the Honda Civic GX.
Gaseous Fuel Systems, Corporation (GFS), a manufacturer and seller of equipment that
enables diesel engines to operate on both diesel and natural gas, has successfully
demonstrated its dual-fuel conversion system for mining vehicles in the United States. The
CAT 777 operating at a commercial coal production facility in Harlan County, Kentucky
operates with more than 60% gas substitution for diesel without loss of performance. GFS is
preparing to launch its first commercial U.S. fleet conversion of mining vehicles in 2011 in
Eastern Kentucky and Southern West Virginia where there are hundreds of mining trucks
that could be converted to the GFS system. Large numbers of on-road 18 wheeler tractor
trailer trucks hauling coal in this region can also be converted by GFS. The dual-fuel system
will allow mining equipment to save more than 30% on fuel cost using U.S. produced natural
gas while lowering emissions.
The Mississippi River and other inland rivers of the U.S are home to several thousand
towboats, all facing current and future environmental restrictions on emissions. Wrtsil and
Ship Architects, Inc., USA, have cooperated to develop a new environmentally sound
towboat concept that employs Wrtsil dual-fuel engines for propulsion. The riverboat
industry is facing challenges as the result of progressively severe restrictions being imposed
on engine emissions. Further reductions will be needed in the future when the Emissions
Control Area (ECA) regulations take effect in August 2012. There is a sense of urgency to
the development of more environmentally friendly vessels. Mentioned dual-fuel technology
enables the towboats of U.S.rivers to be powered by engines that comply with current and
future environmental legislation, while creating operational cost savings for the operators
(technology eliminates need for low-sulphur fuel). The key driver to this need for change is
the U.S EPA lowering of sulphur content levels in the fuel used (EPAs limits are tighter than
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the global standards). The bottleneck to the adoption of these new standards is the limited
refining capacity for low-sulphur fuel (therefore potentially creating a shortage of supply and
higher fuel prices due to increased demand).
The Staten Island Ferry will receive $ 2.34 million in federal funding for a pilot program for
conversion from diesel fuel to LNG (currently, the ferries run on ultra-low diesel). As the only
ferry service between the Island and Manhattan, the Staten Island Ferry carries more than 21
million passengers per year, including 65,000 passengers every weekday. The boats make
109 daily trips during the work week. Because of heavy use, the ferries must be constantly
fuelled and undergo maintenance work.
Naval architectural and marine engineering firm The Glosten Associates recently (August
2011) completed the feasibility study for Washington State Ferries on converting its 144-car
ferry design to LNG propulsion. The study concluded that the conversion is both technically
feasible and cost effective, although technical and regulatory challenges remain. The study
examined design, economic, regulatory, and environmental issues. To support the study,
Glosten developed a preliminary design for both dual-fuel and monofuel (LNG only) engines.
This design was formally reviewed by the United States Coast Guard.
The fuelling infrastructure development projects and agreements, the unavoidable element of
the chicken and egg equation are summarized here (based on the available data, several
examples are listed bellow).
Natural gas fuel provider Clean Energy Fuels Corp. has signed long-term agreements with
four major airport complexes in four states to design, build, own and operate new CNG
stations to support ground transport vehicles and off-airport parking shuttles. The new
stations, available 24/7 for public access, will be located in New York City, New York; New
Orleans, Louisiana; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Tampa, Florida.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp., has also signed an agreement with Pilot Travel Centers LLC
(Pilot) to build, own and operate public access CNG/LNG fuelling facilities at agreed-upon
Pilot Flying J truck travel centres nationwide. Pilot Flying J, the largest retail operator of travel
centres in Northern America, operates over 550 truck travel centres in 43 states and six
Canadian provinces. With the availability of new, class-8, 2010 EPA-compliant natural gas
trucks from several major manufacturers, major regional and national trucking operators are
considering the move to natural gas for their fleets to add fuel diversity, lower emissions and
reduce dependence on imported oil. This partnership will also enable to begin creating a
nationwide goods movement corridor for natural gas trucks.
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. also issued plans to expand its existing network of LNG truck
fuelling stations in Southern California in 2010 beyond its current two LNG stations. New or
upgraded LNG fuelling facilities are planned for strategic points along truck transport routes
in the California cities. This hub of stations will form the backbone upon which Clean Energy
intends to expand its LNG fuelling efforts into the South-western region of the United States.
Trucks will be able to transport goods from the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, deliver
them to distribution centres, and take the goods directly to stores in local communities. This
augmented LNG truck fuelling capability plays a key role in the creation of a full-scale
Southwest LNG truck-fuelling corridor and is planned to connect this group of LNG fuelling
stations in Southern California to Northern California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah.
Clean Energy has received in total $300 million in the past few months (summer 2011) to
develop LNG fuelling stations across the country (see also section on Chesapeake Energy
Corp. later in this chapter). Companys plan is to expand its national fuelling network to 100-
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plus more long-haul trucking (stations) over the next couple of years (in addition to existing
248 VNG and LNG stations including the first long-haul LNG station).
In August 2011, a group of alternative fuel activists is putting forward plans for the Interstate
Clean Transportation Corridor (ICTC) which proposes a series of LNG and CNG filling
stations connecting heavily trafficked interstate trucking routes between Utah, California, and
Nevada. The lland for the first ICTC station (a for-profit, privately-owned business) was
donated by UPS.
On the customers side, across the United States, more than 11.000 transit buses, nearly
4.000 refuse trucks, over 3.000 school buses, 15.000 to 17.000 medium-duty vehicles and
more than 30.000 light-duty vehicles in federal, state, local government and private fleets are
already gas-fuelled (status mid-2011). What can be seen lately is the further introduction of
natural gas into fleets (heavy-duty segment, delivery services and taxis) as the prime mover
of market development. Several recent examples are listed bellow.
More refuse haulers in cities of Washington, New York and Vermont are strengthening their
eco-conscious programs to help them save fuel and reduce carbon emissions. Leading
refuse operators in Florida, New Jersey, Idaho and California have opened new CNG filling
stations to support deployment of their growing fleets of CNG refuse collection trucks.
Besides introducing more NGVs, firms like Waste Management, Casella Waste Systems and
Allied Waste are planning to open new refuelling facilities to serve their fleets. Republic
Services, Inc., a provider of recycling and solid waste collection, transfer and disposal
services in the US and Puerto Rico, had decided to make 20 percent of its fleet renewals for
2010 with NGVs by adding 226 NGV trucks to 10 facilities in its Western region. Of the 226
NGVs, 173 are CNG and the remaining 53 are on LNG.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has awarded Clean Energy Fuels Corp. a US$40-million
contract to design and build four new CNG stations to support the transition of DARTs fixed
route and paratransit bus fleet to 100% CNG power. Over the next three years (starting in
mid 2011), the agency plans to deploy 452 new CNG buses and 200 CNG paratransit
vehicles as replacements for its current fleet of LNG and diesel-powered models that began
service in 1998. The Board of the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has
awarded a contract for up to 475 buses. These CNG buses will be operated by the New York
City Transit Authority (NYCTA) and the MTA Bus Company (MTA Bus). Two pilot buses will
be delivered to the MTA in the second quarter of 2011, with the balance of the base order
delivered in the fourth quarter of 2011 and early 2012. The MTA is the largest transit agency
in North America, and is responsible for public transportation in the state of New York.
U.S natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corporation has set goal of converting its
entire corporate fleet of 4.200 vehicles to CNG by 2014. Also, on July 2011, Chesapeake
Energy announced (as the first concrete step in its wider scheme) its intent to provide $150
million in financial support to Clean Energy's continued expansion. The funds will be
dispersed over three years and take the form of convertible debt to be used for the
construction of 150 LNG fuelling facilities along the interstate highway system. Chesapeake
announced redirecting approximately 1 percent to 2 percent of its annual drilling cap-ex
(capital expenditure budget) over the next 10 years, or at least $1 billion in total, to stimulate
market adoption of CNG, LNG and GTL (natural gas-to-liquids) fuels.
In a bid to cut costs and get front-of-the-line privileges at Dallas/Fort Worth International
Airport, the biggest taxi company in North Texas plans to convert nearly all of its company-
owned cabs from gasoline to CNG. Yellow Cab wants to take advantage of a program that
D/FW Airport implemented allowing taxis fuelled by natural gas to jump to the front of the line
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for fares. Furthermore, Taxi Affiliation Services (TAS), which operates Yellow Cab Chicago,
the nations oldest and largest continuously operating taxicab fleet, has awarded Clean
Energy Fuels Corp. a 10-year contract to build and operate two new CNG fuelling stations
and sell fuel to the companys growing CNG taxi fleet. Yellow Cab Chicago and its affiliates
plan an initial deployment of 100 new CNG taxis. In addition to serving Yellow Cab taxis, the
stations will be open 24/7 for public access.
The South Coast Air Management District (SCAQMD) awarded more than US$40 million to
help replace 146 diesel school buses across the Southland and about 400 older diesel trucks
operating primarily at the ports and in other goods movement activities. 128 of the 146
school buses will be replaced with natural gas vehicles. Furthermore, the National
Association of Pupil Transportation (NAPT), in conjunction with NGV Fleet Partners, has
unveiled Operation Upcycle, a Stimulus program which aims to help school districts repower
aging diesel engine school buses with new CNG engines, by subsidizing the costs of
conversion with low interest loans, and funded by a grant awarded through the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The program is open to any school district with
access to CNG refueling stations. A typical CNG school bus conversion can cost upwards of
US$50.000.
Ryder System, Inc., a global transport and supply chain management business, and the San
Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG) have moved into implementation phase on
the first of its kind stimulus-funded natural gas truck leasing and rental project in Southern
California. With the contracts in place, Ryder is about to purchase the first 70 LNG/CNG
trucks. Ryder will purchase and deploy approximately 202 heavy-duty natural gas powered
trucks for this project. These ultra low-emission trucks will be deployed into Ryders Southern
California operations network of 1.200 customers representing more than 6.000 commercial
trucks, where Ryders commercial customers will access them through short-term rentals,
long-term leases, or through Ryders dedicated logistics services.
In 2010 UPS has deployed 245 new delivery trucks powered by CNG to cities in Colorado
and California. The trucks, built from scratch as CNG vehicles, joined more than 900 CNG
vehicles already in use by UPS worldwide.
By the end of 2010 AT&T has deployed 2.000 CNG corporate fleet vehicles. This milestone
is part of a US$565 million planned investment announced in March 2009 to replace
approximately 15.000 fleet vehicles with alternative-fuel models through 2018. Currently, the
AT&T corporate fleet includes more than 75.900 vehicles. Through 2013, AT&T anticipates
purchasing approximately 8.000 CNG vehicles at an anticipated cost of US$350 million.
AT&T expects to spend an additional US$215 million through 2018 to replace approximately
7.100 fleet passenger cars with alternative-fuel models. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. has
contracted with AT&T to supply CNG fuelling stations to support AT&T in its commitment to
deploy above mentioned up to 8.000 CNG fleet vehicles nationwide. As part of a multi-year
master agreement, Clean Energy will build, operate and supply CNG stations for AT&Ts use.
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SOUTH AMERICA
Peugeot Argentina introduced to this country and to Latin America, the new 408 (assembled
in Argentina for distribution to Latin America).
On the vehicles conversion side, CNG has consolidated its technological lead regarding to
the massive application of electronic technology equipment with injection of 5th generation. In
2010, the shares of sales of such equipment grew by 25 to 30 percent of the total vehicle
conversions to NGVs.
Regarding off-road applications, it was announced from Australia that Buquebus had
purchased the first ferry propelled by LNG, which will be operating between Argentina and
Uruguay. Late in 2010, the shipbuilder Incat Tasmania Pty Ltd announced it had signed a
contract to build what will be the first high-speed passenger ship powered by natural gas.
The boat is under construction at the Incat shipyard in Prince of Wales, Tasmania, and
delivery is expected in spring 2012, to be operational during the summer season. The ship,
which can accommodate over 1.000 passengers and 153 cars, will have a speed of 53 knots
allowing it to compete in terms of time with air traffic between Uruguay and Argentina. The
use of LNG in the ship propulsion can allow savings of 45% in total operating costs
compared with those involving the use of standard heavy fuel oil.
BOLIVIA is the country in Latin America (after Venezuela) with the second largest quantity of
natural gas reserves.
The Bolivian Government has created the NGV Conversion Executing Entity (EEC-GNV) to
stimulate the utilization of natural gas in transportation, through resources from an
appropriate Government Fund that will be transferred to EEC-GNV, to cover conversion
costs, which will be directly made by this entity. The Government of Bolivia will promote the
creation of incentives for the import of NGVs. The purpose of the EEC-GNV is also to reduce
the demand for LPG in the country by switching vehicles to natural gas. Vehicle operators on
the LPG register have been given 90 days to enter conversion programs. Article 16 of the
draft of the Transport Act states that the use of natural gas will be promoted through tax
incentives for the importation of cars and via different fuel prices. In addition there will be
facilities for the acquisition of transportation units and incentives for manufacturing and
vehicle assembly and parts of the transport vehicles to NGV or other energy. The Oil Ministry
has already authorized direct purchase of installation kits that can accelerate the conversion
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process. The country's goal is the conversion of 80.000 vehicles per year, in conjunction with
the construction of new CNG stations on the routes. In three years, there would be 240.000
NGVs and the plan for 2015 seeks to bring the number to one million. Through Restructuring
Commission and the EEC-GNV, Bolivia aims to accelerate the shift of the energy matrix to
decrease dependence on imported petrol and diesel subsidized fuel last year claimed more
than 660 million dollars from the government. Ministry of Hydrocarbons and Energy (MHE) is
authorized to direct procurement of CNG conversion kits and cylinders, in addition to
negotiating with conversion centres, to accelerate the shift of the energy matrix. According to
MHE, natural gas filling stations would be placed approximately every 80 kilometers along
the highways..
Under the Supreme Decree of January 12.2011, the MHE reached a preliminary agreement
with the Chinese firm Eastern Petroleum & Gas SA, for the mass conversion of vehicles to
use natural gas for vehicles, with emphasis on the fleet dedicated to public transport,
commencing April. The company is offering to supply gas cylinders, installation kits, training
of national manpower to perform conversions at an accelerated pace, and funding of all work
in conditions suitable for Bolivia. Eastern Petroleum & Gas SA has offered to place three
industrial workshops in the capitals of the countrys central axis, which can convert up to 100
vehicles per day. The company also offered to bring a dozen technicians familiar with the
equipment into the country, to train about three hundred Bolivian mechanics, who will be
tasked with the conversion.
Aiming at the transformation of the energy matrix of the vehicle fleet, the government of Evo
Morales launched a program of conversion to natural gas and free cylinders retest, with
funds for around 70 million Bolivianos. Workshops enabled to do this do not pass the cost on
to the user, but Yacimientos Petrolferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) is responsible for
making the payment to them. As a result of this, it is expected that in the short term at least
15.000 vehicles will be added to the existing NGV fleet. The cities of La Paz, Santa Cruz and
Sucre are the starting locations for a new drive to convert LPG public transport vehicles to
natural gas. The free conversion program, initiated by Bolivias Ministry of Hydrocarbons and
Energy, is carried out under the directives of relevant Supreme Decree. It also includes
replacement and redevelopment of NGV cylinders. The first stage aims to convert 7.000
vehicles.
In Santa Cruz, the biggest city in Bolivia, conversion of diesel buses to CNG system will be
activated. This programme is supported by the government as it plans to approve the
purchase of 6.000 units of CNG engines from China. The conversion will be carried out with
full funding (for free). Bolivia has about 65.000 buses that require change or conversion.
Meanwhile, in La Paz City, 30.000 CNG engines are required for the conversion. Santa Cruz
and Cochabamba were reported to have about 45.000 vehicles. Bolivias National
Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH) has given the green light for the start up of CNG conversion
programme in Cochabamba.
The NGV segment in BRAZIL has been severely impacted by not very competitive prices of
natural gas relatively to other transportation fuels such as ethanol and gasoline. Efforts have
been made to stimulate the use of natural gas in heavy-duty vehicles, to replace diesel fuel,
through the organization of workshops or conferences, in the last couple of years. Some
efforts have also been made by OEMs to convince fleet owners, showing new developed
technologies, such as duel fuel or bi-fuel utilization instead of diesel or gas only, but with
limited success. There are indications that some governmental public policies and incentives
are needed, to change the current picture.
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The Rio State Government has worked recently to prepare Rio de Janeiro for the 2014 World
Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. These preparations include creation of the Rio
Sustainable Transport initiative, a public-private partnership designed to reduce emissions by
using eco-friendly vehicles. State officials consulted with regional firms like Robert Bosch
Latin America, MAN Latin America and Gas Natural Fenosa to produce a public transit
vehicle that achieves lower emissions. The Volksbus prototype was developed having the
injection system of natural gas in the vehicle, allowing the bus running up to 90% of its
consumption with CNG. This dual fuel system was the first produced in Brazil. The next step
of the project will be the inclusion of the vehicle on a normal operation to track emissions and
noise. Volksbus will be tested over the next two years ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
Brazil expands natural gas use in the off-road segment with more than a hundred boats to be
converted in the in the Amazon region. The first of these natural gas powered motorboats will
cover the region of Tef (523 kilometres from the capital city of Amazonas state). It will
feature an Italian 5th generation kit with electronic fuel injection and six 20 kg cylinders that
will be on the outside of the boat. It will also be able to run on gasoline. While the use of
CNG is emerging in the state of Amazonas, the boat technology was already tested in the
dual fuel Ivete Sangalo ferry, which operates in Bahia with 70 percent of natural gas and 30
of diesel.
COLOMBIA has the biggest heavy and medium duty NGV fleet of Latin America. In
accordance with the local Government, the NGV segment will show an annual growth of 7%
up to 2020. And the natural gas annual demand for this market will be growing at a level of
1.47% during the next 10 years. Still, based upon reliable sources, the country natural gas
reserves are bigger than the oil ones. The countrys domestic market is mature and new
attention is being given to natural gas for transportation, with collaboration between
companies in the gas supply chain aimed at further developing the NGV market. One of the
most recent was the release of 15.000 bonds in Bogota and municipalities in the centre of
the country to finance 50% of the conversion cost of vehicles to CNG, using funds provided
by supply chain companies such as Ecopetrol and Chevron Texaco (gas producers), TGI
(gas transporters), Gas Natural (distributor and service stations), and GN Auto Gazel
(service stations).
The company Colombiana de Chasises has launched the countrys first articulated CNG bus,
specially designed to run on this fuel. The vehicle will operate in Medelln (with expected
selling of at least 60 units in the short term, while the target will be intermediate cities in the
country). The 6-tons bus with capacity of carrying 120 passengers was built entirely in
Colombia and has a Cummins natural gas engine which meets Euro 5 standards. In turn, the
unit has a smaller turning radius and with its lighter axles the impact on the pavement is
lower and avoids road damage.
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Hyundai Motors Company has introduced its bi-fuel Hyundai Atos and Accent in the
Colombian market. Local installers will install the CNG kits in these cars. Initially, the vehicles
will be used in taxi fleets. Hyundai is the dominant taxi brand in the country with a target of
12.000 unit sales this year. It expects between 10 and 15 percent of its taxi sales will be
natural gas. An alliance with Gas Express Vehicular and NGV Motori, with support from
Gazel, will assist taxi owners meeting the higher cost of CNG taxis by financing, or via
recharging arrangements when refuelling.
In CHILE the city of Punta Arenas presented its new fleet of CNG provided by Movigas.
Trans-Andean companies are developing initiatives to convert urban public transport, and
also planning to set up more CNG stations and even launch zero mileage CNG vehicles on
the local market. The companies Gasco and Cidef reached a short-term agreement to begin
selling vehicles that are ready to run on this technology and thus promote and reinforce the
use of the gaseous fuel throughout the country. The main objective is to focus on the taxi
segment and then expand the range of CNG models for private users. The only vehicles
currently authorized to run on natural gas are those intended for commercial purposes,
unless the vehicle was originally manufactured to run on natural gas. This project aims to
overcome this obstacle and will develop gradually with the leading brands and models.
Gasco intends to expand its presence in the country and is analyzing the possibility to exploit
the presence of its partner gas companies (Unigas and Vidagas) which have experience in
vehicle fuel segment.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) of PERU reported that the value of
Scrap Bond will reach US$ 5.000, depending on the level of seniority of the vehicle to be
scrapped, and that will be used to pay part of the cost of new units that use NGV. The
Minister of Transport and Communications announced the issuing of a legal device to finalize
the procedure for initiating the delivery of the Bond. The delivery was announced to start with
the Provincial Municipality of Callao and the Bonds will be financed from the budget
established by the national government, through the MTC. Depending on the age of vehicles,
the Bond will be between 3.500 and 5.000 dollars.
On the fleet customer and infrastructure development side several examples are listed
bellow.
The Lima Metropolitan System is currently operating 600 buses powered by natural gas,
adding another 300 to circulate for three years in the traditional routes. And Lima Bus, which
is one of the four operators of the Metropolitan, in the year 2011, plans to acquire another
350 buses.
Gas Comprimido del Per (Gascop) is investing about three million dollars in the construction
of a mega station in the province of Chiclayo, Lambayeque, to supply the energy for use in
public service vehicles. Operations are projected to start during the third quarter of 2011, and
the company will also invest 400 thousand dollars in the expansion of the current operations
in Chiclayo. When the two stations become operational they will provide natural gas for 2.000
vehicles per day in the city of Chiclayo, and there are also about 550 public service vehicles
converted to natural gas in Lambayeque, a figure which by year-end is projected to reach
about 1.500 units. In addition, Gascop will also construct of its second refuelling station in
Piura, which will serve a large number of customers.
NEOgs do Per S.A (NGP) has offered a new system for refuelling urban and interurban
buses in Lima and Callao in connection with the launch of Neobus. The new service offers
carriers the opportunity to have CNG service stations on their premises. Provided that the
bus company meets prescribed minimum fuel consumption levels, NEOgas says it will install
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the system at zero cost to the carrier by assuming all installation and maintenance costs for
the first five years. At the completion of the five-year period, ownership of some of the
equipment is transferred to the carrier and, if they wish, they can assume the administration
of the facility at a much lower cost, to be operated by their own trained personnel.
Based upon information released by the Ministry of Energy of VENEZUELA, 43.000 vehicles
have been converted to natural gas in 2010. Still in accordance with this source, the
objective of this program is to convert 400.000 vehicles until the end of 2012. The
Government has also made agreements with some international OEMs to have 30% of their
vehicles offered to the Venezuelan market, capable to run as a bi-fuel vehicle:
gasoline/natural gas. The objective of the Program is to reduce 30% of the current gasoline
consumption in the country.
Through the Autogas program, the government of Hugo Chvez since 2007 encourages the
development of the CNG industry and the change of the energy matrix. The target is to
stimulate a rational use of liquid fuels in the domestic market via a gradual switch to NGVs.
For the reactivation of this plan, the government announced a resolution by which OEMs,
manufacturers, importers and distributors of vehicles must produce at least 30 percent of its
vehicles with bi-fuel system, a proportion that should rise to 50 percent in 2011.
Three vehicles models from General Motors and Ford Motor are leaders in Venezuela
concerning the sales of CNG vehicles as a result of the Autogas program. According to the
report for the first four months of 2011 from the Venezuela Automotive Chamber (Cavenez),
the first place was held by the Aveo followed by the Optra and the Fiesta. The ranking also
includes other models like the Corolla and Terios (Toyota), the Cherokee (Chrysler) and the
Elantra (Mitsubishi)..
The official distributors of Peugeot vehicles and parts in Venezuela will offer the 408 Allure
with a CNG (bi-fuel) option to taxi operators, a product aimed particularly at operators
servicing the tourist sector. This model is assembled in Argentina for distribution in all of
Latin America (see also section on Argentina).
Iveco Venezuela in June 2011 launched its natural gas powered Eurocargo truck (the first of
a new series) for use in urban solid waste collection. After an evaluation period the truck will
be transferred to various entities within the national territory, to evaluate its performance in
different geographical conditions.
Another measure to attain large-scale implementation of the program is the free conversion
service. That is, the users can install the NGV system for free, while the vehicle will be
supplied with CNG in the stations authorized by the program at no cost. To consolidate the
project, Venezuela also plans to use technology and experience from Argentina in what will
be the possible formation of joint ventures between the two countries to produce locally the
material needed for the expansion of the Autogas program.
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Mexico, Dominican Republic and Trinidad & Tobago have initiated efforts to use natural gas
in their vehicular fleets, to replace gasoline, diesel or LPG, depending on each region. Those
programs are still at a very preliminary stage, and in most of the cases, under evaluation by
their local Governments.
MEXICO Citys Passenger Transport Network (La Red de Transporte de Pasajeros RTP)
has introduced 30 new CNG buses to the city. The 11-meter buses are dedicated CNG
vehicles (Euro 5) from Hyundai in Korea, specially tuned for Mexico Citys high altitude. Gas
is supplied by Gazel, while the RTP considers the establishment of its own refuelling facility.
RTP is also planning to introduce a larger scale of this technological innovation, taking into
consideration the financial investment in infrastructure for fuel supply, the technical aspects
of maintenance, operation and training of operational staff.
Hyundai also introduced in mid-2011 a new Class 7 truck model (HD120) for the distribution
of goods, equipped with 195 hp CNG engine.
The CNG filling station operator Gazel from South America has announced that it will invest
US$ 50 million over the next five years in the construction and operation of 40 CNG filling
stations in Mexico. The Grupo Dina company (a local OEM vehicle manufacturer) plans to
expand its production of a CNG buses via a new model (using Cummins Westport engines).
Dina aims to replace 20.000 units of more than 20 years old minibuses in the Mexico City.
Already 30 Dina CNG minibuses are put on trial in Guadalara.
In order to mitigate the adverse impact of volatile fuel prices, the Government of the
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC in mid-2011 initiated the adoption of a set of measures to reduce
oil dependency which includes the gradual transformation of the energy matrix and transport
fleet to the use of unconventional fuels such as natural gas. The announcement was made
by Minister of Industry and Commerce, who reported that the Government has allocated
RD$ 400 million (US$ 10.5 million) for the start-up of the conversion plan via the first 1.600
units of public transport vehicles. In May 2011, new licenses were issued to operate 3
companies that import CNG equipments, 20 conversion centres, and 42 new fuelling stations.
They will also develop four extended corridors with dispensing points, which will be set from
Santo Domingo to all around the East, North, South and Northwest regions. Additionally, the
Minister of Industry and Commerce, at that time announced, that the first stage of public
transport fleet conversions to natural gas will start in June 2011 at the 35 workshops
authorized for kits installations, where the first 5.000 units will be converted. The Government
aims to achieve the conversion of 20.000 vehicles before the end of its current administration.
In August 2011, a Reservas Bank fund of more than RD$ 800 million (US$ 21.2 million) was
created to provide financing of natural gas kit installations to 17.000 drivers of passenger
vehicles. The owners of the converted vehicles will repay the bank via discounts from the
natural gas coupons issued to them. It is important to note that the Dominican Republic
already has introduced laws and technical standards regulating conversions and the storage,
distribution, and sale of natural gas.
In TRINIDAD & TOBAGO a CNG task force was in mid-2011 looking at a US$ 20 million
proposal to convert 400 buses operated by the Public Transport Service Corporation (PTSC)
to operate with CNG instead of diesel. The conversion process should take six months. The
Government would spend approximately US$ 2.6 billion on the fuel subsidy and was actively
moving to get more of the nations motorists to use CNG as an alternate fuel to free up funds
for development. The Government hopes that the various tax incentives offered to CNG
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users would assist in attracting at least 15.000 new users in the following year, and around
100.000 users over a five year period.
Trinidad and Tobagos plans for increasing the use of natural gas vehicles are being
translating into action with the establishment of the above mentioned government CNG Task
Force launched in October 2010, and with the first of at least five new CNG refuelling
stations being commissioned. The CNG Task Force is aimed at diversifying the countrys
transportation fuel mix as well as reducing the petroleum subsidy bill and the costs of
transportation and vehicle maintenance through increased uptake of natural gas.
The Government is now actively seeking to accelerate the development of CNG as a major
transportation fuel.
Removal of Customs Import Duty on CNG conversion kits and cylinders required to
convert vehicles from liquid fuels to CNG.
Grant of a tax credit to individuals of 25% of the cost of CNG conversion kits and
cylinders used in conversion to CNG up to a maximum of US$ 10.000.
Grant of Wear and Tear Allowance of 130% of the cost of CNG conversion kits and
cylinders used in the conversion of fleets.
Grant of Wear and Tear Allowance of 130% of the cost of plant, machinery and
equipment, required for a conversion centre, excluding installation costs.
Zero rating of value added tax (VAT) for 5 years on imports of factory outfitted private and
commercial CNG vehicles which are no older than 2 years.
Removal of motor vehicle tax (MVT) for 5 years on imports of factory outfitted private and
commercial CNG vehicles which are no older than 2 years.
Trinidad and Tobago National Petroleum Marketing Company Limited has been requested to
develop within 18 months, at least 5 new service stations with the capability of refuelling
vehicles which use CNG. The task force is charged with the development and
implementation of measures required to maximize the use of CNG. These will include
updating of the Petroleum (CNG) Regulations, developing a Public education program,
monitoring and control of the CNG industry and soliciting and addressing the concerns of the
wider CNG stakeholders. Other goals include:
Over the next five years, transform 15-20% (75.000 to 100.000 vehicles) of the vehicle
population to CNG vehicles.
Introduce a network of up to 20 dedicated and 40 multi fuel CNG filling locations as well
as up to 20 CNG installation and inspection sites to provide state-of-the-art service to
CNG users.
All new CNG service stations must have the technology to refuel vehicles within a three
minute time frame, thereby removing the concern that many drivers have about the length of
time it takes to fill the CNG kits.
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ASIA
CENTRAL ASIA
Progressively rising natural gas production is transforming KAZAKHSTAN from a net gas
importer to a net exporter. Natural gas development has lagged behind oil due to the lack of
domestic gas pipeline infrastructure linking the western producing region with the eastern
industrial region as well as insufficiency in export pipelines. However, the Kazakhstan-China
gas pipeline will enable the transport of gas to Kazakhstan's industrial region, and will also
enableincreased gas exports when it comes online in 2014.
The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) will be working with stakeholders in Almaty to create
an NGV roadmap especially for its project in Almaty. Almaty city officials, the Kazakhstani
government, and gas company Kaztransgas are working to develop codes and standards for
natural gas vehicles and infrastructure as well as training needs. The U.S DOE, Argonne
National Laboratory, and Clean Fuels Consulting are using the experience of the successful
Clean Cities program to develop a roadmap for these stakeholders. To develop the roadmap,
DOE is compiling input from a range of stakeholders including the Almaty city government
(the Akimat), KazTransGas, the national Kazakhstan natural gas company, British Gas
Kazakhstan (which built the first CNG fuelling station), a variety of the NGV equipment
suppliers engaged in the project, local research institutes, and the principal funding
institutions, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the United Nations
Development Program. The roadmap will elaborate the stakeholders various goals,
opportunities and challenges in implementing a long term NGV program. Almaty Electrotrans
(AET), the municipal bus company, will deploy 200 new CNG fuelled buses over the course
of 2011, supported by a US$ 35 million loan from European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD). The first 20 buses were delivered in December 2010. All 200 buses
are anticipated to be in service during the second quarter of 2011. AET awarded the bus
contract to Zhengzhou Yutong, a Chinese company that uses Cummins-Westport, Inc. C
Gas Plus natural gas engines. The initial roll-out of 20 buses occurred in time to support the
Asian Winter Games slated for the end of February 2011. British Gas completed a filling
station for the buses in July 2010 capable of serving 240 buses. More stations are planned
for the city by KazTransGas, a distribution-focused subsidiary of national oil and gas
company Kazmuniagas, with the hope that private bus operators and other fleet operators
see the benefit of this new, cleaner transportation technology. Once the pilot program is
launched successfully in Almaty, the gas company plans to create a network of CNG stations
(up to 100 CNG stations will be built across the country) ultimately supported by 50.000
NGVs. As part of this Concept on Expansion of CNG as a motor fuel for 2010-2015
investments within this 5-year period will total US$ 135.5 million. Cooperation between the
U.S. and Kazakhstan in the transport sector is a new initiative of the U.S.-Kazakhstan Energy
Partnership. Seeking to improve the countrys environment and to encourage conversion of
private car owners to CNG the companies are seeking to involve the government by offering
to adopt an official state program, which envisages a number of preferences including
changes into the taxation system in favour of owners of transport vehicles and bus/ taxi fleets
using CNG as a fuel for their vehicles.
South Korean chemical and construction conglomerate Kolon Group has recently signed a
preliminary agreement with the state-run KazTransGaz to build 100 compressed natural gas
filling stations in the Central Asian country by 2015. Both Kolon and KazTransGaz will
establish a joint venture for this project, which involves a US$ 250 million contract to develop
CNG fuelling infrastructure across Kazakhstans major cities.
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ARMENIA is the most developed country in the field of NGVs among the countries of the
FSU. With the total vehicle fleet in the country of about 380 thousand it has about 100
thousand NGVs and 306 refuelling stations. Sales of CNG grow 5 to 8 percent annually. In
2010 Armenian NGVs consumed 318.3 Mcm of natural gas. Practically all taxi cabs and light
duty buses (minivans) use CNG. For now no incentives are offered by the state. The fast
development of NGVs in the country is explained mostly by economic reasons: natural gas
for vehicles is the cheapest motor fuel: CNG: 0.38/ncm; gasoline95: 0.91/l; diesel: 0.83/l.
In January 2011, Kolon Group announced it will spend US$ 83 million over the next four
years to build 50 CNG stations in Uzbekistan, as the company attempts to expand its global
energy business in the Asian market.
U.S firm Honeywell will carry out a project to produce CNG conversion kits and fuelling
components in Uzbekistan. Together with Uzbekneftegaz, Honeywell plans to execute
several joint projects over the next three years (starting in 2011). At the first stage, Honeywell
will organize the production of engine compartment equipment worth US$ 7 million for the
vehicle conversion project. Around 100.000 units of this product will be manufactured on
annual basis. It will also be involved in the establishment of a facility to produce CNG fuelling
components (automated systems, fuel injection). The US$ 5 million investments will be used
to generate 200 units of this product per year. This project is scheduled for 2012. Uzbekistan
in early 2007 adopted an NGV program aiming for a gradual switch of traditionally-fuelled
vehicles to NGV system. This project will last until end of 2012.
EASTERN ASIA
The availability of natural gas in CHINA is growing year by year due to the completion of
significant domestic pipeline infrastructure projects that connect to neighbouring countries
pipelines. Likewise, the amount of imported LNG in coastal areas of Southeast China is
steadily increasing. This relatively recent abundance of natural gas provides the backdrop for
the development and growth of NGV usage in China. In mid-2011 there were a total of
550.000 NGVs and nearly 1.700 natural gas refuelling stations in China. These figures are
increasing rapidly each year, encouraged by more than 60 NGV OEMs (car makers) that
have developed in China. In relation to the number of NGVs, the capacity of the existing fuel
stations is still insufficient. This raises the familiar chicken or egg problem found in many
developing areas. Fortunately, both the government and the natural gas station operators
realize the importance of building more refuelling stations. For example, Hainan Province
plans to add 100 CNG and LNG stations by 2014, while Dongguan City in Guangdong
Province plans to have 60 stations by the end of 2020. To encourage more vehicles to use
CNG fuel, the Lianyungang and Xuzhou governments provide a subsidy of 2.000 Yuan to car
owners for retrofitting. These policies and actions have delivered a positive signal indicating
that the natural gas fueling market will be prosperous in the following years. Since late 2009,
conversion of heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) to LNG system has been very popular. In 2010,
Xinjiang Guanghui alone, planned to produce/convert 3.500 LNG-powered vehicles and build
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60 LNG filing stations. The target continues as 30.000 LNG vehicles and a total of 300
stations are expected to be operated within the next 3-5 years. Infrastructure expansions are
also on the agenda. There are projects on installation of natural gas liquefaction plants (the
Northwest projects) initiated. Meanwhile, the first LNG marine boat in China was operated in
August 2010. The boat ran along the Yangzi River from the Western part of the country to
East of China. For the marine routes, 10 LNG standard filing stations plus 80-100 mobile
stations are planned along Yi Chang City Wuhan Central, each covering 600 km long route.
Apart from that, LNG is gaining momentum in China via public bus projects in some cities in
the South of China, like SanYa, Haikou Hainan Island, Shengzhen, FeShan and Guiyang etc,
which have been in operation since few years ago.
By 2015, three lines of natural gas infrastructure are expected to be completed:
The first is the West-to-East Natural gas pipeline project which was initiated when the
West-to-East line was built five years ago. It supplies 12 billion Nm3 of gas annually.
The Second extension of this West-to-East line offers 30 billion Nm3 gas per year from
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia to China.
20 billion Nm3 gas per year is transported through this pipeline from Sichuan to the East
of China.
The third extension of West-to East line is under consideration
There are LNG Terminals been operated in GuangDong, Fujian and Shanghai. More
LNG terminals are soon going to be built up and operated in the Zhejiang, Jiangsu and
Liaoning provinces.
The constructions of more LNG terminals along the coastal areas offer big opportunities for
after-market conversion business, especially those in heavy-duty trucks and trailers segment.
Presently, there are around 50.000 trucks used for transporting coal and raw materials to
heavy industry areas for power plants and steel related factories which are considered to be
powered by LNG. More and more LNG buses will be operated near these coastal areas. The
cost of converting HDVs to LNG mode can be regained within very short time. The
distribution of gas in areas nearby the existing (and future) natural gas pipelines is good.
However, other surrounding areas outside this gas distribution network and pipeline system
have no access to gas. This provides a good opportunity for LNG related businesses.
China plans to invest up to US$ 1.5 trillion over five years in seven strategic sectors aiming
at accelerating its transition from the worlds supplier of cheap goods to a leading supplier of
high-value technologies. The seven sectors include alternative fuel cars, biotechnology,
energy saving and eco-friendly technologies (for power generation), alternative energy (to
reduce oil import and coal usage), high-end manufacturing, advanced materials, and new
generation information technology. Also, China is pledged to cut carbon emissions per unit of
GDP by 2020 by 40-45 percent from 2005 levels. In the car sector, the chosen technologies
include those using CNG, LNG, electric, hybrid, fuel cells, and LPG. Producers of NGV
component from China are also expanding their market coverage overseas.
Currently China has self-developed pressure reducers, electronic control units and gas
nozzles of NGVs. Those special components have entered the market. The annual
production capacity of natural gas cylinders has reached 800.000 units. Type 1-4 CNG
cylinders and also LNG cylinders are produced. Generally speaking, there are many
manufacturers of equipment for natural gas filling stations, but the production scale is
comparatively small. China has developed its own purification facilities, storage facilities,
compressors and dispensers for stations. That equipment represents 90% of the domestic
market shares, some of them even 100%. The locally-developed components and facilities
largely reduce the cost of the vehicle production and station operation, and contribute to the
large-scale operation of NGVs.
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The State Council Development Research Center has released a New Energy Vehicles in
China Development Strategy Study that gives a clear picture of the future path of alternative
fuelled vehicles (AFVs) in the country. By 2020, car ownership in the country is expected to
reach 140 million and around 200 million by 2030. According to target and projection, by
2025, only half of passenger cars will use gasoline as fuel source. The other half will use
advanced diesel, gas, biofuels, and other new energy sources. It is expected that by 2020
biofuels and fuel cells will play an important role in replacing gasoline in cars.
Three new-energy vehicles production lines for dedicated electric vehicles, hybrids, plus
CNG and LNG vehicles will be installed in six automotive plants in five cities in line with
Sichuans provincial auto-industry development plan for 2010. Throughout China, the
investment in new-energy vehicles is likely to reach 4.5 trillion yuan (US$ 661.4 billion) for
the period of 2011-2020. Various incentives like exemption from purchase tax and taxes on
use of vehicles and ships are expected to be offered by the government.
Under the 2010 "Promotion Year" for the provincial auto-manufacturing sector, the province
is to mainly focus on six auto projects, with a total investment of 17.7 billion yuan (US$ 2.6
billion). The project involves the construction of six auto industrial parks in the cities of
Chengdu, Ziyang, Mianyang, Nanchong and Neijiang, where the alternative fuel vehicles will
be manufactured. In addition, Sichuan also aims to widen research and development of new
energy-powered cars and practical applications, as well as technologies for batteries, battery
charging systems, engines and electronic control systems. Soon the authority will release the
final report of the development plan for China's energy-saving and new-energy vehicles
industry in the period 2011 to 2020. The Declaration of China Automotive Technical
Innovation (or Changchun Consensus) was agreed by representatives of 13 major
domestic carmakers, including the producers of bi-fuel cars and/or dedicated CNG buses
FAW Group Corp, Dongfeng Motor Group, Chery Automobile Co Ltd, etc. Among other
aspects of the pact, the automakers agreed to set up a pan-industry platform to discus
standards, cooperation, technology, quality and sustainable development, as well as to
develop new-energy technologies in the industry. Sinopec would also gradually begin to
provide LNG and electric vehicle charging services in more than 29.000 units of its gas
stations throughout China.
Chinas NGV Light-Duty Vehicles selection consists of various types, amongst others,
motorcycle, dedicated CNG or bi-fuel autorickshaws, bi-fuel tricycles for disabled persons,
passenger cars, minibuses, light-duty trucks. The automakers consists of Astro Motor
Technical Co., Auto Rickshaw, China Chongqing Big Science & Technology (Group),
Chinese Motor Industrial Co., Chongqing Hengtong Bus Co., Ltd., Chongqing Rightway
Industry Corporation Limited, Chongqing Tengzhou Moto Co., Ltd., Biyadi Automobile Co.,
Ltd, Chery Automobile Co., Ltd, Chongqing Chanan Suzuki Automobile Co., Ltd, China CNG
Bus, Dongfeng Citron, Dongfeng Automobile Co., Ltd, Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen
Automobile Co., Ltd , Dongfeng Yueda Kia Automobile Co., Ltd, FAW, FAW Volkswagen
Automobile Co., Ltd, Honda, JMC Brand, CQBUS Kingtonliyang, Lifan, Mudan , Shanghai
Volkswagen Automobile Co., Ltd, Shenyang Brilliance Jinbei Co., Ltd, Tianjin FAW Xiali
Automobile Co., Ltd, Toyota, Geely, etc.
Shaanxi Auto will develop LNG heavy-duty trucks for long-distance transportation providers,
while CNOOC Gas and Power Group will provide the necessary LNG filling stations along
the operating routes of the trucks. The CNOOC Gas and Power Group is a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the CNOOC Group, Chinas biggest offshore oil producer, which is also the
parent company of CNOOC Ltd.
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The carmakers proposal to industry regulators is to include LNG heavy-duty trucks in the
central governments new-energy vehicle subsidy program. Shaanxi currently has
technological cooperation with Germanys MAN AG to make heavy trucks. According to the
vehicle industry prognosis, 30% of total vehicles in this country will be powered by natural
gas by 2020. Local industry executives indicated that gas supply and future price changes
would be the biggest challenges in developing the NGV segment in China, as under
government control natural gas may lose its price advantage over petroleum.
The number of NGVs in JAPAN is almost saturated within a few years. To break this
situation and to disseminate NGV, Tokyo Gas has developed gasoline/CNG hybrid vehicle
as a concept car. The base vehicle is the Sai produced by Toyota. This gasoline/CNG hybrid
vehicle was developed as a concept car to show the potentiality of natural gas as
transportation fuel; however there is currently no plan to sell this vehicle. In spite of the
above, Tokyo Gas will conduct; further modification, gathering and verifying several
performance data such as fuel consumption, exhaust gas content etc.; demonstration in the
several exhibitions to contribute further dissemination of NGVs. Recently two additional
gasoline/CNG hybrid vehicles were manufactured, one is for Tokyo Gas and the other is for
Hokkaido Gas Company, Ltd.
In order to reduce CO2 emissions and increase NGV adoption and cost efficiency of CNG
filling stations, the Japan gas industry has adopted a policy to support the development of
high-efficiency CNG trucks for long distances. Major retailers and manufacturers are
considering a switch to CNG trucks for long-distance intercity routes as well, but not much
progress has been made in the development of CNG models by truck producers. The Japan
Gas Association (JGA) has therefore decided to support this development and JGA
conducts demonstration travelling project in which major freight companies in Japan
participate. In taking this step Japan will also be following the example South Korea.
Thirteen Japanese companies have turned their attention to hydrogen. A joint press release
(January 2011) included the following details regarding the launch of fuel-cell vehicles
(FCVs) in the Japanese market in 2015 and the development of the hydrogen supply
infrastructure necessary for the successful adoption of the vehicles. As development of fuel-
cell systems progresses, Japanese automakers are continuing to drastically reduce the cost
of manufacturing such systems and are aiming to launch FCVs in the Japanese market -
mainly in the countrys four largest cities in 2015.
Hydrogen fuel suppliers are aiming to construct approximately 100 hydrogen fuelling
stations by 2015, based on the number of FCVs expected to initially enter the market, to
ensure a smooth launch and to create an initial market.
With an aim to significantly reduce the amount of CO2 emitted by the transportation
sector, automakers and hydrogen fuel suppliers will work together to expand the
introduction of FCVs and develop the hydrogen supply network throughout Japan. The
two groups are looking to the government to join them in forming various strategies to
support their joint efforts and to gain greater public acceptance of the technology.
As a specific strategic initiative in the immediate future, the companies plan to approach local
governments and other concerned parties to discuss strategies for creating initial consumer
demand for FCVs and for the optimal placement of hydrogen fueling stations, targeting
Japans four major metropolitan areas (Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka). The
companies include: Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Nissan Motor Company, Ltd., Honda
Motor Company, Ltd., JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation, Idemitsu Kosan Company, Ltd.,
Iwatani Corporation, Osaka Gas Company, Ltd., Cosmo Oil Company, Ltd., Saibu Gas
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Company, Ltd., Showa Shell Sekiyu K.K., Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation, Tokyo Gas
Company, Ltd. and Toho Gas, Company, Ltd.
Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. in July 2011 unveiled plans to develop a car carrier that uses
LNG as fuel and is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions 40% over vessels running on
fuel oil. The marine shipper will develop the carrier with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and
the Norwegian body (DNV) that approves technological standards for ships. The carrier is
expected to be 143 m long and be able to ship around 2.000 cars. It will be fitted with
Kawasaki Heavy's gas engines. NO x emissions also will be 80-90% lower than with
conventional diesel engines. The ship is set to start operating in 2015. Kawasaki Kisen will
use the carrier to meet tougher European exhaust standards and deal with surging fuel oil
prices. Once complete, the ship will be operated by a company transporting cars in Europe.
SOUTH KOREA has secured sufficient gas supplies from all around the world, e.g. from Iraq,
Saudi Arabia, and Canada (with shale gas). Additionally, South Korea has opted for bio-
dimethyl ether (DME) or hydrogen fuel cells as well as biogas. In April 2011 Kogas signed a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Malaysias government-backed firm
Biotechnology to produce compressed biogas.
This country started its NGV programme by adopting CNG meadium and heavy duty (MD-
HD) buses (as of December 2010, around 26.000 CNG buses and some 900 garbage trucks
operate in South Korea) and later by adopting other CNG or LNG-powered HDVs. But they
did not include cars and other LDVs due to concerns about the safety of having the fuelling
facility within cities area (due to earlier explosion of an LPG car). By the end of the 1st quarter
2010, the Gangwon Province government presented an agreement that offers loans to
convert taxis to bi-fuel technology in the Gangwon Province. The Gangwon government aims
to increase the number of taxis operating on CNG. The agreement was signed in Chuncheon
City. The pact was inked by the Gangwon Credit Guarantee Foundation (GCGF), Provincial
Independent Taxi Drivers Council and NGVS, vehicle conversion subsidiary of NGVI. GCGF
will secure loans to cover conversion expenses and drivers will be exempt from interest over
a certain payback period. Around 4.500 independent taxi drivers in Gangwon Province could
benefit from this agreement.
Further developments on the heavy-duty side include the first CNG hybrid bus fully
developed in Korea by Hyundai Motor Company. The bus delivers fuel efficiency with lower
emissions by using a CNG engine and an electric motor. Blue-City meets and even
exceeds the performance and efficiency of existing CNG buses (despite cutting down the
total number of fuel tanks to five from seven) and it can still operate 340 km on a single
charge, which is equivalent to the existing CNG bus. Furthermore, while its climbing
performance of 30 percent is similar to a conventional CNG bus, the maximum speed stands
at 100 km/h, which is ideal for a metro bus. The fuel efficiency of Blue-City is about 30-40
percent higher than that of normal CNG buses, enabling metro bus operators to save costs.
In terms of CO2 emissions, the CNG hybrid bus emits over 24 percent less CO2 than a
conventional CNG bus and 35 percent less than a diesel bus. Hyundai will operate 30 test
units of Blue-City in selected metropolitan areas from July, with plans to mass produce the
vehicles in 2012.
SOUTH-EASTERN ASIA
To curb oil import, the Government of INDONESIA and the National Energy Council (Dewan
Energi Nasional or DEN) will revitalise the use of CNG in transport sector. To promote the
fuel, DEN announced its intention to launch the Go Gas program in mid-2011. The program
will also include the inauguration of revitalisation of 20 CNG filing stations. About 20 percent
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of all vehicles in Jakarta are expected to switch to CNG during the first year after the
campaign. The Governor of Jakarta has ordered all city offices and public transportation
vehicles to switch to CNG starting in 2012. The necessity to offer incentives for the purchase
of vehicle conversion kits was highlighted. However, this topic still needs to be discussed
with the Directorate of Land Transport and the Ministry of Finance. In the meantime, kits are
bought with the support of a loan system, following an example from the neighbouring
country, Thailand.
The government sees that the price standardisation is important to support the operation of
524 Transjakarta buses in the existing 10 corridors in Jakarta Province. With this pricing
policy, CNG bus operators would refuel in any of the available stations instead of queuing at
stations with cheapest gas price. Consequently, the buses would arrive at each bus stop with
less delay.
Interesting activities can be observed in the off-road segment. The Ministry of Oceans and
Fisheries of Indonesia will provide 200 CNG cylinders for fishing boats to help fish farmers
reduce their operational costs. The fuel cost for fishing boats is about 60 percent of total
expenses in operating the boats. Before the full implementation of diesel to gas boat
conversion is carried out, a trial project needs to be arranged. Presently, fuel supply is still a
challenge that needs to be resolved. The first trial will be done in Pasuruan City in the East
Java Province. Several small gas fields in six different areas in East Java will be exploited
and used as refuelling terminals. Should this pilot project succeed the ministry, through
Directorate General Fisheries, will apply the programme to fishing centres in nine different
locations all over the country.
In MALAYSIA presently, only taxis and rental vehicles are using NGVs. Private car owners
have not converted their vehicles as the retrofiting costs are still considered to be high.The
government has also been promoting CNG use in transport, for example by offering zero
import duty (100 percent import duty exemption) for conversion kits. The Petronas NGV unit
is responsible for monitoring the service centres that are eligible for the exemption. To date,
110 service centres for NGVs are in operation nationwide. A 25 percent discount on road tax
is offered to owners of bi-fuel and dual fuel vehicles, while those operating dedicated CNG
vehicles (to run on 100 percent CNG fuel), get 50 percent discount. Nevertheless, industry
stakeholders expect that the price gap between CNG and traditional fuels will soon be large
enough to motivate more and more people to switch to NGVs.
Malaysian NGV Sdn Bhd has reported its plan to open 200 CNG fuelling stations nationwide
by end-2011. The scheme will be launched under the concept One Gas Clean Energy For
All. Under this concept, everyone is welcome to participate in the project. Participants
should have land of more than 33.000 sq ft in a strategic location, within a main town.
Malaysian NGV Sdn Bhd has the permit to market and distribute natural gas vehicles. The
company was incorporated in Malaysia in January 2005. It is a distributor of natural gas
under the brand GOGAS, specialist in conversion kits, re-powering diesel engines to NGV
and a local manufacturer of NGV buses and lorries.
Hexagon Composites ASA's business unit, Lincoln Composites has signed a contract with
Sime Darby Sdn. Bhd. for the supply of 30 foot TITAN(TM) high-pressure tanks and storage
modules for use within Malaysia. The high pressure composite containers for Malaysia will
provide a capacity increase allowing transport of twice as much gas as conventional steel
solutions, while reducing the overall gross vehicle weight by several metric tons. This
payload increase will allow fewer trailers to transport more gas throughout the country,
reducing road congestion and increasing gas transportation operating efficiency.
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Public utility transport operators in the PHILIPPINES who want to use brand-new CNG buses
in their fleets can now apply for franchises with the Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board (LTFRB). Transportation Secretary has ordered the exemption of CNG-
powered public utility buses (PUBs) from the franchise moratorium. The government
imposed the moratorium to curb the rise in the number of buses plying Metro Manila roads,
exacerbating traffic jams and pollution in the process.
Based on the revised Philippine Energy Plan (2005-2014), the government had planned for
200 CNG buses to operate along the Batangas-Manila route in 2006 expanding to 2.000
CNG buses on the road, supported by 10 CNG refuelling stations by 2007. It was originally
intended that the initial 200 CNG buses would be fuelled by Philippians Shell Petroleum Corp
(PSPC); however the fleet size has reached just 60 units, of which only 17 are reportedly
fuelled by PSPC. Although Shell and Chevron have apparently indicated their intention to
give up the CNG refuelling facility, with negotiations mooted to be finalized as early as
November 2010, operators of compressed natural gas buses in Luzon, the largest island of
the Philippines, urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to reinvigorate the Natural Gas
Vehicle Program for Public Transport (NGVPPT) requesting from DOE to look for alternative
CNG mother-daughter facilities. Diversification of gas suppliers is also sought. It is hoped
DOE interest in reviving the NGVPPT program will stimulate investment in natural gas
refuelling infrastructure and buses. Lately, problems occurred with natural gas supply to
buses at the peak season; also during the Holy Week time buses had to remain at the station
for more than four hours waiting for supply to arrive. Positive developments in this aspect are
underway. In June 2011 the pilot mother-daughter CNG facilities owned by the Shell
companies were about to be taken over by the government through the Philippine National
Oil Company Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) although negotiations are still underway
since Shell expressed interest in making additional investments and building CNG filling
stations once the government has put in place the required gas pipeline infrastructure.
PNOC-EC plans to invest into the construction of another CNG mother station and two
daughter stations.
Bus operators are seeking relief in CNG with the continuous increase in prices of diesel and
the recent increase in toll fees. In early April, the Department of Energy was reported to be
finalizing its Fuelling Sustainable Transport Program (FSTP), aimed at converting public and
private vehicles from diesel and petrol to CNG, LNG, LPG and electric power. Diesel
jeepneys are also expected to be converted to the CNG systems and to electric power.
In relation to above, the DOE has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with large
transport groups, for an eco-jeepney program which will promote the use of CNG and LPG
engines. As part of a Green Transport initiative the program will aim to convert as many
diesel-run jeepneys as possible, helping to reduce the nations dependence on oil, and has
been given priority status.
Also, the DOE wishes to see around 1.000 CNG buses plying in the country (around Manila)
in the short term.
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Trans-Cab Services Pte Ltd, a taxi operator in Singapore, will add 3.000 CNG-powered taxis
in its fleet. One thousand out of 2.600 taxis owned by the company already run on CNG. The
bi-fuel taxis are due for full delivery by mid 2011. Transcab have some 1.000 taxis currently
operating on CNG and intend to increase this number by another 3.000 units in the next one
to one-and-half-years. Singapore is home to the largest compressed natural gas (CNG)
station in the world, the station is about to have 44 dispensers (222) for cars and 2
dispensers for buses and trucks.
As TAIWAN does not have sufficient gas pipeline infrastructure for CNG, the country is now
considering the use of LNG in the transport sector instead. The CTCI Chemicals Corporation
has been appointed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Taiwan to conduct a
pilot project on LNG vehicles and fuelling stations in a city in Taiwan. According to the plan,
in about three years (starting mid-2010), 25 to 50 garbage trucks would be modified to use
the LNG system. A fuelling facility will be constructed to facilitate this fleet. The station would
be built near an LNG receiving terminal in Taichung City in the centre of Taiwan. Presently,
Taiwan has two LNG terminals, in the south and centre of the country. Recently, the EPA
submitted a project of 40 refuse trucks to all Environmental Protection Bureaus (EPB) of
Taiwan. The interested EPB would get the financing from EPA as proposed in the plan. CTCI
has conducted a study of the technical requirements for the implementation of this project.
The proportion of OEM NGVs was prominently 90% for HDVs and 60% for LDVs.
There has been a tremendous, never-before experienced increase of OEM produced NGVs
in THAILAND. Most LDV customers consider the safety and warranty from automobile
manufacturers as highly important because the warranty of converted NGVs from local CNG
workshops will be terminated automatically. Meanwhile the OEM NGVs will offer the warranty
of chassis and engine like other automobiles from the factories. They mostly provide 3 years
or 100.000 km warranty. Due to the hike in the diesel price in 2008, transport entrepreneurs
became interested in using CNG during the period of economic recession, the aim being to
reduce energy costs. The OEM HDVs (bus, truck and trailers) were pioneered by vehicle
importation from China. A huge increase in the number of OEM NGVs is expected in the
near future.
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OEMs model presence started in 2005 with Mercedes Benz E200 NGT at first imported, then
manufactured directly in Thailand. Chevrolet CNG started to enter the market in 2007 by
working with local CNG conversion workshops (models Optra, Estate and Colorado pick-up).
The Mitsubishi Lancer CNG variant is also developed by a local company followed by
Mitsubishi Triton CNG pick-up fully manufactured in the factory. Toyota Hilux Vigo Pickup
has been developed by a private local company (done by retrofit centre). Hyundai and Proton
also penetrated the market with Hyundai Sonata CNG (retrofit) and Proton Persona CNG
(retrofit). TATA Xenon Super CNG (OEM) entered the market at the end of 2008. As already
mentioned above, the OEM HDVs in bus, truck and trailer segments were initiated via
importing from China. At present, two manufacturing companies have entered the OEM HDV
market: Hino and Isuzu with a variety of models. TATA is present in the medium-duty
segment via one-tonne pick-up trucks and has announced its plans to introduce its tractor
trucks to the market in September 2011.
On the other hand, Government is also providing support for the conversion sector which
varies from road and excise tax reductions, conversion funding, as well as import duty
exemptions for CNG conversion kits, new CNG engines etc.
The Transport Ministry of Thailand has successfully launched a CNG taxi conversion project
in Bangkok City by the beginning of February 2011. The government aims to attract 15.000
more taxis to switch their vehicles to bi-fuel CNG/petrol system. Bangkok City has about
70.000 taxis. Half of those are powered by LPG and the rest by CNG. Following a decision to
maintain subsidy on LPG in transport, the government wish to see LPG taxis owners
switching their vehicles to CNG. The aim is to cut LPG demand and reduce the countrys fuel
costs. Without the conversion, LPG consumption would remain high and this would
encourage the Oil Fund to continue with the subsidy. Financing scheme includes THB 5.000
for the installation of CNG conversion kit in each taxi. The ministry initially provides THB 1.2
billion for this program, with a budget per taxi of THB 40.000. The cylinders and conversion
kits (under the financing management of the Oil Fund) were expected to cost THB 5.000 per
taxi, while the remaining THB 5.000 is the cost of installation. Conversion centres are
attracted to join the program. Also, CNG costs only half of LPG price. However, most LPG
taxi drivers in Bangkok prefer not to convert their cars as long as LPG is subsidized.
In 2010, the CNG share of the total transport fuels reached 10 percent. PTT expects that the
share will increase to 14 percent in the next five years (2015). To ensure the stability in the
growth of NGV and CNG consumption, vehicles retrofitted to NGV system are banned from
being switched back to diesel. Additionally, pipeline and station expansion programmes are
also on the agenda. In 2011 the station number is expected to rise to 500, whereof about half
in Bangkok and the Greater Bangkok area. This means that around 75 aditional dispensing
facilities would be constructed within this year alone.
Import Duty:
Import duty exemption for:
CNG cylinder and conversion kit type 2-4 until December 2011.
New engine for dedicated NGV system, exemption applies with no time limit.
Imported CKD (Complete Knock-Down) bus chassis with engine with no time limit on the
waiver, except for CBU (Complete-Bus-Unit) chassis with engine in which the waiver
applies until December 2011 only.
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Import duty for CNG refuelling facilities reduced to 1% (no time limit)
Excise Tax:
Reduce excise tax for:
OEM passenger car and minibus not over 3.000 cc. engine from 30% to 20% (no time
limit);
NGV retrofit outside vehicle manufacturing plant from 30% to 22% but not exceed
US$ 1.500, applies until December 2011.
Others:
Revolving fund through 11 Thai commercial banks for all converted natural gas vehicles
with lower interest rate up to March 2011.
Energy Conservation fund for Public buses that are operated in Bangkok City and
surrounding areas which can be converted to CNG vehicles with a very low annual
interest rate of 0.5% until December 2010.
50% reduction of road tax for dedicated NGVs and 25% for Bi-fuel or DDF (no time limit).
Thai Ministry of Transport will push forward the 4.000 CNG buses leasing programme as the
result of Bangkok Mass Transit Authoritys (BMTA) survey shows a rising acceptance of NGV
buses among the people. Around 81 percent of the 5.730 survey respondents (BMTAs bus
passengers) are positive about the idea of using new CNG buses. The majority of the
respondents expect that the government will set a flat passenger fare at 30 THB/day.
Family Transportation Co. Ltd., a boat taxis servicer on Saen Saeb canal in Bangkok, has
joined with PTT in using LNG by converting 72 boat taxis to run on LNG/Diesel (dual fuel)..
The project started in November 2009. Until now, 12 boats were installed with LNG
conversion equipments. LNG replacement is 50 percent. A ship can contain one 450 liter
LNG cylinder and it can transport passengers for 1.5 days (around 160 kilometres) before
refilling LNG.
In line with the government green initiatives, Jenjosh Group, a vessel (ship container)
designer and builder from Singapore, plans to build a fleet of CNG-powered ships. CNG
vessels would require a niche market to sell. Thailand is such a market as it already has an
LNG supplying facility at the outskirt of Bangkok. The site is capable to dispense 50
tonne/day of LNG, enough to refuel 10 LCNG passenger boats that sail in Chao Phraya
River in Bangkok since January this year. The boats were converted to dual-fuel CNG/diesel
(dual fuel) technology. Each vehicle has an LNG tank onboard and a vaporiser transforming
the LNG into gaseous phase before the fuel is injected to a dual fuel engine powering the
boat. The opportunity in Thailand thanks to several factors: the retail price of CNG is about
2.5 times lower than diesel and there is sufficient demand for river transportation between
inland factories and Thailand's main port of Laem Chabang. Thai partner believed that there
is an opportunity to replace tugs and barges currently used to transport the containers with
CNG ships. Currently, twelve of these ships are being built. The first two units are already
plying in Thailand. When fully implemented, the twelve vessels would serve only 2% of
container volume presently going into Laem Chabang. Another ambition is to build a regional
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feeder 1.000-TEU container vessel capable to cover a large mileage of 1.500 nautical miles.
The vessels could be used to sail between Asian countries. The company sees opportunities
to offer its CNG product to Indonesia, Vietnam and other parts of Thailand.
Capital City of VIETNAM, Ho Chi Minh (HMC) will improve the service quality of its public
buses. Transportation authorities in the city plan to replace some of its large buses with
smaller ones to improve its mobility in crowded streets. Around 1.680 new buses will be
incorporated in the fleet within the next five years. During 2013-2015, HCM will purchase 700
new 40-seater buses and 409 units of 55-seater ones. All buses must comply with the EURO
3 or higher emission norms, or have the CNG technology. As for the financing scheme,
buyers of these buses will have to pay a 20 to 30 percent deposit of the total price. The rest
of the cost will be covered by seven-year soft-loans. The government original plan, as
announced in 2009, was to have 800 CNG buses in HCM City by end of 2011. By December
2009, there were only 2 buses, converted by the Koreans, running on this fuel. In August
2011 were introduced 21 new CNG buses to HCM City.
SOUTHERN ASIA
Until mid-2011, BANGLADESH invested in total Tk 15 billion during previous last seven
years to establish 600 CNG filing stations and 150 conversion workshops. Bangladesh saves
almost Tk 12 billion foreign currency on import of petroleum annually, since the country uses
CNG in transport. The positive movement in NGV sector is not without challenge. First
challenge is the gas and power shortage followed by temporary restrictions on the opening
time of CNG filling station. Due to the crisis in the supply of gas, the Ministry of Power,
Energy and Mineral Resources (MoPEMR) created zoning principals for the establishment of
CNG filling stations across the nation. The government would not approve installation of
CNG dispensing units in certain areas without special instruction or authority request.
However, the regulation does not apply to Dhaka and Chittagong cities. The second
challenge is the price gap between gasoline/diesel and CNG. The trend of increasing CNG
price seems to hit South Asia. In Bangladesh, the government has increased the price of
CNG in May 2011 to Tk 25 from the earlier Tk 16.75 per cubic meter. The BERC
(Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission) officials, however, did not provide any
estimates on the impact of the decision to increase CNG price by nearly 50 percent at one go
would have in the mass transport sector. Currently 50 percent of all buses use CNG.
With the aim of battling traffic congestion in the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka City, the
government is about to impose restrictions on cars plying the city streets and will construct a
circular railway. The government is also considering passing a law to control the buying of
cars and sports utility vehicles. Also, there will be an introduction of modern taxi service,
stopping CNG conversion of non-commercial small vehicles, relaxation of loan conditions for
the purchasing of large buses, restrictions on the setting up new CNG filing stations, and
discouraging of the use of more than one vehicle by a single family. However, there is no
restriction for conversions of small commercial vehicles and other types of vehicles to CNG
propulsion. The ruling would apply in Dhaka City only. In the summer of 2011 a Dhaka City
project focussing on improved waste manangement and environmental improvements led to
a plan to convert 45 new diesel trucks used for refuse collection in Dhaka City to CNG
proplusion. At least 13 cities in Bangladesh have CNG filing stations. Apart from Dhaka,
Chittagong also has a big share od NGVs.
The Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) will soon add 175 CNG buses to its
eco-bus fleet in Dhaka city. BRTC will use the balance of a previous funding program
provided by the Nordic Development Fund, to import CNG buses. The Fund offered Tk 900
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million financing but BRTC paid only Tk 325 million in February 2010 for 100 CNG buses.
Now the bus corporation will use the balance to buy the additional buses. The corporation
also plans to introduce more imported CNG powered school buses.
INDIA has more than 50 models of CNG cars, sedans, light commercial vehicles/mini
trucks/pick-ups, mini vans, three wheelers, buses, and medium to heavy-duty trucks.
Nevertheless, many of the NGVs are after-market vehicles. Considering the national gas
infrastructure and the CNG station expansion plans, the number of OEM produced or
converted NGVs is expected to grow even faster in the immediate future. It is anticipated that
by 2015-16, one fifth of all cars in India will run on gas.
The Government of India in February 2009 unveiled a transport stimulus package intended to
provide central funding o the purchase of buses for use in urban transport systems. The
Ministry of Urban Development will provide financial assistance for purchasing public
transport buses, as part of a national effort to reduce the use of private vehicles and control
congestion. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM), a
government program, has allocated $58 billion to 63 cities to help modernize and improve
the quality of life. The New Delhi natural gas vehicle program is said to have halved the air
pollution in comparison to ten years ago. Approximately 60.000 auto rickshaws in New Delhi,
India, were required to convert to CNG for fuel.
The government has made a list of 201 cities where CNG and LPG facilities would be
installed in the coming years. The Petroleum & Natural Gas MGL is about to spend Rs1
billion for expansion of gas distribution. The Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has held 2 rounds of
bids where the private and public sectors were invited to participate. In Delhi, the government
provides land for CNG station and guarantees a very low rate on VAT and other local taxes.
The tax structure needs to be kept favourable to encourage motorists to switch from petrol
and diesel to CNG.
GAIL projections for the five-year-12th-Plan period (2012-2017) are favourable, and
supported via planned LNG imports. The company is also installing CNG stations along
national highways. In the gas distribution sector, 200 cities have been earmarked to soon get
gas supplies via pipeline. Agartala, the capital city of Tripura, plans to make all vehicles in
this city run on CNG by 2013, aiming to become Indias 1st green city. The transport
Department was set to introduce 70 CNG public buses by end of March 2010. Around 60%
of the autorickshaws and a big number of cars and buses are currently already using CNG
technology. In Pune, the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) expressed its concern about the
slow conversion rate of diesel autorickshaws to CNG mode. The Regional Transport Office
(RTO) previously issued a mandate for all new rickshaws to have CNG or LPG kits from
March 2010 onwards.
Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) plans to come up with 32 more stations by the end of the
current financial year 2011-12, thereby taking the number of commissioned stations to 310.
Thereafter, IGL plans to add around 35 stations every year. IGL has signed an agreement
with Delhi Transport Corporation for the setting up of CNG facilities at their Depots.
According to the agreement, IGL would be setting up CNG dispensers in all the existing (35
CNG fuelling stations have already been established) and planned new DTC Depots. IGL
has also signed an agreement with Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation
(UPSRTC) for the setting up of CNG facilities in their depots. Finally, in an agreement with
Northern Railways, IGL has set up an exclusive CNG facility on premises owned by Northern
Railways.
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From April 1st 2010, gasoline and diesel vehicles must meet the Bharat Stage 4 emission
norms in 13 cities. The rest of the country is still in the Bharat Stage 3 (for all four-wheelers).
Bharat Stage 4 also has norms on OBD (similar to Euro 3 norm but less strict). This
requirement and the mandatory use of NGVs for public transport are expected to make Delhi
have a supply of the cleanest auto fuels in the world. The Delhi government recognises the
importance of CNG as transport fuel in this largest metropolis area in India, as the entire
public transport system in Delhi runs on CNG. In addition, the most populous city in India (5th
in the world), Mumbai, presently (in mid-2011) has around 130.000 autorickshaws, and
around 42.000 taxis running on CNG.
Regarding the vehicle segments, the most common size of CNG cylinder used in India is the
60 liter one and most of the demand consists of type-1 steel cylinder. Commonly, one
cylinder is installed in each vehicle. Some use 4x 60 liters or 4x55 liters cylinders according
to the OEM requirements.
Lohia Auto Industries has announced the intention to enter the three wheeler segment. The
company is planning to launch its new three-wheeler model both in the diesel and CNG
versions this financial year (2011). The models will be available both in the passenger and
the commercial vehicle segments. New vehicles will meet the Bharat Stage 3 emission
Standards. Regarding the Indian vehicle manufacturer TATA, the new Tata Magic Iris CNG is
expected to replace the auto rickshaws in Punes city transport and also be a safer, more
comfortable, and more economical option compared to the ubiquitous three wheelers. The
Magic Iris is a three-door minivan with five seats and a top speed of 34 mph (55 km/h). The
standard variant is powered by an 11 hp (8 kW) diesel engine and it has been launched in
some parts of the country. It is worth recalling that Tata Motors has recently tested another
NGV version of one of its models, in that case the maxi van Winger. Winger is a multi utility
vehicle that can be used as school van, Business Process Outsourcing pick and drop vehicle
(for hotel and airport transfer, etc), hospital ambulance and a family car. Gail Gas, subsidiary
of State-owned Gail India, is in talks with two-wheelers manufacturers to introduce CNG
scooters in the country. India has more than 9.4 million motorised two-wheelers. CNG
scooters are already available in other country such as China. Iran also has some converted
CNG motorbikes (two-wheelers). In early May 2010, Bajaj Auto launched two new passenger
three-wheelers; which will both be available in CNG and LPG variants. Bajaj Auto also aims
to launch a new small-passenger-car within the class of Tata Nano by 2012 (TATA is also
considering rolling the CNG version of this vehicles). Bajaj Auto will team up with global auto
giant Renault Nissan to develop this vehicle. The target market is three-wheelers owners
who would move up to four-wheeler vehicle. Mahindra and Mahindra have introduced in
2010 its Maxximo Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) pick up in India including a CNG option.
This vehicle is a new entry and rival of TATA Ace CNG mini truck (LCV) launched in January
2008. Mahindra & Mahindra is planning to introduce the CNG version of their half-tonne
cargo carrier Gio in the local market. No deadline was yet announced for this scheme. The
automaker HM continues promoting its HM Shifeng Winner 1.8 CNG Bharat 4 Light
Commercial Vehicle in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This 3-tonne mini truck
is the first CNG-powered LCV in India that meets the Bharat Stage 4 norm. Following the
local government notification to convert all diesel commercial vehicles to CNG technology, it
is expected that around 2.000 Winner CNG BS 4 will be sold in Delhi alone.
After rolling out five CNG models last year, India's largest passenger car maker, Maruti
Suzuki India Ltd, plans to eventually offer all their models on a CNG platform (except for the
Grand Vitara SUV and the Kizashi sedan which are Complete Build-up Units CBU). Maruti
Suzuki has the widest gas-run car portfolio with CNG-run Alto, Wagon R, Eeco, Estilo and
SX4. Already, the CNG variants comprise nearly 10 per cent of the net sales of these models,
which are available only in Delhi and the National Capital Region, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
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The company plans to offer the CNG variants in other states as the network of CNG stations
expands. GM's upcoming six joint venture products with China's SAIC will have 14 variants.
Apart from the conventional diesel and petrol variants, they will have LPG and CNG versions.
GM also launched the CNG version of its Chevrolet Aveo mid-size sedan with a 3-
year/100.000 km standard warranty. Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMI) has made an exclusive
arrangement with KNC of Korea (CEV India) to work together for its Santro and i10 model.
KNC is responsible for the installation of CNG kits in the Accent, Santro and I 10 (1.1)
models. The 0 km Hyundai cars will be fitted with CNG system and they will then be sold in
Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmadabad and Kanpur, and some other cities. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
from India introduced the CNG variant of its complete family sedan, the Mahindra Logan. The
1.4 GLE/GLX versions of Logan are equipped with the Italian Landi Renzos CNG kit. The
kits come with a manufacturer approved instalment with original vehicle warranty of
2yrs/50000km. The sedans are currently available in Mumbai and Delhi. Fiat Grande Punto
bi-fuel was announced to be introduced in India in the summer of 2011. Toyota Kirloskar
Motors has also started retailing the bi-fuel gasoline/CNG variant of its popular sedan model
Corolla.
Mahindra Navistar Automotives was about to introduce 15-18 seater and 32-42 seater buses
in the 3.5 to 7 tonne category around May 2011, competing with other players like Tata
Motors, Ashok Leyland, Eicher, etc. All variants of the mini bus will be Bharat Stage-III
compliant. UK bus manufacturer Optare made an agreement with Indian auto manufacturer
Ashok Leyland to add CNG buses to its eco-fleet. Ashok Leyland has delivered 6.000 CNG-
powered buses to Indian bus operators, and has developed the countrys first one-litre-per-
cylinder six-cylinder CNG engine with multipoint fuel injection for buses. The firm forecasted
that the CNG variant of EcoDrive will be successful in European countries with large supply
of natural gas. HYBUS powered by hybrid CNG-electric drive made by Ashok Leyland, is
Indias first electric plug-in CNG hybrid. With this technology, the bus improves fuel savings
by almost 30%. Volvo recently introduced the Volvo CNG City Bus, which will be built in its
manufacturing plant in Bagalore, Hoskote. With this new CNG line Volvo is ready to expand
its share in the bus segment. Currently Volvo holds over 50% share in the diesel AC
segment and operates its buses across 10 cities in India.
So far, the CNG programme has not been extended to the large highway trucks. Only in
Mumbai there is a court order that bans old trucks in the city unless they are on CNG. Some
after market conversions of trucks have, however, taken place in Mumbai, but this is not yet
an extensive practise. Nevertheless, Tata Motors India has revealed its plan to launch
several models of dual fuel diesel/CNG vehicles. The trucks will be equipped with advanced
fuel injection systems and three options of CNG cylinder capacity. The vehicles were
announced to be ready around June 2011, and will be sold in specific markets such as New
Delhi, parts of Maharashtra and the North-East. The CNG trucks will cost around 12.5
percent more than the diesel version. Tata Motors have also displayed a hybrid low-floor
Tata Starbus intra-city bus concept powered with a series hybrid engine consisting of an
internal combustion CNG engine and three lithium ion batteries mounted on the roof. The
CNG engine charges the lithium ion batteries through a generator, and the batteries in turn
power the driveline. The regenerative braking system also helps in charging the batteries.
As regards the off-road applications, presently, trials are in progress for running locomotives
in dual fuel mode using CNG. The Indian Railway Organisation for Alternative Fuels has
been established to conduct projects for introduction of alternative fuels like CNG and bio-
diesel. Furthermore, in August 2011 the Indian Railways and the Indian Oil Corporation have
signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the potential of LNG in a substantial
manner in locomotives, factories and workshops.
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On the customers (fleets) side, Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation
(APSRTC) has received a directive from the Andhra Pradesh state government to ensure
that at least one-third of the 6.000 buses which it intends to purchase over the next 36
months (starting February 2011) must operate on CNG. Presently, less than 100 CNG buses
are being run in the state. The APSRTC runs a fleet of 19.000 buses, the largest in the world.
India in 2003 joined the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE) as a
founding member. By 2006, a National Hydrogen Energy Roadmap was created to plan for a
gradual, practical transition to hydrogen energy and infrastructure, including power
generation and transport applications. The Roadmaps Vision 2020, through the Green
Initiatives for Transport (GIFT), calls for 1 million vehicles to be operating on hydrogen fuels
by 2020. GAIL collaborates with the Australian Eden Energy (EDE) to work on a six-month
trial project. Starting with 2 buses by the fourth quarter of 2010, it was announced that by
year end, around 50-70 of these buses would be in operation. The fuel used would be CNG
including a 15-20% hydrogen content, marketed as Hythane and developed by the U.S
branch of EDE. A Hythane dispensing station and related infrastructure is expected to be
built in a bus depot within 2010 or early 2011. The buses of a public transport operator,
BEST Undertaking, will be used for this programme. Presently, BEST already has more than
2.000 CNG buses. It expects to convert the remaining 2.000 units of its fleet to the natural
gas system by 2013.
In mid-2011 the Delhi Government has formed a joint-venture with the Swedish government
for the purification of biogas to compressed biomethane (CBM). The project with the sewage
plant in Delhi was announced to commence in September 2011. The CBM will be used to
supply the Delhi Transport Corporation bus fleet (one of the largest in the world). The
Swedish Development Corporation Agency will provide fifty percent of the funding.
As already mentioned in the case of Bangladesh, the trend of increasing CNG price seems to
have hit South Asia. In India, Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), the sole CNG supplier in Delhi, on
April 2011 increased the price of CNG for vehicles. The increase was caused by a hike in
operating expenses resulting from a revision of minimum wages by the government. Despite
the increase, CNG would still offer nearly 64 percent savings towards running costs when
compared to petrol vehicles at the current level of prices. When compared to diesel vehicles,
the economics in favour of CNG at the revised price would be over 22 per cent.
IRAN with more than a 17% share of natural gas resources in the world has superior
conditions for substituting common liquid fossil fuels by natural gas. So fuel switching to CNG
in transportation sector was seriously considered in 2.000 by the government in order to
control the sustainable contribution of petrol imports in the national budget. Iran is predicted
to become self-sufficient in petrol by 2015 when it is expected to complete its upgrade
projects at Arak, Abadan and Isfahan refineries as well as the construction of one of three
condensate splitters at the Bandar Abbas refinery. The refinery upgrades is done in line with
policies aimed at lowering domestic petrol consumption, thus, lowering petrol import and
cutting the countrys expenses. Within these policies, the government introduced petrol
rationing (buying quota), withdrew fuel subsidies, and focused on efforts to promote and
enhance the use of NGVs.
Iran has a great natural gas pipeline network all over the country with a total length of 26.000
kilometres, and reaching 800 cities and 10.000 villages. This wide gas pipeline network
provides a high ability to supply natural gas to CNG stations.
Regarding production of kits, cylinders and compressors, technology has been transferred
from abroad, and there is now local production of CNG kit components, cylinders and CNG
stations equipment. At present, some local manufacturing companies are producing cylinders
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with an actual production capacity of 520.000 cylinders per year. Around 35 percent of the
CNG equipment for vehicles and stations is produced locally. The country is also moving
towards being self-sufficient in production of CNG components not only to meet local
demands, but also to be exported. In addition, 4 companies are producing kits and
components for converting vehicles. Localized compressor manufacturing companies are
producing major parts of CNG stations equipments with a production capacity of 400
compressors per year. National standards and regulations framework concerning NGVs is
well developed. Iran is also looking at the potential for switching from petrol to LNG-fuelled
engines.
State of the art and next steps in the NGV sector in Iran are:
In the commercial sector, natural gas vehicles currently remain small due to low price of
diesel. There are however 5364 CNG buses (mid-2011) operating in a number of cities.
Iran aims to become the world leader in terms of the highest number of CNG stations as well
as in CNG consumption by 2015. This is supported by the facts that the government plans to
continue supporting the segment, the availability of abundant natural gas supply, guarantee
of high price gap between petrol and CNG, and the local production of NGV variants and
related components. In early 2011, the Iranian government also urged ministries of
petroleum, energy, interior, trade, industries, and road and transportation to help expand
CNG stations across the nation. By early January 2011 there were 1.540 CNG stations
operating in Iran (target was 1.800). It is expected that during the next Iranian year (21 March
2011- 20 March 2012) the number will reach 2.188 units. Irans neighbouring countries, such
as Qatar, are interested in using Irans expertise in developing NGV programme for public
transport, and in expanding their CNG filling station network.
Among the new products, development and investment were allocated for the Peugeot 206
class (production of 207i based on 206 platforms), upgrade of Suzuki Grand Vitara with a
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new Euro 4 compliant model, and a new version of Soren of the Samand group. Peugeot
Pars and 405 did well in the market so a new version of Pars has been unveiled. Iranian
automotive manufacturer IKCO intends to produce 40.000 Renault-based Logan cars in 2011,
of which 15% will be fitted with bi-fuel (CNG/gasoline) engines.
From January 2010, the Iranian minister of oil order has allocated Iranian Gas Khodro Co.-
IFCOs tasks and responsibilities to manage national CNG plan to the National Iranian Oil
Products Distribution Company (NIOPDC). NIOPDC has proved that it has successfully
managed the construction of 800 dual purpose-CNG and gasoline fuels-stations, and
operates more than 550 units of these stations. Nowadays, all duties related to the CNG
sector such as development and instruction of filling stations and vehicles conversions to
CNG system have been given to NIOPDC.
The most important issues that NIOPDC is working on are listed below.
Within the new plan, the government offers up to 90% subsidies to cover the expenses of
converting taxis and public vehicles to CNG system. The subsidy could cover the
conversion of up to 150.000 vehicles. Furthermore, the government no longer finance car
manufacturers for producing CNG (b-ifuel) vehicles and they should balance their selling
prices and NGV production according to market demand. A specified plan/target for
NGVs production is no longer available.
In the CNG stations segment by private sector, as before, the NIOPDC will manage the
provision of 100% subsidy for the stations main equipment, which include dryers,
compressors, dispensers, and priority panels. Furthermore, the government offers dual-
purpose (CNG and liquid fuels) stations a long-term loan to cover over 70% expenses of
gas and electric as well as civil costs. No interest is imposed on this loan.
The Iranian parliament has issued a decree that forced the government to stop
subsidizing fuel. This new regulation will cause a huge increment in fuel prices and price
of CNG is expected to increase up to four times.
After successfully using Smart Fuel Cards to lower the purchase of traditional fuels for
transport that led to a decrease in consuming of more than 20 million litre gasoline and
diesel per day, the NIOPDC is planning to create 'Energy Cards' for NGVs. With the
issuance of Energy Cards, drivers, must use this card when refuelling in both CNG and
gasoline stations. It can help the government to see the fuel distribution and check the
share of consumption of each fuel. The good news is that the cards will be issued only to
legally converted vehicles. This way, the authorities have a control on the safety aspects
of the vehicles. Thus, safety for NGV drivers and passengers is better guaranteed.
Nowadays, an NGV database, information net hardware and software system has been
developed. Card reader devices are also being installed on CNG dispensers. The system
is expected to become operational within the immediate future.
One of the most important projects that NIOPDC is working on is the expansion of
existing CNG stations in big cities especially in Tehran. As there is not enough space in
Tehran and considering the land allocation rate in big cities, after an investigation on
existing CNG stations performance versus fuelling demand, 25 CNG stations in Tehran
plus another 21 units in other 4 big cities were selected to be further developed.
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SRI LANKA has finally explored the potential and benefits of using methane in transport.
This country has carried out an experiment to produce biomethane from waste to fuel three-
wheelers. The demonstration project of biomethane as a transport fuel is conducted by
Department of Chemical & Process Engineering, University of Moratuwa and funded by
Ministry of Science and Technology, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is now also looking at the building
of an LNG importation terminal.
In PAKISTAN the NGV share in the total vehicle segment in mid-2010 was 80 percent of the
total LDVs segment (cars, three-wheelers, and other LDVs). Pakistan chose also to produce
CNG conversion kits locally. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) that oversees the
implementation of NGV programme in Pakistan has issued permission to eight companies to
produce and assemble CNG conversion kits and fuelling components such as priority panels,
compressors, and dispensers. The country was reported to achieve self-sufficiency in
producing these components domestically. Recently, the components are also exported e.g.
dispensers to Argentina and Bangladesh.
It is yet to be eastablished whether Pakistan will overcome the power (electricity), CNG
supply and the decreasing petrol-CNG price gap issues. Recently, the country has been
facing difficulties with CNG supply as many filing stations are closed-supposedly on a
temporary basis. In fact, the NGV sector only uses 7% of the countrys total gas consumption.
So, closing some of those stations is unlikely to help reducing gas deficit (which recently
went down further by 25%).
Recently, the government assigned OGRA to work with the Petroleum Ministry to create a
rational policy to allow provisional licensees change of site and relocation of CNG stations.
As per the draft of the new CNG policy, CNG stations owners/licensees can relocate their
sites, among others, if the current site of the station has been declared risky for public safety.
While there has been dense growth of CNG stations on either side of a road in the existing
area of operation, a particular area has insufficient supply of CNG stations, etc. Yet, inter-
provincial relocation of CNG station is not allowed.
In February 2011, the Pakistani government decided to deregulate CNG prices. With the
implementation of the deregulation, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) will no longer
fix the price. The price will then be determined by the market forces. However, by March
2011, OGRA revised CNG prices based on the Gross Calorific Value (GCV) of the fuel. Each
of the four provinces in this country gets different pricing policies, in which, some are raised
and some are reduced. The government is working on policies to substitute liquid
hydrocarbon fuels with natural gas to cut oil import costs and to improve the quality of the
environment.
In early 2010, the government has re-activated the 8.000 CNG bus project in this country
(the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto CNG Bus Project). With the support of the World Bank and
the Federal Environment Ministry, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for this project
has been initiated. The CDM is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing
industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (called Annex 1
countries) to invest in ventures that reduce emissions in developing countries as an
alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries. Being a United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) programme, the CDM allows
emission-reduction (or emission removal) projects in developing countries to earn certified
emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide. These
CERs can be traded and sold, and used by industrialized countries to meet a part of their
emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol, according to the UNFCCC. There is a
plan to extend this CDM programme to nine other major cities that will be involved in the
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CNG bus projects. Therefore, ten major cities will get these eco-friendly buses and half of
those will be assigned to Karachi City. The federal government is ready to provide Rs 2.5
billion as subsidy and an upfront grant for bringing 4.000 CNG dedicated buses over the time
period of five years for Karachi. The total investment in the project is about Rs 21 billion. To
offset the cost of the provision of one bus, the federal government will assign a total Rs
677.181 as subsidy over a five year time frame. An Rs 300.000 upfront grant will be given as
part of the down payment and Rs 377.181 as interest subsidy payable in five years. The
environment ministry has already allotted Rs 300 million to the State Bank of Pakistan for the
implementation of the pilot project in Karachi. The buses will be operated and maintained by
private sector under the governments regulatory framework and duly assisted by provincial
governments in provision of routes and depots, land infrastructure and CNG refuelling
stations. Regarding CNG retail price, the Oil and Gas regulatory Authority (OGRA) would fix
difference between CNG and gasoline prices. It is very likely that the 55% difference, based
on fuel economy, will be maintained in future. Apart from buying the buses, conversion of
diesel-to-CNG buses would also be a part of the agenda to encourage local bus
manufacturing industry.
The above mentioned project triggered further related development activities. The
Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan that would lead the project has approached
Sindh Transport Department for the establishment of a model mega CNG refuelling station at
Karachi capable of refuelling 200-250 CNG buses. Around 15-20 such mega stations are
expected to be built in Karachi City to facilitate the operation of 4,000 CNG buses. Authorities
offer financial assistance/incentives to start the adoption of CNG buses and the provision of
its fuelling and infrastructure facilities. A 15% subsidy will be offered to private transport
companies willing to import Hino CNG buses. They will also be granted a loan for seven
years. Owners of the buses will get 20% operational and 5% capital subsidies. In Lahore, the
second largest city in the country after Karachi, the public transport company LTC plans to
incorporate 2.000 natural gas-powered buses in the initiative supported by the local
government that aims to encourage private operators to convert their fleets to natural gas.
The International Multi Group of Companies (IMGC), a Pakistani business house with
interests in areas as diverse as edible oil and film imports, has expressed an interest in
importing vehicles from India's Tata Group, including the Nano and CNG buses. IMGC's
plans to import CNG buses from Tata have been held up due to restrictions in Pakistan's
trade policy, which allows the import of only a limited number of vehicles and makes it
mandatory for a majority of vehicles to be assembled within the country. At the same time,
the policies of the Reserve Bank of India do not allow joint ventures and investments in
Pakistan. In October 2010, Omnitek Engineering Corporation (OMTK) announced that it has
signed an agreement with Karachi-based Xperts Technologies LLC to market and install the
companys diesel-to-natural gas conversion technology for truck and bus applications
throughout Pakistan. Landi Renzo Pakistan is planning to export its CNG conversion kits for
four-wheeled vehicles. The company has yet to expand into the HDVs market, which
includes buses, trucks and vans, and is considered to have a huge potential
In the OEM LDV sector, The new Corolla Ecotec, featuring a two year or 50.000 km warranty
under the Japanese automakers standards, was presented in summer 2011 by Indus Motor
(local distributor of Toyota and Daihatsu vehicles), and was specifically designed and
approved by Toyota Motor Corporation for Pakistan.
In the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Adnoc Distribution had, in collaboration with the sister
company Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd (Gasco), nearly completed (status in March 2011)
the project's first phase which entailed the construction of 16 CNG filling stations, 10 in Abu
Dhabi, 2 in Al Ain and 4 in Sharjah, as well as 9 vehicle conversion centres, operated by
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specialist companies. It is expected that by the end of 2012, around 25 per cent of the
government vehicles will be converted to be run on CNG.
Some 500 taxis in Abu Dhabi will be converted to run on CNG in the first phase (by the end
of 2020). The initiative is part of Abu Dhabis mission to power 25 per cent of public transport
and government vehicles by CNG. TransAD announced that the Abu Dhabi National Oil
company (ADNOC) would be responsible to equip the vehicles with CNG kits, while the taxi
operators would bear the cost. The Department of Transport (DoT) in Abu Dhabi has also
announced to convert all its vehicles into CNG mode by 2020.
One of the largest transportation and services enterprises in the Middle East, the Dubai-
based Emirates Transport plans to retrofit its entire fleet of 10.500 commercial vehicles to
CNG and CNG hybrid engines in a partnership with ADNOC. The project is scheduled to
begin in 2012. Around 6.500 buses, light and heavy trucks, and minivans, and 4.000 cars,
will be involved in this scheme. Additionally, Commercial Vehicles Middle East, which is
currently involved in partnership negotiations with Emarat and the Emirates Petroleum
Products Company LLC, will build CNG filling facilities at fuelling stations across Dubai and
Sharjah. Following the conversion, Dubai Police and Sharjah taxi, which own 2.000 cars and
5.500 taxis respectively, will also retrofit their fleets to CNG. Emirates Transport has already
started a vehicle replacement program to convert 511 vehicles of Abu Dhabi police and
1.700 cars of the Abu Dhabi taxi fleet. By mid March 2011, 250 cars had been retrofitted. In
early March 2011, Emirates Transport opened the first ADNOC-certified CNG transfer centre
in Dubai.
Dubai Municipality has unveiled its pilot project of converting five of its vehicles to use natural
gas. The second phase of the DM project will see a total of 438 commercial and medium-
sized vehicles of the municipality switching to natural gas. Roads and Transport Authority
(RTA) is planning to convert its entire fleet of buses into the CNG mode and a pilot project in
this regard will start in mid-2011. RTA is said to be negotiating with service providers to
convert the buses and the plan is to study the performance of a bus for a few months in a
pilot study. Based on the results, recommendations would be made for the entire fleet.
Conversion is expected to be completed by 2020. The RTA has earlier introduced a fleet of
CNG-powered abras (water taxis) and hybrid taxis.
The government is targeting to build mother-daughter CNG filing stations in the Dubai state.
The initial plan is to have 12 daughter stations to serve government fleets (later these could
also be opened for private car owners). Emirates Gas (EMGAS) will provide the filing
facilities and fuel throughout the UAE. The firm is a member of the ENOC Group wholly
owned by the Government of Dubai. EMGAS will transport the gas from its mother stations to
daughter stations using trailers. EMGAS has invested Dh110 million into the first phase of
the CNG infrastructure expansion scheme. This funding will be used to finance the project
between 2011 and 2014 in which two CNG mother stations will be constructed; two online
(conventional) stations will be connected to the existing natural gas pipeline, as well as four
to five CNG sub stations. Phase two will be started in 2016. Around 365 million financing will
be used to enlarge the infrastructure to six mother-stations connecting two pipelines, 19
online-stations (fuels supplied through gas pipeline), and 11 daughter stations in Dubai and
Northern Emirates. In 2011 the new filling stations will serve cars, taxis, light commercial
vehicles, sport utility vehicle and multi-purpose vehicles. By 2012, stations will also be able to
accommodate buses.
Local manufacturers expect that the UAE in a later stage will produce its own CNG
components. It could lead to lower cost in vehicle conversions. At the time being, European
CNG conversion kits are used in the Emirates.
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For several years SYRIA has been considering entering the NGV segment. Tenders on
procurement of CNG filing stations were issued twice and this year another attempt is made.
Various suppliers from station segment were invited to join the tender. The tender is released
by the Syrian government, Syrian Petroleum Company (SPC) who also acts as the owner of
the station. Each station would require 750 Nm3/hour of compressed gas.
WESTERN ASIA
At present, there are about 1.850 cars and almost 1.500 buses powered by CNG in this
country. Most buses are OEM made while cars are all converted. Turkey has 14 CNG filling
stations spread out in 5 cities. All stations are connected to gas pipelines. Apart from that,
there are 7 L-CNG stations used for transporting gas to remote areas. There are three local
producers playing in the CNG market in this country: Aldesa, Fema, and Voltran manufacture
CNG kits for domestic cars, with exception of Aldesa which also export its products to Asia
and Europe. Also, as mentioned above, in line with the agreement with Italian based Breda
firm, Karsan assembles CNG buses in Turkey for export purposes. The Fiat Groups local
partner, Tofas, also makes Doblo and the new Fiorino bi-fuel to be sent to Italy. Turkey uses
all European (EU) regulations and standards. No local standards were introduced. Although
the government has not yet imposed any mandate, special incentives, nor set target for the
adoption of NGVs and its stations, the eventual transition to NGV technology is expected.
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In response to the Expert Group Meeting on Future Transport Fuels on May 5th, NGVA
Europe welcomes the Commission evaluation process of identifying possible measures for
supporting the infrastructure build-up for certain alternative fuels. Taking into account the
great environmental benefits being related to natural gas and biomethane and despite the
fact that more and more ex-factory methane driven vehicles are being introduced to the
European market place, the market share of CNG and LNG vehicles is still rather small, now
making up close to 1 million vehicles in the EU, which is making up a market share of only
0.4 % of the total running fleet.
Today practically all vehicles using methane as a fuel are propelled by CNG (compressed
natural gas and biomethane being injected into the gas grid). But LNG heavy duty trucks
(dedicated or dual fuel) are becoming more and more popular as trucks are Europe biggest
road polluters and only very few options to replace Diesel exist so far. LNG (liquefied
methane) has a higher energy density than CNG and is therefore a real and affordable way
to replace Diesel on medium and long distances (LNG Blue Corridors).
The slow development of bio natural gas vehicles is basically caused by very high
investment costs that are required for the build-up of the needed methane refuelling
infrastructure (CNG and L-CNG stations). Therefore the network of methane refuelling
stations is still rudimentary and EU member states have decided to put a different strategy
focus on national level, in terms of type of vehicles.
E.g. some big member states like France or Spain are so far mostly going for urban HDVs
using CNG, but hardly have any LDVs on their roads.
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This diversity of national strategies has led to a very fragmented development of methane
refuelling (public filling stations or private flee depot stations). What it needs is a harmonised
strategy to develop methane refuelling across the EU.
In total there are only 2.700 refuelling points (public and private) in Europe, whereof only 20
stations are equipped with the L-CNG technology.
This situation is not acceptable as bio natural gas is an available, clean and affordable fuel,
which can significantly contribute to reach the 2020 emission reduction targets (Fuel Quality
Directive and Renewable Energy Directive) and will also notably help to make European
transport more sustainable in a 2050 perspective. Having said that, NGVA Europe believes
that any technology neutral approach by the European Commission would be the wrong
attempt to reduce both, oil dependency and emission reduction of pollutants.
There are certainly several power train alternatives theoretically available today, but some of
these technologies, including electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells, are far from being
mature and economically viable for the final customer. We don`t have the luxury of time,
mobility changes slowly, so we have to work with and use what we have got now, the natural
gas combustion engine technology. Depending on the natural gas/biomethane ratio, CO2
savings of 24-100 % can be achieved by using this clean immediately available technology
instead of conventional oil derived fuels.
We believe in the future fuel mix in transport, different options can serve different
applications. The next decade will be crucial to reach our emission reduction targets.
Methane can therefore play a major role, provided political support for the further build-up of
the methane refuelling infrastructure would be realised.
The decision to strongly promote electric mobility has been taken at political level. But EVs
only give a partial solution for urban traffic on short distances. Methane however is, due to its
excellent CO2, NOx (and particularly NO2), PM and noise reduction performance, the ideal
alternative in LDVs for covering longer distances, heavy urban buses and trucks, and HDVs
for long distance haulage using LNG as a fuel.
In relation with the Expert Group discussion note, NGVA Europe supports Option 2 Direct
investments and subsidies for alternative fuel infrastructure and Option 3 Legislative
actions on alternative fuel infrastructure.
When looking at Option 2 financing schemes and state aids to directly support the
construction of the methane refuelling infrastructure (CNG and L-CNG stations) are essential.
In addition to that funding research and technology demonstration project for the
harmonisation and homologation is also needed with regards to LNG, LBM (Liquefied
Biomethane), Methane/Diesel (dual fuel), NG/hydrogen mixtures and CNG hybrids. The
European NGV (Natural Gas Vehicle) related industry already made investments of 1.5
billion to establish the existing network of methane refuelling stations. More than twice as
much would however be needed to guarantee adequate refuelling conditions. NGVA Europe
therefore calls for a European investment fund to allocate this capital.
Option 3 Legislative actions should complement any funding scheme as reality has proven
that regulatory measures are needed to rapidly implement alternative fuels. The market
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cannot make this decision on its own which alternative fuel to give preference to. If we would
just wait for a change in customer behaviour, this would mean a manifestation of oil in
transport for a long time. The customer will always pick alternative solutions that are visible
and affordable. CNG vehicles are affordable and the fuel is also still cheap, so what it needs
is more visibility of and accessibility to methane refuelling.
Considering infrastructure investment costs of approx. 400.000 for public stations and
1.000.000 for depot stations serving clean bio natural gas vehicles, it is clear that an
European infrastructure fund in combination with a European Directive demanding member
states to implement a minimum refuelling infrastructure is the only logic way to make sure
that more CNG and LNG vehicles will be put in the market in the future.
For the specific situation of NG/biomethane, it should be noted that a distinction must be
made between the infrastructure needed for light duty and heavy duty vehicles. The following
minimum infrastructure needs for LDVs and HDVs would be required:
LDVs: talking about CNG/biomethane for private passenger cars and commercial
fleets using cars and vans, we would suggest availability in 10 % of the urban filling
stations, and at 25 % of the filling stations along the motorways. Though the exact
figures should be verified, it should be noted that the essence would be to stipulate
a % which would lead to the availability of filling stations capable of providing
NG/biomethane every 150 km along the motorways (or major highways where
motorways are not available), and a logical distribution inside the cities. Methane
refuelling should however be possible everywhere across Europe by not using more
than 15 minutes to drive to the next refuelling station.
HDVs: the infrastructure needed for HDVs varies depending if its referred to the
urban transport of persons and goods, or heavy duty trucks used for long distance
haulage:
o The CNG/biomethane refuelling infrastructure for HDV urban fleets (mainly buses
and refuse trucks) is not yet established all over Europe, although cities are
increasingly in favour of methane heavy vehicles in their urban fleets. The Expert
Group report on Future Transport Fuels, published on 25th January 2011, says
that Methane (CNG) should be promoted as one of the main alternatives fuels in
HDVs in urban transport. European cities should therefore aim for at least 50%
methane share in their public fleets. A city like Madrid is leading by example and
has its entire refuse truck fleet running on CNG (670 trucks) and an additional
600 CNG buses out of 2000 (target of 1000 CNG buses for 2012).
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Conclusion:
All the above mentioned measures to link the filling station network development for methane
to percentages should always refer to the total number of existing filling stations.
Complementary measures to an EU fund would be:
Linking permits for new multifuel stations to the inclusion of CNG or L-CNG refuelling
facilities.
Demanding that stations above a certain total volume of fuel sales must offer
methane refuelling facilities.
These two options have the advantage of not hitting the EU budget or national aids, but the
fuel retailing companies. Independently it should of course still being possible to open
dedicated methane filling stations outside of existing filling stations if the opening of a new
location for methane only would be required for private or public use. Due to the L-CNG filling
station concept, which does not necessarily require a connection to the pipeline, all
European filling stations qualify to offer methane in all locations.
The next information intends to give a general overview of the associated costs when
installing methane refuelling stations. The figures should be taken as average figures from
different EU countries.
First of all, it should be taken into account that two different approaches can be faced when
talking about a new natural gas filling station:
CNG Fuelling Station: this type of infrastructure can be fed from the existing natural
gas grid. In this case, it would be necessary to install a compressor with the capacity
of reaching a final pressure of 200 bars, and the dispensers. The total cost of this
kind of facility would be around 400.000 . This average figure would be
representative for an installation with a compression capacity of 300500 m3/h.
CNG/LNG Fuelling Station: this type of infrastructure capable of supplying both,
liquefied and compressed natural gas, has to be fed with liquefied natural gas via HD
transport tankers. It would be necessary to install a stationary LNG tanker to
accumulate and feed the installation, a transfer pump to convert LNG into CNG, and
the dispensers. The cost of the stationary tanker and the transfer pump is similar to
the cost of a compressor. The total cost of this kind of facility would also be around
400.000 . The maintenance would however be expected to be lower.
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6.1 EU EMISSIONS POLICIES AND ITS IMPACT ON THE EUROPEAN NGV MARKET
Matthias Maedge, EU Affairs Manager of NGVA Europe and Manuel Lage, General Manager
of NGVA Europe
In the next decades, transport faces the challenges of decarbonising and building up secure
long-term sustainable energy supply. Transport is responsible for 32% of the EUs final
energy use and 21% of GHG emissions. The decarbonisation of road transport will be a
major challenge considering that it represents 80% of the energy used by all transport modes.
In April 2010, the European Commission released a Communication on a European strategy
on clean and energy efficient vehicles, which set out several policy measures to support the
creation of a clean and energy efficient transport system that will contribute to achieving the
Europe 2020 objectives with respect to reduction of GHG emissions and increase the share
of alternative fuels and renewable sources in transport.
The 2011 White Paper "Roadmap to a Single European Transport Area Towards a
competitive and resource efficient transport system", published on 28th March 2011, sets out
a comprehensive strategy for a competitive transport system that will increase mobility,
remove major barriers, drive growth and employment and decarbonise transport. For urban
transport this means a big shift to cleaner fuels. By 2030 the use of conventionally fuelled
cars in urban transport should be halved, while transporting goods in major urban centres
should then be essentially CO2 -free. By 2050 the use of conventionally fuelled cars should
be phased out in cities. Also included in the White Paper is the Clean Transport Systems
initiative. The main objective of this important initiative is to develop a sustainable alternative
fuel strategy for the EU, including the appropriate infrastructure.
NGVA Europe, the Natural & bio Gas Vehicle Association, supports the White Paper and the
push to use more alternative and clean vehicle fuels. The Commission aims at dramatically
reducing Europe's dependence on imported oil and cut carbon emissions in transport by 60%
based on 1990 levels by 2050. Methane (NG/Biomethane) is mentioned as one of the
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alternatives and can play an important role to help achieving the 2050 key goals. The White
Paper for example points out the importance of CNG, LNG and biogas for medium and long
distance road transport and the shipping sector (at least 40% cut in shipping emissions set
as target). But Methane will also make an important contribution to achieve the predominant
target to have no more conventionally fuelled cars in cities, in order to improve local air
quality and reduce noise exposure. It will have to be complemented by the development of
an appropriate refuelling infrastructure for new vehicles. Large fleets of urban buses, taxis
and delivery vans are particularly suitable for the introduction of alternative propulsion
systems and fuels, the paper says.
In this light, the European NGV market will grow significantly in Europe in the short (2020),
medium (2030) and long term (2050) with the expectation to reach a total market share of
5% by 2020, 9% by 2030 and 16% by 2050, both in passenger and freight transport,
combining all transport modes (source: NGVA Europe).
Road transport contributes about one-fifth of the EU's total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2),
the main greenhouse gas. While emissions from other sectors are generally falling, those
from road transport have continued to increase since 1990. Eager to tackle climate change,
the European Commission has a comprehensive strategy designed to help the EU reach its
predominant objectives of promoting alternatives to oil derived fuels, limiting average CO2,
NOx and PM emissions from newly registered vehicles, improving urban air quality and also
significantly reducing noise exposure from transport.
The great potential of NGVs: CO2 regulations, EURO VI, Air Quality
The European legislation setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars,
adopted in 2009 by the European Parliament and the Council, is the cornerstone of the EU's
strategy to improve the fuel economy of cars and ensure that average emissions from new
passenger cars registered in the EU by 2012 do not exceed 120g CO2/km. An average target
of 130g CO2/km must be reached by improvements on the vehicle itself and a further 10g
CO2/km reduction by additional measures. A so-called limit value curve implies that heavier
cars are allowed higher emissions than lighter cars while preserving the overall fleet average.
In 2012, 65% of each manufacturer's newly registered cars must comply on average with the
limit value curve set by the legislation. This will rise to 75% in 2013, 80% in 2014, and 100%
from 2015 onwards. If the average CO2 emissions of a manufacturer's fleet exceed its limit
value in any year from 2012, the manufacturer has to pay an excess emissions premium for
each car registered. This premium amounts to 5 for the first g/km of exceedance, 15 for
the second g/km, 25 for the third g/km, and 95 for each subsequent g/km. From 2019,
already the first g/km of exceedance will cost 95. A target of 95g/km is specified for the year
2020. Details of how this target will be reached, including the excess emissions premium, will
have to be defined in a review to be completed no later than the beginning of 2013.
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As part of its strategy to cut CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles, in May 2011 the EU
adopted legislation to reduce emissions from vans (light commercial vehicles), similar to that
passed in 2009 for passenger cars. The Van Regulation will cut emissions from vans to an
average of 175g CO2/km per kilometre by 2017 with the reduction phased in from 2014
and to 147g CO2/km by 2020. These cuts represent reductions of 14% and 28% respectively
compared with the 2007 average of 203 g/km. Only the fleet average is regulated, so
manufacturers will still be able to make vehicles with emissions above the limit value curve
provided these are balanced by vehicles below the curve. The EU fleet average of 175 g/km
will be phased in between 2014 and 2017. In 2014 an average of 70% of each
manufacturer's newly registered vans must comply with the limit value curve set by the
legislation. This proportion will rise to 75% in 2015, 80% in 2016, and 100% from 2017
onwards.
In the case of heavy duty vehicles, it is much more complicated for the European
Commission to legislate on CO2 emissions, as manufacturers still try to avoid releasing their
emission data, also due to the fact that CO2 emissions in a heavy duty vehicle are much
related to the type of use, load factor and road profile, all very variable elements. State-of-
the-art heavy duty trucks with dedicated engines running on natural gas and biomethane, on
a tank-to-wheel basis, give a CO2 saving of about 3% versus diesel vehicles, but next
generation of NG heavy engines with inlet valves electronic control (Fiat Multiair type
technologies) will improve the saving up to 8%. Dual fuel heavy engines also announce
important CO2 emission reductions.
The whole picture changes completely when considering the entire life cycle on a well-to-
wheel basis, which is not yet applicable for Europe, as European legislation is looking at
tailpipe emission only. This is also the main reason why retrofitting in Europe does not make
sense, because the CO2 benefit, with respect to the engine setting, is much better for ex-
factory produced NGVs instead of converting OEM petrol versions to gas.
The application of Euro VI in 2014 reinforces the relevance of environmental and economic
benefits via CNG and LNG, especially in HD trucks and buses. Euro VI will mark an
important step as the pollutant emission reductions required by this standard can only be met
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by manufacturers if they will make a technological leap on the diesel technology, which will
lead to additional costs for producing these vehicles that would also be heavier. The price
gap between NGVs and conventional diesel vehicles will consequently be reduced and could
sooner or later disappear. The price advantage of NGVs becomes even more obvious when
taking a closer look at the productions costs per powertrain in relation to the CO2 emission
g/km.
CAR Study
Today the natural gas combustion engine technology, with minor modifications, already
meets the Euro VI standard, outlined in Regulation (EC) N 595/2009. In particular, for trucks
and buses the adopted regulation foresees a reduction of 80% in nitrogen oxides (NOx) and
66% in particulate matter (PM) emissions compared to the Euro V standard, which was
introduced in 2008. These requirements will result in major modifications and investments in
the diesel technology, which, as a consequence, is obviously not the cure for Europes first
and foremost environmental goal: protecting air quality. Therefore, the European
Commission will soon also present a proposal for the revision of the Air Quality Directive,
which will give a further push for the market development of NGVs in Europe.
NGVs contribute to achieve the 2020 legislation Fuel Quality & RES Directive
In April 2009, Directive 2009/30/EC was adopted which revises the Fuel Quality Directive
[Directive 98/70/EC] as part of the EUs Climate Change Package. It amends a number of
elements of the petrol and diesel specifications as well as introducing in Article 7a a
requirement on fuel suppliers to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of energy supplied for
road transport (Low Carbon Fuel Standard). Fuel suppliers should, by 31 December 2020,
gradually reduce life cycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 10% compared to the EU-
average level of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy from fossil fuels in
2010. This reduction should amount to at least 6% by 31 December 2020, obtained through
the use of biofuels, alternative fuels and reductions in flaring and venting at production sites.
In addition to the 6% binding target, a further 2% reduction should be achieved through the
use of environmentally friendly carbon capture and storage technologies and electric vehicles
and finally another 2% reduction for reaching the indicative target of 10% through the
purchase of credits under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. A report
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by Ludwig-Blkow-Systemtechnik GmbH states than it can be seen that already one million
CNG vehicles can contribute by 2.0 to 5.6% to the 6% target.
Biofuels used for compliance with the greenhouse gas reduction targets laid down in the Fuel
Quality Directive have to be produced according to sustainability criteria, but a number of
aspects of the Directive require further work. As a result the Commission has recently
published a consultation on the implementation of various issues relating to Article 7a and
has also carried out a pre-consultation in relation to policy options for addressing indirect
land use change from biofuels, to which also NGVA Europe contributed as a stakeholder.
Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (RES
Directive) is another European key policy asking for a 20% target for the overall share of
energy from renewable sources and a 10% target for energy from renewable sources in
transport. Biomethane is one of the main pillars to reach the mandatory 2020 target of 10%
biofuels in transport, as the Directive states that biofuels means liquid or gaseous fuel for
transport produced from biomass. Due to the same molecular composition, natural gas and
biomethane can be used in existing internal combustion engines with no limitation to
blending. The development of biomethane is therefore linked to that of Natural Gas Vehicles
and biomethane should preferentially be fed into the natural gas grid, as also the Expert
Group on Future Transport Fuels concluded. Article 4 of the RES Directive requests Member
States to submit national renewable energy action plans by 30 June 2010. Now the EU
Member States have to revise these plans by December 2011 has their renewable energy
targets cannot be reached via the measures presented. With regard to transport, Member
States have explained that 9,5% of the overall 10% RES target in transport would be
reached by means of E10 (adding of 10% Ethanol to petrol) and B7 (adding of 7% Biodiesel
to diesel). Today manufacturers and Member States confirm that this will not be possible and
there will be at least a 20% gap to reach the target. Alternative options are however very
limited, namely to green electricity, not yet available, and biomethane injected into the gas
grid, which has a huge untapped potential Europe-wide.
How to reach the 10% RES and Fuel Quality targets in transport by 2020
Biomethane is, unlike electricity, always produced from renewable sources. The huge variety
of feedstock that can be used to generate biogas (biowaste, manure, sewage sludge, landfill
gas, etc.), avoiding that additional CO2 would be released to the atmosphere, would require
that any percentage of biomethane injected into the gas grid should be acknowledged.
Therefore the CO2 advantage of biomethane needs to be tied to the CO2 intensity of the
natural gas grid. Setting binding injection targets should however be avoided, as feedstock
availability and production capacity differs from country to country (see NGVA Europe Fact
Sheet on Biomethane production potential`). OEMs producing and offering vehicles using a
mix of natural gas and biomethane should be rewarded with CO2 Super Credits, which would
encourage them to produce more and promote stronger NGVs. In this light, also consumer
information on fuel economy and CO2 emissions in respect of the marketing of new
passenger cars should be adjusted (Labelling Directive 1999/94/EC).
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Conclusions
A market share of 20% of natural gas in transport fuels would allow a 5% reduction of the
CO2 emissions from all European vehicles. Assuming that 20% of the gas used would be
made up of biomethane, the CO2 reduction would increase to 7%. European emission
policies are clearly and increasingly supporting NGVs and will remain the main driver for
further market development of CNG and LNG vehicles. But there are currently several other
political initiatives to be seen, including the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive, which
aims at eliminating tax advantages for different fuels, including natural gas, by 2023. Another
important aspect closely linked to a favourable tax treatment is the development of the
methane refuelling infrastructure. Hence, the Expert Group on Future Transport Fuels,
whereof NGVA Europe is a member, is currently preparing its report on policy
recommendations for 2012. NGVA Europe has already been deeply involved in the
elaboration of the first report of the expert group, which was one of the basic reference
documents for the preparation of the transport White Paper, but NGVA Europe, amongst
others, also actively contributes to the high level group CARS 21 (Competitive Automotive
Regulatory System for the 21st century), in order to support the modification of existing and
development of additional EU policies for the automotive sector in the best possible way.
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6.2 CARBON FOOTPRINT MATRIX & POTENTIAL SUPPLY SCENARIOS OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS
FOR TRANSPORTS
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Gasfin has calculated LCAs under ISO 14040/044 and collected the data in a Carbon
Footprint Matrix extended to most fuels used by transports. The comparative results of this
Matrix are summarized in the following tables and graphs, (in the next page):
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Worldwide: the bio-Methane potential productivity is about 60% higher than all World
current energy demand. BTL potential would only reach about 50% of all energy
demand. HVO potential would only be able to contribute to about 15% of all energy
demand.
The main differences on productivity are related to the different qualities and quantities of
substrate-bio-mass wastes from which the 3 different bio-fuels can be produced.
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WORLD
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The establishing of Natural Gas (from both fossil and renewable sources) as a main
substitute of oil also for transports would allow to relieve the pressure on oil prices
and converge oil and gas prices to the envisaged average of about $800/tn.
The Worldwide TURNOVER of transport fuels is expected to grow from about $1.5
Trillion in 2010 to $4.4 Trillion in 2035 assuming the prices of the reference scenario.
This Turnover would only grow to about $2,2 Trillion should the price of fuel return to
the $800/tn target, giving Industry Savings in the range of $ 1-2 Trillion per year.
CAPEX required for new alternative fuels infrastructures and oil revamping:
The CAPEX required for renewing oil infrastructures and implementing either new
GTL refineries and/or new LNG supply chains appear to be in the range of about
$220-320 Billion per year for either case.
Should BTL and/or LBG programs be implemented in addition to renewing the oil
infrastructures, the required CAPEX would range at about $280-400 Billion per year
for either case.
The main key point is the consideration that investing in the drop-in alternatives
(selling at a premium) do not help in lowering the oil prices and achieving the savings
above indicated; on the contrary, investing in LNG and LBG would allow to achieve
the indicated saving, from which they could be discounted (CAPEX =20-
25%SAVINGS).
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7) CONCLUSION
The author acknowledges that the overall assessment requires further investigations to verify,
share and revise calculations and results.
However, the clear advantages (environmental, availability and economic) shown by
adopting natural gas (fossil) and bio-methane (renewable) as main substitute to oil
encourages to expedite their relevant programs at all levels.
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NGVA Europe is currently investigating a proposal that focuses on both the production of
liquefied biomethane (LBM) and applications of Bio LNG in heavy goods vehicles on
medium- and long-distance haulage. Since freight transport often starts and ends in cities the
Bio LNG Blue Corridor proposal also aims at supplying NG/biomethane to urban areas and
big European cities using the L-CNG filling station concept, able to provide both, Bio LNG to
heavy-duty trucks and Bio CNG to light-duty passenger cars and commercial fleets of urban
distribution vans and lorries. (The NGVA Europe LNG Blue Corridors concept and proposal
in detail are presented in Appendix II of this Report and in the Chapter 5).
Experience
The experience of using LNG in heavy vehicles is not new. In some early cases it was
applied to a captive fleet like the garbage collection urban trucks in Barcelona (Spain). In this
case this experience lasted more than ten years, until the renewal of the fleet trucks. The gas
consumption of this fleet, owned by the company CESPA, was of 2.7 million Nm3 of natural
gas per year. The LNG was tank transported from the Barcelona port LNG terminal, nearby.
LNG, by its condition of liquid, is the NG with a higher energy density, needing only a volume
of 1.8 litre to give the same autonomy that 1 litre of diesel oil. This significant characteristic
opens the way for the medium and long distance road transport using LNG.
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200 bar
1 litre LNG
1,8 litres
Diesel vs CNG & LNG Autonomy equivalence
Comparison between CNG vs LNG tank configuration on the same truck chassis:
CNG (green truck): 8 tanks of 80 lt. 640 lt. CNG equivalent to 128 litre diesel LNG (white
truck): 1 single LNG 360 lt. tank equivalent to 200 litre diesel (56% more)
In the last years it has been a limited offer of LNG tractor units for road transport in Europe,
mainly from Mercedes Benz and IVECO, as dedicated engines, plus other dual fuel
alternatives from specialised conversion companies.
The Dutch company Rolande LNG B.V., a specialist in supplying LNG and LBG for road
transport applications, has recently introduced the first truck running on Liquid Bio Gas.
Rolande LNG B.V. made this concept to work by converting, in close cooperation with the
OEM, an IVECO Stralis CNG into a truck being capable to run on LNG/LBG. Rolande LNG
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B.V. provided not only the know-how but also the special cryogenic tanks and heat
exchanger.
LBG is made from gas coming out of a landfill. It gives better emission levels than EEV or
Euro 5 diesel engines. LBG CO2 emissions (Well to Wheel) are by far the best alternative to
any other bio fuel currently available (up to 80% CO2 reduction compared to diesel).
The truck is being used to show and promote the many advantages of LBG as fuel: It is
cleaner (better than future Euro 6), quieter (5 dbA lower noise level than a diesel) and up to
80% CO2 neutral! There is no better and economic alternative today. LBG can save between
2 and 5 cents per km and run more than 1.200 km before refuelling.
The excellent results obtained by Rolande with the first 20 LNG/LBG units pushed the
company to order 80 additional units, to be put in service by the end of the year 2011.
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Liquefaction can also be used as a refining process for NG. In some cases the process of
NG liquefaction is also used to improve the gas quality coming from well. This is the case of
the LNG plant near Poznan (Poland).
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NG comes from the well with 17% of nitrogen, making it unable to be used directly in NGVs.
The liquefaction process eliminates most of nitrogen, enriching the methane content of the
LNG and facilitating its transport.
LNG availability through road distribution will allow having filling stations able to supply both
CNG and LNG. The new plant has a production of 100 ton/day of LNG.
The purpose of this section is to develop an understanding of some of the cost reduction
opportunities and best practices for the installation and operation of fuelling stations serving
natural gas vehicles. The stations include the range of available technologies:
compressed natural gas (CNG);
liquefied natural gas (LNG);
(although this was not the primary focus of the research);
liquefied-to-compressed natural gas (L-CNG);
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mobile fuelling technologies and techniques and, also including the use of biomethane,
be it added to the natural gas pipeline grid or used directly as a vehicle fuel upgraded
from raw biogas.
The information gathered is based on a survey of industry experts, both equipment suppliers
and customers/users (who, in some cases, are the same) as well as some direct interviews
with knowledgeable stakeholders.
The findings are based on interview and survey responses. Conclusions are those of the
authors as well as a number of the survey recipients who made additional comments after
the first results of the survey were collated and provided back to them for their input and
additional feedback.
A least two of the three conditions should exist, otherwise installation of an NGV fuelling
station should be reconsidered. For LNG stations initial demand must be assured. (L-CNG
stations will not be concerned with inlet pressure from the natural gas grid.)
Mother-Daughter stations are a system whereby large tube trailers with CNG can be fuelled
from a large-capacity compressor station and the gas is taken by truck to a fuelling station
where there is no access to pipeline gas. The fuel truck is connected to a dispenser that
enables NGVs to receive gas. When the pressure of the CNG in the truck is too low to
deliver more gas, or the tanks is empty (depending on what technology is used) the fuel truck
returns to the mother station for another load of gas. Frequently a two-truck system is used
in tandem so that the CNG station has a consistent volume of fuel available for customers.
The layout/design for those M-D-stations has to be optimized for targeted supply/ demand
within certain limits of flexibility. In the best case additional costs for logistics (factor 2) can be
compensated by lower overall costs for a gas grid connection not needed at daughter sites.
(Mother station should be receiving gas at the highest possible grid inlet pressure; daughter
stations should be less than 100km from the mother station (and accessible via suitable
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roads). Sufficient space at the daughter station should be available for two trailers (on
incoming and the other outgoing.)
Natural gas Slow Fill Equipment may have its place, but only where costs are not among
the top three issues (e.g. remote fuelling location with some NGV from a bigger fleet to be
serviced within a network of stations). Cost of land and access to suitable land for a public
slow fill operation often can be prohibitive (when those costs have to be covered by very
small sales volume). For private slow fill (e.g. home fuelling) additional costs for installation
and complying with local codes and regulations will add to the base price.
NGV fuelling with biomethane directly to a station is possible when biogas is produced locally.
Due to generally higher costs for biomethane (typically a factor of two-to-three times the cost
of gas) this option is, by far, the most expensive overall. For some specific situations it may
be reasonable (e.g. dedicated NGV fleets) or at places where sufficient biogas supply is
available and the excess capacity can be supplied to a sufficient volume of local NGV
customers.
Although not directly linked to the direct cost of fuelling equipment, the biggest single trigger
for cost reduction will be a worldwide harmonization of NGV refuelling standards. Producer
and operators today spend too much money to ensure compliance with a lot of different
regulations and standards (differences in national, or missing international standards). For
NGV fuelling this missing harmonisation is seen today as the single most important cost
component by producers/enablers. Respondents to the survey indicated that adopting the
best practices for safety can reduce costs by as much as 30%.
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The feedback received from the survey recipients mostly focuses on qualitative information.
Quantifiable results were difficult to obtain and comparisons of some elements across
international boundaries is difficult to compare. Nevertheless the results of the survey provide
significant findings and conclusions that have not been previously gathered in publically
available surveys. The results have been compressed in the following chapters.
Since gasoline and diesel are and will remain the dominant automotive fuels worldwide, the
costs of fuelling gasoline/diesel are the benchmark for NGV fuelling. This includes:
Direct costs of fuelling (equipment on site, costs of gas-/electric grid), as well as;
Indirect costs of fuelling (costs for building structures, land, or provisions for automatic
payment 24 hours per day/7 days per week).
Compares the costs of petroleum fuelling stations versus a CNG station, using European
figures/data as examples.
25
Operations at site
20
Operations refuelling
Transport to site
cent/liter or m3
15
10
Tax incentives for NGVs and fuelling stations have played an important role in reducing
overall costs but these will be reduced as the CNG and LNG market shares increase.
Identifying Next steps and benchmarks for best practices to reduce costs of NGV
fuelling
Survey respondents were asked to identify specific actions, techniques or initiatives designed
to reduce NGV fuelling station costs worldwide.
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Some of those are not specific to natural gas fuelling, but are needed by station installers to
cut costs, such as continued development of standards and regulations and/or harmonization
of existing international regulations. The specific issues concerning fuelling of NGVs differ
substantially from country to country and region to region. Issues with the highest potential
contribution to reduce costs and increase performance may be taken as action program for
step 2 and include:
Action A1: Collect best practices from todays operated NGV fuelling systems
(including safety), and define solutions with best cost-value ratio. Support initiatives to
develop internationally harmonized standards.
Action A2: Collect and analyse best practices for technologies/systems to extend
intervals for maintenance of NGV fuelling systems (times may differ for different
components)
Every new alternative has to compete against the status quo fuels, and even with lower costs
for alternatives it may take decades to establish new alternative forms of mobility.
Thus, political visions are needed to support every new alternative fuel. (Examples of how to
introduce new, alternative automotive fuels are discussed in other chapters in this report.) It
is clear, however, that governments and government-sponsored incentives in the short,
medium and even longer term will be required to make at least some of the alternative fuels
commercially viable. As such, each group of alternative fuel stakeholders producers of
vehicles and fuelling stations need to focus on ways to reduce costs and improve
efficiencies of scale as well as operation.
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) gas supply from local gas grid,
Compressed Biomethane (CBG) renewable gas from landfills, anaerobic digesters (AD)
or gasification plants (upgraded to quality that can be injected into the gas grid)
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Worldwide NG retail markets differ in their needs and often are dependent on the phase of
their development. Thus, it is difficult to provide complete quantitative benchmarks for a set
of truly universal best practices.
Available results are project specific and qualitative, but quantitative benchmarks are
generic
CNG and LNG fuelling stations must meet the benchmarks set by gasoline/diesel
fuelling, i.e. refuelling times, availability of fuelling system and others. To be more
specific, that means:
Service benchmarks
Unquestionable safety standards including identifying differences between CNG and LPG.
Fuelling time comparable to diesel/gasoline (not more than twice as long)
Best available CNG filling pressure to ensure the best vehcle range
Availability of the gas at all times and under all times and conditions, to achieve 98-99%
reliability including during peak times of fuelling. including
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Average costs for (public) automotive fuel retail per site are defined by:
For a modern fuel retail service station in a mature market (e.g. in Europe) a typical figure
may be:
5 cent/liter x 4 Mio litre / year + site = 200.000 / site + year
Remark: The costs in this calculation includes all site specific costs, such as rent of land (>
3.000 m2), personnel; 24/7 days open), operating costs (maintenance, energy, insurance,
costs for shop/food sales), and depreciation (10 15 years). Specific direct costs for
gasoline/diesel fuelling are very low (electricity for pumps, maintenance of dispensers (low
costs) and tanks for liquid fuels.)
To ensure this benchmark on best fuel retail service for the NGV customer the same
amount has to be spent for a dedicated, stand-along NGV fuelling site, plus the additional
cost for the NGV fuelling equipment which, typically, is much higher than for gasoline/diesel
fuelling.
Calculations have to be made at specific costs/volumes in every country. Nevertheless it is
obvious, that NGV fuelling stations during build up of the NGV market can not be operated as
stand alone sites (without gasoline and diesel economically. This includes (public) L-
CNG/LNG-retail sites as well.
For stand alone operations a well-running CNG station should achieve 2 to 3 Mio kg sales
per year.
If only HD-NGV (e.g. long distance trucks) have to be refuelled, this may be done in non-
public retail sites, as is done with many commercial road transport companies who maintain
their own dedicated fuelling locations serving diesel fuel. This concept reduces investment
requirements and operation costs.
c. Decide FIRST on which type of NGVs will be fuelled then build stations.
Diesel and gasoline are used in all types of cars/vehicles, from the smallest to the biggest
with the highest possible fuelling performance for the vehicle owners (filling time, mileage per
fill, etc. )
For natural gas as an automotive fuel the distinctions between fuelling light versus heavy
duty vehicles differ, particularly if LNG is considered:
CNG (including L-CNG) is most often used in personal cars (focus: fleets, including taxis)
and commercial LD-NGVs;
LNG will be most appropriate for HDVs (including buses).
The following illustrates the different considerations in terms of volumes of fuel per site and
year for the different fuels and vehicles they best serve:
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HD-NGV LNG
CNG / L-
LDV/Fleets CNG
CNG
CNG / L-
PC-NGV CNG
CNG
1.000 >
< 250 250 1.000 5.000
NG sales volumes per site+year (in 1.000kg)
Scenario for types of NGV and its best fuelling options
Range of fuelling size in 1.000 m3 natural gas per year+sitesite)
L-CNG may be an option for both LNG and CNG fuelling with one NG retail infrastructure
only, but the overall costs to build such a network are today too high for the average station
owner/operator (without given political support).
The gas infrastructure in the area may support one option better then the other (e.g. LNG-
regasification terminals offering reasonably priced LNG (e.g. in Spain/France/Portugal and
UK), versus high pressure gas grids (i.e. in Central Europe, Japan, the U.S., etc)). But the
fuel station construction decision must be developed based upon the market needs and the
types of vehicles that are available for fuelling.
LNG stations could be attractive, for example since one HDV equals more than 30-50 light
duty passenger cars. Thus, in areas where LNG is available there might be the potential for
faster development of sales volumes and gaining market share if the right mix of heavy duty
vehicles also is available.
Developing the right sizing strategy for NGV fuelling stations to build up new markets (no
over or under-sizing)
A special issue which, for instance, Europe faces is the build-up of new NGV markets without
significant dedicated political support (including clear political targets to promote NGVs).
New NG fuelling sites should be designed to enable future upgrading to match stronger
growth of the vehicle population (i.e. some 3-7 years after start-up of each site). When
building at a minimum size for sales, e.g. for a sales target between 50.000 up to 250.000
(1 million) kg CNG per site and year such stations are extremely inefficient when operated
with sales volumes that are less than 30% of max. fuel sales capacity.
1,80
1,60 Incl. Depreciation
/kg CNG (without Tax+VAT)
Scheme of production costs for a NG retail site (example for CNG, but valid also for LNG).
Overall costs/kg CNG less than 0,70 cent/kg when sales volume are greater than 30% of
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design capacity (example: 300 m3/h compressor, sales target 500.000 800.000 kg CNG per
year; European gas and power prices with oil at 110 US$/bbl)
d.1 For CNG retails sites two typical growth strategies are
Minimum sales figures have to be more then 2-3 million liters of LNG per year plus site costs
in order to to keep costs reasonable.
Structure for three sizes of CNG compressors and its Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
depending on inlet gas pressure from gas grid. Good practice is defined as typically good
values within the industry, both from producers and customers. Good practice sets the base
line for best practice. How to achieve best practice star-ting from good practice is a
target for survey. Benchmarks to be defined within step 2.
CNG Compressor
BENCHMARK TYPE GOOD PRACTICE
Filling time
Compression Maintenance Operational for
CNG kWh/Nm3 (to cent/Nm3 availability 20kg/100kg
Sales/year Gas Inlet 260 bar/15 (90% (% over (in Remarks on
(m3) pressure C) utilisation) year) seconds) "Good practice"
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Based on such categories a serious analysis can be done, e.g. here for CNG compressors.
The influence of gas inlet pressure from the grid on energy demand is an important factor to
consider in designing a fuelling station.
Note: the flows above can be obtained in absence of system restrictions. Please allow a 5% tolerance
Influence of gas (grid) pressure on Flow-rate and Specific power for compression needed.
(Source: G. Gozzi, 2011)
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Two different groups of NGV fuelling station stakeholders were sent questionnaires during
the autumn 2011.
The names and companies of the respondents are provided in the back of this report, as are
the questionnaires for both groups.
Statistics on feedback
60 letters with questionnaires were sent worldwide to leading experts in the NGV business.
Twenty nine questionnaires were returned, representing a response rate of 48 %.
30
25
20
Nr. of feedbacks
15
10 Australia/NZ
America
Europa
5 Asia
Africa
0
provider/enabler User/customer
Most of the respondents, system suppliers and customers indicated that complete turnkey
services has a very high value.
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16
14
12
no
yes
Nr. of feedbacks
10
0
Provide r/Enable r Cus tom er/Ope rator
Most customer/operators taking part in this study operate smaller size NGV fuelling stations:
45
>1.000 nm3 NG/ h
40
251-1.000 nm3 NG/ h
101-250 nm3 NG/ h
35
<100 nm3 NG/ h
number of compressors
30
25
20
15
10
0
Provider/Enabler Customer/Operator
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16 12
No No
14
Yes 10 Yes
12
Customer/Operator
8
Provider/Enabler
10
8 6
6
4
4
2
2
0 0
Engineering Maintenance Training (incl. Engineering Maintenance Training (incl.
consulting contracts Long term as consulting contracts Long term as may
provided to may be required) provided to be required)
customers customers
All of the service providers offer full turnkey systems but not all are providing downstream
parts and components. Most customers prefer turnkey services but less than half take
advantage of after-market parts and components, preferring to source them locally and
(likely) for a reduced costs (and sometimes at the risk of reduced performance or voiding
warranties.)
16 14
No No
14 12
Yes Yes
12 10
Customer/ Operator
Provider/ Enabler
10
8
8
6
6
4
4
2 2
0 0
Turnkey s ervices Providing parts and components Turnkey s ervices Providing parts and components
Of those suppliers responding, less tend to provide Mother-Daughter stations than traditional
compressor stations. Customers who responded reflect marginally more willingness to
consider M-D stations, but this is highly dependent upon the availability of pipeline natural
gas. In both cases, cost reduction is not seen as a major motivation to adopt M-D as
opposed to a standard fuelling station.
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16 16
No No
14 14
Yes Yes
12 12
Customer/Operator
Provider/Enabler
10 10
8 8
6 6
4 4
2 2
0
0
Investment cost Operations cost Increasing
Investment cost Operations cost Increasing
reduced? reduced? performance of NG
reduced? reduced? performance of NG
refuelling?
refuelling?
With these three concerns addressed, then overall costs have to be optimized (Total costs
of ownership for e.g. 10 years (TCO 10). For details on optimization of TCO see feedback by
provider/enabler on this topic, below):
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With these three conditions ensured, then overall costs can be optimized
(Total costs of ownership for e.g. 10 years (TCO 10)):
Key to optimizing the cost effectiveness and meeting performance requirements is ensuring
that the station design is fit for purpose, including:
Understanding the type(s) NGV to be refuelled (buses, taxis, passenger cars, etc.);
Proper sizing of the required volume to meet the needs of the fleet size and the fuelling
requirements on a daily basis;
Sizing the system to meet demand during the peaks times when fuelling is required
(applies to both public and private NGV sites).
For buses, if possible, slow fill is one way to reduce costs but this might not fit into the
preferences of the operators, many of whom want to use their diesel fleets as the
benchmark for performance. (Many bus operators may not have the available space at their
facilities for slow fill.)
Most interestingly (but not surprising) providers/suppliers see the inlet gas grid pressure as
the most important cost reduction -issue, whereas the customers/users see the
possibility/need for upgrading the entire system as most important. (This feedback was
mostly from European customers where most of the markets are in the (early) build up
phase.)
Make customer/operators aware, that this is a key topic for CNG compressors stations.
Gas grid pressure higher than 30 50 bar is an appropriate target, even when that
A special need appears in countries where the NGV market is in a growth phase. To secure
a good network from the start and keep the investments at reasonable volumes, these
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markets start with smaller public sites, e.g. in Western Europe with compressors from 150-
250 Nm3, enabling sales up to more than 700.000 1.000.000 m3/year at a single site.
As the NGV business develops and demand for fuel increases upgrading is required.
Concepts that have been mentioned most by the recipients include:
Using standard-modules, (but only that are technically proven and not newly designed for
single stations or special situations). Standard modules have positive influence on cost
per unit and for parts replacement as well): Modular designs for fuelling systems and the
use of standard-solutions are among the best cost-benefit (costs/savings-ratio).
Safety standards and improving the level of best practices may be even more important
than the concerns of local code officials. This can save operating costs (insurance,
reduced distances between dispensers and compressors, etc.). It also can contribute to
enhancing the overall image of natural gas as respected automotive fuel. (Note: Any
incident where safety is an issue would damage the image of CNG fuelling and impact
the growth in sales).
Best practices here may include:
- Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to automatically control fuelling of cylinders,
including those in NGVs (for encrypting vehicles, avoiding fraud, or controlling
cylinder inspections and eliminating substandard fuel systems)
- Special test procedures before/during refilling (e.g. avoid filling an LPG-car in
case of manipulated filling nozzle.) (An LPG-test typically is done at Austrian
CNG stations. The vehicle to refill is filled with 30 bar, this pressure is kept for ~
30 seconds, and if there is no pressure drop within this time, the refuelling with
CNG is started. So this LPG test is also a safety measure to ensure tightness of
the whole NGV system.)
- Documentation of safety procedures is needed on-site. These differ widely from
country-to-coungry so code officials, installers and customers must be familiar
with safety concerns and safety procedures in case of an emergency.
Action A1: Collect best practices from todays operated NGV fuelling systems (including
safety), and define solutions with best cost-value ratio. Support initiatives to develop
internationally harmonized standards.
Noise reduction and ventilation (optimized mix to be found, as the direction of ventilation
highly influences level and direction of noise in the environment). (In some Western
Europe countries the maximum noise emission allowed is around 55-60 dbA.)
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Using providers/suppliers with a proven track record (experience in design, building and
operation of NGV-fuelling sites, including safety).
Practices typically not done adequately or forgotten topics for best practice in
NGV fuelling station design and layout
Almost half of the system suppliers indicated a lack of awareness or understanding on the
part of their customers about the total cost of operation (TCO) including maintenance and
specific operational practices.
Items mentioned as part of TCO include, for example, electricity consumption (which can
vary dramatically due to demand charges), consumables such as lube oil, oil filters, and
desiccants for the dryer, costs related to the general overhaul of the compressors, and the
need for periodic inspection of CNG storage systems.
Considering the space needed for CNG stations (i.e. the footprint), and particularly when
expanding the station capacity, consideration has to be given to things such as providing
adequate space for turning or parking vehicles.
Safety issues are not always a first priority for operators and costs to ensure safety are a
factor in station economics.
During the design phase it is important to consider local code officials concerns before
construction begins so that there are no surprises or added costs due to unforeseen
requirements of local inspectors, code officials or fire marshals.
a. Design/Layout
Considerations of the costs in the design phase are needed to consider such things as
new pavement, parking space, egress/ingress access to roadways, etc. This is
particularly critical if a dedicated NGV station is being built rather than being integrated
into an existing station that already has been designed to consider non-fuelling
equipment costs.
Leasing models for NGV fuelling stations and other business models should be
considered for different customers (strong demand from customers).
Ensure protection against direct exposure to sun/rain of dispenser
b. Organisation/Project Management
Design/layout fit for all required building and fire safety permits, both national and locally
enforced requirements.
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Delivery and construction times (for building and maintenance) can have significant
influence on costs (construction/operations)
Remote control of the NGV fuelling sites is often mentioned as important to operators.Off-
site management can identify performance problems at the station and improve repair
time once problems have been identified.
Full service packages for service/maintenance can add to costs but save money in the
long term.
Spare part management (and costs).
Increase intervals for maintenance (with providers/producer and legal standards).
Action A2: Collect and analyse best practice on technologies/systems to increase intervals
for maintenance of NGV fuelling systems
Payment options that typically are provided for gasoline/diesel have to be available for
natural gas (i.e. credit cards, fuel cards,etc.)
Information provided to the new NGV customers at site (i.e. using fuel connectors)
Proper training of employees on-site who are unfamiliar with CNG equipment, for both
operation and maintenance.
Providers/suppliers argue that the majority of customers are unaware of different types of
fuelling systems available and, therefore, do not know which are best for their specific needs.
Most customers are not really interested in the technology of natural gas compression. They
are looking for reliable and efficient solutions.
For the first time to introduce and consider options such as:
LNG/C-LNG and
M-D stations
The types of CNG compressors are mainly defined by the gas inlet pressure from the gas
grid. There is an overall tendency to consider oil free machines due to issues associated
with oil carry-over into the vehicle. Hydraulic (HC) and reciprocating (RC) compressors are
seen best for:
High power, but small in size is the key for compressors, but then cooling and noise
reduction may become critical.
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HC are most energy efficient if inlet pressure from gas grid is high enough.
Below a certain input pressure level HC have a tendency to leak oil, which may result in
major problems with oil in CNG tanks.
L-CNG/LNG stations
For LNG fuelling the existence of HD-NGV-fleets with sufficient scale is most important.
Issues still remain with boil-off and venting of LNG systems, particularly where there are
restrictions or concerns about methane leakage into the atmosphere. (Note: CH4 is
considered a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2 by a factor of 23 when calculating
for greenhouse gas emissions.) Overall safety and fast fill have to be ensured.
Fuel volumes storage and fuelling are important concerns for LNG station design.
LNG fuelling sites for base consumption at least larger than 1- 2 million litres of LNG/year
The most important topic related to LNG/L-CNG stations (design, construction and
operation) is the lack of internationally acceptable standards and regulations.
Action A3: Define LNG standards for L-CNG/LNG fuelling. There is on-going work within the
International Standards Organization on various equipment standards for on-vehicle LNG
fuel storage, connectors and fuelling stations. Standards related to vehicle components
ultimately will be included in United Nations Regulation 110, most likely by 2013. Fuelling
station standards will become norms (and not international regulations) that can provide
guidance at the national levels for those countries interested in promoting LNG as a vehicle
fuel. Standards and regulations also are being evaluated for the marine markets and
bunkering of LNG at port locations and from ship-to-ship in some countries and by the United
Nations.
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Combination LNG fuelling with-L-CNG adds costs and value. The option can be useful
only if a CNG-market exists.
L-CNG is seen as growing option for some sites with difficult pipeline connection or
where there is a strong supply of LNG (as in the Iberian Peninsula)
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Appendix A
A summary of the survey responses to specific questions about the cost, operation, and
preferences for different compressor systems are provided below.
The top three preferences of both the provider/suppliers and the customer/operators are
shown. (Refer to the questionnaire itself to see all the multiple choices provided to survey
recipients.)
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Table 2 -
Provider/ Supplier
1. Design for expansion of fuelling system
2. Improve International Norms on NGV fuelling
3. Development of international fuelling station standards
Customer/ Operator
1. Increase gas grid inlet pressure
2. Development of international fuelling station standards
3. Reduce the price to access the gas
Table 3 -
Provider/ Supplier
1. Consulting Engineering to determine station size/application (station layout & design)
2. Maintenance and service contract
3. Warranty (provided in 2 years; preferred 2,75 years)
Customer/ Operator
1. Maintenance and service contract
2. Warranty (provided in 2 years; preferred 2,75 years)
3. Training on maintenance and service (initial training; long term training)
Table 4 -
Provider/ Supplier
1. Self service NGV fuelling
2. Ease of dispenser operation
3. Modular installation
Customer/ Operator
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Table 5 -
Provider/ Supplier
1. System economics over its lifetime (investment + operations)
2. Maintenance & service
3. Warranty 1-3 yrs
Customer/ Operator
1. System economics over its lifetime (investment + operations)
2. Maintenance & service
3. Warranty 1-3 yrs
Appendix B
We thank all those individuals who provided their feedback to the questionnaires. From some
of them we got additional information as well as additional inputs to this report (Names are in
bold).
Thank you very much to all, who contributed.
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D. Kulyabin / Gazprom
A. Shin / Gazprom
A. Lederbauer / OMV Refining and Marketing
F. Marschler / OMV Refining and Marketing
D. Matic + S. Vulama / OMV Gas Adria
M. Petraccone / SAFE srl
S. Sulemanjee
G. Wyborny / EAA Erdgas Mobil GmbH
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The significant change is going to occur in maritime traffic in the next several years as
the new standards for ship fuels are being imposed.
The restrictions coming into force under Annex VI of the International Maritime
Organizations Marpol Convention include a cap of 0.1% sulfur on all bunker fuel burnt
anywhere in four emission control areas, which are: the North and Baltic seas, North
America and the US Caribbean. In most, the existing cap is 1% sulfur. Most ships in EU ports
and inland waterways face a similar 0.1% cap.
Sulfur oxide emissions restrictions on fuels imposed on the maritime sector operating
within the Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA) by International Maritime Organization
(IMO) are the major drivers for growth of LNG consumption as a bunkering fuel. The current
SECA in Europe, which covers the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the English Channel,
leaves most of the European coastline less strictly regulated from 2015 and this may have
negative implications with regard to competitiveness of the shipping sector for operations
inside or outside of these boundaries.
Moreover, IMO imposed the limits for sulfur content in marine fuels at level of 3.5% as
of this year, 2012 (4.5% formerly).
On this evidence, ship-owners will have three options: switch to distillates (gasoil with
a sulfur content of 0.1%), switch to LNG, or introduce new technology, which could include
scrubbers, which allow ships to keep burning bunker fuel oil.
A shift to LNG is therefore one increasingly interesting alternative in order to meet the
new requirements.
LNG fuel has the lowest ship emissions compared with traditional bunker fuels:
NOx emissions are reduced by 8590%
SOx and particles are reduced by nearly 100%
Net greenhouse gases emissions may be reduced by 1520%.
Traditionally used marine gasoil (MGO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO)
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A 2010 study for the Danish governments Environmental Protection Agency carried
out by Norways DNV found out that LNG needs to be 45% cheaper than 0.1% gasoil to
stimulate switching. We observe the positive dynamics for the bunker fuel prices in the last
three years (see the graph below) that resulted as high as almost 1000 USD per metric ton
for 0.1% gasoil in the North West Europe.
The prices for fuel oil with a maximum sulfur content of 3.5% and a maximum viscosity of
380 Centistokes (380 bunker fuel oil) were at level of 689 USD per ton in the end January
2012, for fuel oil with a maximum viscosity of 180 Centistokes (180 bunker fuel oil) 708
USD per ton.
Source: Bloomberg
The comparison of price for spot LNG in North-West Europe and price for 0.1% gasoil
converted to USD per mbtu demonstrates the difference around 60% during the last year
(see the graph below). By the way, the difference between LNG and bunker fuel oil is around
45% that could be enough to stimulate switching to LNG. But we cant still observe great
success in switching, because the small-scale LNG supply system is not developed, and the
cost of LNG transportation to the point is actually too high. The infrastructure development
without governmental support seems currently impossible. But the restriction of burning
undistilled fuels from 2015 boosts the chances of LNG considerably and perhaps without any
governmental support.
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6
0
%
dif
fer
en
ce
Source: Bloomberg
The additional space for LNG fuel storage is required for retrofitting of existing ship
propulsion systems. This makes retrofitting less attractive. From that point of view LPG could
be more favorable, but the choice is based upon fuel availability and fuel cost.
Another option low sulfur fuel oil is the alternative for ship owners who are
reluctant to make capital investments in the ships. Ships can be retrofitted with exhaust gas
cleaning system (scrubbers or SCRs) to meet the SECA emissions requirements. Because
the scrubber requires a smaller investment than converting to LNG (either as a retrofit or as a
new-build), this is likely to be a favored solution firstly. But the higher prices for low sulfur fuel
oil should be kept in mind.
The actual price at the end user (ship owner) will be a consequence of the
international LNG price and the regional filling station infrastructure investments.
Infrastructure
LNG is supplied by a large-scale tanker to the import terminal from abroad or can be
derived from pipeline gas right on the local market. LNG feeder ships are supplying satellite
terminals which refuel LNG for the consuming vessels. Refueling at terminal is also possible
via truck. At that time, development of new containment systems for storage on-board makes
it possible to handle boil-off gas by pressure increase, reliquefaction or dual fuel gas
consumption.
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away from big LNG tankers. Rotterdam has commissioned Germanys Linde to carry out a
study this year on the best place to site a bunker terminal. The first LNG-fuelled inland barge
entered service in November 2011 in the Netherlands, where it operates along the Maas and
Rhine rivers. The problem now is the lack of small-scale LNG supplies, all the logistics still
should be developed.
Outside Europe, there is some interest. In Canada, state-run Societe des Traversiers
du Quebec (Quebec Ferries) in October 2011 placed orders for one large and two small new
build LNG fuelled ferries for delivery in 2013-14 to operate on the St Lawrence River. In
Argentina, delivery of an Australian-built rapid passenger catamaran running on LNG is
awaited. It is expected to start up this year on the River Plate crossing to Uruguay.
Market consultants forecast the significant increase in LNG consumption for
bunkering purposes. For example, Pace Global Energy Services believe that its going to
exceed 200 bcm per year in 2030.
But, use of LNG as an alternative to fuel oil in parts of northern Europe and North America
could boost only if ports, ship-owners and engine-makers are prepared to pony up sufficient
investment in advance. It needs the governmental subsidies and incentives that have
inspired LNGs use as a marine fuel in Norway.
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1. BACKGROUND: the transport sector needs to end its monopolistic dependency from
crude oil
Mobility and transportation interlink the global economy. Aviation is the preferred mode for
connecting long distances, with future growth envisaged at over 4-5% per year, fastest
particularly in Asia.
In the past XX century, the transport industry has built its backbone infrastructures, carriers
and engines on just one main fuel resource: crude oil; and aviation has taken the best
distillates grades: avgas and jet kerosene. The reason for this choice was clear: avgas-
100LL and jet-A/B/P types kerosene were the best picks of the crude oil reefing process,
satisfying the 5 pre-requisites (availability, cleanness, economy, efficiency and safety)
needed to power moving vehicles.
In the last two decades, it became evident that crude oil and its derivatives had lost 3 of the 5
pre-requisites, as they turn out to be short in supply, excessively polluting and expensive.
The stationary energy sector has already diversified its fuel needs away from oil, to improve
competitiveness and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions.
The transport sector, and aviation in particular, only made significant steps in improving
performances thus reducing fuel-oil consumptions and relevant emissions; but now, they
need to sustain their development by ending the current dependency from the oil monopoly
and finding alternative substitute fuels able to sustain their growth on a long term basis.
Long term availability and economic planning in a balanced environment are the fundamental
requirements for the new substitute transport fuel candidates, together with efficiency &
safety aspects.
Natural Gas (from fossil and renewable sources) is the sustainable alternative to oil (fossil or
renewable) in this XXI century, for both stationary and mobile energy applications, as gas is
more available, cleaner, cheaper, more efficient and safer than oil.
2. AVIATION
Aviation is the fastest growing means of long range transports and its contribution to air
pollution is increasing even faster due to the impossibility of treating and decontaminating the
exhaust gases. NASA/Boeing and EADS/Airbus have considered cryogenic hydrogen and
methane as fuel for commercial aviation since the 1980s: in the early 2000s hydrogen was
dismissed due to excessive complications and costs, and methane was summarily dismissed
for its cryogenic similarity to hydrogen.
In mid-1980s, Tupolev built the TU-155 cryogenic aircraft on the basis of serial TU-154B.
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In order to use liquid H2 or LNG as fuel, airframe and some standard systems were modified,
cryogenic fuel charging, storage and feeding systems were installed, ensuring fire/explosion
safety, and data acquisition and recording system as well. Cryogenic fuel resource was kept
in fuel tank of 17.5 m3 capacity installed in special compartment in rear portion of passenger
cabin.15 April 1988 the aircraft performed its maiden flight using liquid hydrogen. Upon flight
testing and development, on 18 January 1989 TU-155 a/c performed its first flight on
liquefied natural gas. Large flight testing program was fulfilled, with over 100 domestic
commercial flights and several international flight demonstrations were made including those
to Bratislava (Slovakia), Nice (France), Berlin and Hannover (Germany). Positive results
encouraged the development of the new cryogenic model TU-156. However, in the 1990,
following to the reorganization of the FSU and lack of financing, the program was terminated.
After 20 years, the world energy scenario has substantially changed and aviation requires
cheaper, cleaner and more abundantly available alternative fuels. New alternative fuel
solutions are searched, possibly compatible with kerosene in order to be mixable (drop-in)
and sharing same infrastructures (for minimal aircrafts and airports modifications). Several
bio-fuels options are currently being investigated for lowering GHG emissions. AIR-LNG, a
private company based in Bonn and Luxembourg has revitalized the potential of using LNG
(from fossil or renewable sources) as most sustainable fuel option for commercial aircrafts.
Even though LNG can only be mixed with kerosene at the combustion nozzle, (therefore
requiring separate storage and supply infrastructure inside the aircrafts and at the airport),
AIR-LNG research work and solutions aim at proving that LNG is still the most sustainable
and profitable option to complement and replace kerosene.
3. RESEARCH WORK FOR MID-TERM & LONG-TERM PROGRAM: on LNG as sustainable fuel for
Aviation
AIR-LNG Research Work on LNG as sustainable fuel option for Aviation is currently in
progress within the Burn-FAIR project of the LuFo IV-3 program (2010-2013), sponsored by
the BMWi (the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology) and coordinated by
EADS with partners including DLR, Airbus, Lufthansa, MTU, Hamburg Airport, TGE and Air-
LNG. Aim of this program is to compare performances and sustainability of the HVO option
(Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil drop-in solution coordinated by Lufthansa) with the LNG
option (not-drop-in solution- coordinated by AIR-LNG).
AIR-LNG research work focuses on LNG as fuel for aviation on the following basis:
I. Methane (CH4) is a fuel chemically &physically more similar to kerosene (-CH2-) than
hydrogen (H2).Methane and kerosene have similar flame characteristics and can be
mixed in the combustion chamber. Methane flammability, safety risks and GHG
emissions are lower than kerosene. Methane energy density is 1.6, compared to
kerosene = 1, and hydrogen = 4, allowing to deliver the same thrust with 15% less fuel
weight compared to kerosene (hydrogen: 1/3 weight).
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II. Methane cryogenic conditions ( 162C) are much easier than hydrogen ( 252C);
cryogenic methane is stored and transported in insulated tanks & tankers (low
pressure) that appear very similar to oil tanks& tankers, even though construction
materials are different. Methane and oil are different fluids and not mixable before the
combustion nozzle.
III. The industrial technology & logistics network of LNG and methane for mobile
applications is already commercially available and has increased enormously in the last
5 years, allowing to consider LNG as a suitable energy source candidate also for
airports/aircrafts;
IV. Renewable bio-gas (upgraded to bio-methane) is the most abundant bio-fuel available
on earth; when recovered from waste biomass, bio-methane is not competing with the
food industry and could become an inexhaustible source of energy for complete
replacement of fossil crude oil; also the bio-methane technology is already
commercially available.
V. The bio-methane solution, as main substitute of kerosene, appears to be the only
available option able to meet the IATA 2050 target of -50% GHG emissions and
thereafter zero-emission.
VI. The energy intensity and the economics of a new bio-LNG world mass production
infrastructure chain appears to be more advantageous of the corresponding new
infrastructure chain based on BTL or HVO bio-kerosene.
VII. The possibility to install LNG systems as complement to kerosene appears
economically and technically feasible even in existing aircrafts. New aircrafts based on
LNG as main fuel will enhance the advantages.
VIII. Prices of fossil LNG and bio-LNG are about 1/3 of fossil kerosene and bio-kerosene.
IX. The setting up of LNG as main complement/alternative fuel to kerosene is feasible in a
time frame of one or two decades, it will cease the oil monopolistic status in transports,
will extend the time of oil availability in this XXI century and possibly facilitate the
transition to a future hydrogen age.
LNG solutions for airports and aircrafts have been worked out for existing aircrafts (short/mid
term 5-20y) and new aircrafts (long term, >25y). Should the LNG technology be accepted by
the aviation industry, potential LNG consumption may reach 10% in the 1st period and
eventually >50% in new aircrafts, of total aviation fuel consumption of about 250 Mtpy (2010)
expected to grow to 500 Mtpy (2035).
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Introduction
Today, natural gas and biomethane represent the most practical, realistic and easiest way to
reduce pollution coming from road transportation. At the same time, Hydrogen as a vehicle
fuel certainly is an interesting solution taking into account its environmental benefits.
However, and to be realistic, fully propelled hydrogen vehicles still remain an insecure long
term option facing various obstacles, which must be solved first: open questions include e.g.
production pathways with regard to coherent pollution, energy and cost dimensions; the
organization and realization of a dedicated distribution network; the complexity and cost of
hydrogen vehicles and their main components, etc.
As a natural consequence, the intention of this paper is to present the huge potential that
methane/hydrogen blends can bring for the transport sector, as an ideal bridge to a more
sustainable mobility, by using the existing NG/biomethane distribution infrastructure.
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system when energy consumption is very low (i.e. during the nighttime); this approach is also
under development in the area of Trentino Alto Adige, which is already equipped with several
hydroelectric power plants. Moreover other technologies are under investigation for
production of green hydrogen from renewable energies such as photovoltaic, wind and
biomass.
Several application programs are in progress; one of the main interesting ones will be carried
out along the interstate A22 Motorway with the main following objectives:
To test the production of green hydrogen from renewable sources according to various
technologies (hydroelectric, photovoltaic, wind, biomass).
The availability of new generations of multi fuel filling stations every 100 km supplying
Natural Gas, Hydrogen/NG blends and Hydrogen between Modena and Munich.
The creation of a hydrogen corridor having a length of 600 km and a width of 300 km,
through hydrogen connection with multi fuel filling station along side the motorway.
So, even if for the moment, the production of hydrogen is clearly limited to industrial
applications and not finalized to transportation fuel, some quantity of hydrogen may, or
should be, however available.
It is now clear that, even if we confirm today once again the realistic actuality of natural gas,
the future potential of hydrogen cannot be disregarded, and both clean fuels, natural gas
and hydrogen must be considered.
Taking into account these considerations any vehicle using a powertrain is basically able:
to run with natural gas/biomethane (doesnt matter if it is one or the other because both of
them have the same chemical composition)
to include also hydrogen, if and where it is available, to be used as blended fuel
to automatically adapt its engine control system to the characteristics of in use fuel
to maintain a cost similar to present gas engines
All these requirements may be reasonably satisfied by a new fuel: the natural gas
hydrogen blends. We have to underline that perhaps the most important feature of this
approach is that it does not require a revolution of the engine technology but only an
evolution of the already existing natural gas engine. The advanced technology of
hydrogen/natural gas blends can offer an important contribution vs. the emissions reduction
and guarantee a strong positive synergy with gaseous fuels from renewable sources such as
biomethane and green hydrogen. Moreover, the addition of hydrogen to natural gas improves
the environmental properties of natural gas when burning in internal combustion engines.
From another point of view we can say that mixtures of natural gas and hydrogen can in
some way speed up the development of the hydrogen infrastructure considered necessary
for future transport options.
The story of natural gas & hydrogen blends begins more or less twenty years ago with the
invention of hythane, a blend of 20 % of hydrogen and 80% of natural gas in volume,
patented to reduce the raw NOx emissions of passenger cars as a consequence of the lean
limit potential extension, a concept well known to engine engineers.
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Probably it is not so much well known that the testing of hythane was also carried out in the
field of heavy duty applications for many years and in different countries.
To quote only some of these experiences there have been tests carried out in USA in the last
decade of the past century and later on, there were experiments in Sweden, China, France
and India.
In Italy the main focus was addressed to passenger cars and delivery vans, but urban
transports were not forgotten.
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In this context it is worth to point out that the more extensive testing plan is in progress in
Lombardia, a region of Italy, where 20 modified FIAT Panda Natural Power cars (adapted for
the use of a blend of Natural Gas with 30% of Hydrogen in volume) are in testing together
with 2 blend refuelling stations.
Some tests for heavy duty application in city context are also in progress in the Emilia
Romagna region, besides the more famous experimental programme carried out by the
Althytude Project in Dunkerque (France) with two Irisbus buses modified to run with a
NG/hydrogen blend using 20% hydrogen by volume.
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As we have seen, hythane is a trade mark for a specific composition (20% of hydrogen and
80%of natural gas).
To take into account different and more general compositions, it should be better to use a
different name, for example hydromethane which may be shortened with HCNG.
Moving to the control system, the hardware does not require any modifications, while some
adaptations to the software of engine control and to the calibration dataset are necessary. In
this way it will be possible to take into account the physical properties of the fuel and to have
the possibility of adapting the parameters of the engine control to different blend
compositions, sweeping from pure natural gas to the maximum hydrogen content that the
specific application can safely use. In fact, running the engine with the calibration dataset
normally used for natural gas can induce an increase of pollutant emissions, due to the
wrong air/fuel metering and to a non adapted control of the lambda probe closed loop.
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Of course this approach requires the availability of a gas engine equipped with an electronic
gas injection system and an advanced engine control in order to exploit all the benefit from
the hydrogen blend.
From the point of view of the compatibility of the materials, it is well known that the presence
of hydrogen could cause some embrittlement phenomena with aging. For these reasons,
even if a smoothing effect is expected thanks to the partial pressure of hydrogen in the blend,
an exhaustive overview of the problem based on laboratory and durability test is needed.
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If we consider blends with hydrogen ranging from 10 to 30% it is possible to have, at the
same time, significant environmental benefits together with minimum impact on vehicle and
powertrain configuration.
In fact thanks to the hydrogen properties, in comparison with natural gas, the blend has
higher H/C ratio, higher combustion velocity, and less ignition energy. This means that the
combustion will result more complete, fast and stable.
So, from the environmental point of view, the addition of hydrogen results in an increase of
H/C ratio with a significant further reduction in CO2 emissions in comparison with natural gas
alone. For example a blend with 30% of hydrogen will cause an additional 11% reduction in
CO2 emissions in comparison to natural gas alone.
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Less evident but always interesting is the reduction of total unburned hydrocarbons and
carbon monoxide emission due to the resulting higher H/C ratio and also to the reduction of
flame quenching phenomena leading to a more complete combustion.
Moreover, thanks to a specific regulation of the lambda control parameters, also a reduction
of NOx emissions can be achieved at the exhaust where the standard CNG dedicated
catalyst formulation can be maintained.
The increase of the flame propagation speed could also potentially result in slightly higher
thermodynamic engine efficiency even if this aspect depends also on engine configuration
and on its regulation.
But, apart from the environmental aspects, it is extremely important to notice that impacts of
this fuel composition on vehicle and engine structure and technology are minimized.
Without changing the volume and the pressure conditions of the storage system it is possible
to preserve a sufficient vehicle range: for instance, a 30% by volume hydrogen blend will
reduce the energy content by approximately 20% compared to pure methane; this is an
interesting result when we consider that, in the same conditions, pure hydrogen would
reduce the vehicle range by more than 70%.
Also as far as regards safety no major problems are expected. The only potential drawback
is that, in case of leakage in the atmosphere, a demixing of the blend may occur. In this case,
in closed room, we have to consider that the flammability range of hydrogen is much wider
than that of natural gas.
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On the contrary some evident advantages, in comparison with pure hydrogen, are present:
fuel leakage may be detected by natural gas odour, distribution operations may be more
safety due to higher ignition energy, and combustion flame is optically detected while
hydrogen combustion is not visible.
Conclusions
At the end we may point out that, if today the use of mineral liquid fuels produces enormous
pollution problems, tomorrow hydrogen will solve all environmental problems due to road
transports: but how we can go from today to tomorrow? Natural gas hydrogen blends may
be a potential bridge for this transition.
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The European hydrogen and fuel cell sector (FCH sector), represented by the organisations
listed below, welcomes the EU Commissions White Paper Roadmap to a Single European
Transport Area Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system. The
European Commission tries to capture in this White Paper the complexity of the full transport
sector and its variety of modal choices into a future low carbon strategy.
Introduction
Hydrogen will be a key energy carrier in a future low carbon economy. It can be produced
from all primary energy sources and generates no local emissions when used to produce
power in a fuel cell.
Hydrogen as a clean alternative fuel and fuel cells as a new (electric) propulsion technology
will therefore play an important role in achieving the goals set out in the White Paper by
introducing clean electric power-trains in EUs transport system, provided proper policy and
political support are put in place in the coming years.
The European Hydrogen and Fuel Cell sector would like to present hereunder its
recommendations to make sure EU achieves its objectives in terms not only of
decarbonisation but also in terms of EU global leadership in key sustainable technologies.
Fuel cell electric vehicles are an essential part of a clean car portfolio
It is clear now that only a shift to clean technologies together with better modal choices can
bring about the shift to clean, safe and silent transport. In particular in urban environments
the use of public transport should be encouraged. The White Paper recognises however, that
for many people personal transports will nevertheless remain the only alternative due to the
complexity of their daily journey. To enable an offer of clean transport choices, that
accommodates the diversity of needs in terms of driving performance, car-size and refueling-
time, a portfolio of clean alternative cars need to be commercially deployed and appropriate
refueling infrastructure needs to be built.
In a recent fact-based evaluation of the various available alternative power trains for
passenger cars, a balanced perspective is given on the role of various alternative passenger
cars, clearly pointing out that electric cars, both battery and fuel cell electric, are the only
alternatives with the potential to reduce carbon footprint in individual transport to zero.
Battery electric and fuel cell electric cars are complementary, serving each a different car-
segment in terms of size and range. Fuel cell electric vehicles are a clean alternative for both
shorter and longer ranges, delivering similar drivingperformance as traditional cars in terms
of range, size and refueling time and thus providing for a realistic clean alternative. Battery
electric cars are limited in their range and size and face long recharging times and are
therefore fit for shorter journeys, likely as a second car in the family. Both alternatives require
dedicated infrastructure and the cost is relatively low in terms of cost of ownership of the car
(about 2.500 per car) and will reduce in line with the scaling up of cars in the market.
The technology is already today demonstrated in Light Duty Vehicles (e.g. example mail
delivery cars), public buses, taxis, motorbikes, certain maritime applications and for certain
applications in aircrafts. Commercial deployment of the technology in a mass market like
passenger cars will be an essential step towards reducing the cost of fuel cells vehicles to
comparable total cost of ownership levels to current combustion engines vehicles. This will
also benefit other fuel cell application areas.
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As mentioned in the White Paper, "delayed action and timid introduction of new technologies
could condemn the EU transport industry to irreversible decline". The challenge indeed is "to
break the transport systems dependence on oil without sacrificing its efficiency and
compromising mobility". A smooth transition towards a cleaner transport system requires a
coherent and reliable regulatory framework and financial support mechanism to ensure
timely introduction of clean transport options. In this context business as usual is not an
option. The technology is there and ready for deployment, if not capitalised in Europe than
elsewhere. To really make fuel cell electric vehicles a credible and affordable offer for the
European citizen as from 2020 onwards, hydrogen infrastructure should to be built up without
delay and the car-fleet should be scaled up accordingly. These developments go hand in
hand. Taking timely action is the turning-point from innovation to a real solution for European
Society.
High initial investments in infrastructure place fuel cell vehicles initially at a competitive
disadvantage compared to battery charging infrastructure, even though total infrastructure
cost for both technologies reach comparable levels. Furthermore the development of parallel
infrastructures for both battery and fuel cell electric is key for a consistent sustainable
transport policy and will allow an optimized economic balance of infrastructure needs for
those complementary technologies. No economic reason prevents such parallel development.
Developing different charging/refueling infrastructures in parallel is the only way to offer a
real sustainable mobility choice in view of various passenger transport needs and cost-
effective deployment. Clever market de-risking mechanisms will be indeed critical to make
this development a success for the European Society and industry.
A group of companies together with German government and the Joint Undertaking for
hydrogen and fuel cells (FCH JU) is currently developing a plan to overcome this market-gap
including an indication of the financial support mechanisms and incentives needed for large
scale deployment in H2Mobility.
We welcome the dialogue approach as described in the White Paper for refining the
concepts for future transport and shaping the role of hydrogen and fuel cells.
To move from concept to reality and to facilitate a smart transition to clean alternative fuels
and vehicles, the FCH sector likes to put forward the following suggestions, building on the
framework as laid out in the White Paper.
To fully leverage the potential of key technologies, the measures indicated up to 2014 should
address investments in deployment of these technologies in a more immediate and concrete
manner to achieve EUs low carbon transport ambitions for 2030 and 2050.
The FCH sector agrees with the European Commission that EUs transport research and
innovation policy should move towards a systems approach by
Taking care of infrastructure and regulatory requirements,
Coordination of multiple actors
Carrying out large demonstration projects over the next couple of years, in order to
encourage market uptake of new transport technologies, like hydrogen and fuel cells.
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The European hydrogen and fuel cell sector together with the Commission has started to
work in this direction since more than three years in the FCH JU, one of the first European
Industrial Initiatives under the Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-plan).
The White Paper indications of increased efforts in identifying appropriate governance and
financing instruments and more coordination with the SET Plan activities are therefore very
encouraging.
The White Paper further identifies the urban environment as an excellent testing bed for the
demonstration and deployment of clean transport technologies, in particular for public
transport.
Especially at urban level the following needs to be addressed coherently to achieve fast
results
Requirements for introducing new technologies with regards to land-use planning
Pricing schemes,
Public transport services
Refueling infrastructure of clean vehicles
In addition, EU, national, regional and local policy action should be leveraged to accelerate
necessary adaptation and involvement of key political and industrial stakeholders.
The FCH sector sees an important role for its technology within the intended measures up to
2014 as indicated by the Commission. When used effectively, these measures could help
facilitate bridging the gap to market for the use of hydrogen in public and private transport:
EU Strategic Transport Technology Plan When setting out the deployment strategy to
incentivise the uptake of new technologies in the market should take into account the role
and cost perspective of different clean technologies.
As indicated in the recent study A portfolio of power-trains for Europe: a factbased analysis
both battery and fuel cell vehicles will play each a complementary role in the decarbonisation
of transport, whereby fuel cell electric vehicles provide a clean alternative for both short and
the longer range and the 'family-car' segment . In order to leverage the full potential of the
contribution of fuel cell transport (including hydrogen buses and commercial LDV) for
reducing transport emissions, the following actions need to be taken, starting now:
Hydrogen infrastructure requirements should be integrated in current transport and
energy network planning at local and intercity level.
Comprehensive multi level (public) procurement support actions need to be
developed to ensure sustainable market build- up.
Clean transport systems strategy The clean transport systems strategy, as part of the
overall STTP, needs to include specific measures to
Incentivise and facilitate the introduction of clean vehicles
Favour the introduction of EU wide standards.
Facilitate large scale industrial investments plans, necessary to accelerate theroll out
of significant numbers of vehicles and the development of an effective maintenance
and service structure for these vehicles.
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Smart cities
Procedures and financial assistance for urban mobility audits and urban mobility plans and
possibilities for regional and cohesion funds to be linked to cities and regions which have
submitted urban mobility plans should not only support the use of the cheapest clean
transport options on the short term but should facilitate the uptake of transport solutions that
provide long term sustainable solutions and economic opportunities for European industry
including SMEs and have a positive impact on local employment.
We like to conclude with stressing that investment in fuel cell and hydrogen technology is key
today to keep EU leadership in one of the main sustainable solutions for a strong European
energy & transport policy.
Other than the traditional technology of the existing NGVs, there is a number of new
development lines, already in operation, that are paving the way for the medium and long
term future. The main new concepts are:
New engine combustion management technology
Biomethane
LNG for trucks and buses
Dual Fuel Technology for heavy duties
CNG Hybrid Vehicles
Methane-Hydrogen mixtures
Biogas comes from fermentation processes of biomass (organic waste, landfills, vegetable
and animal feedstock), which produces methane rich gases. Biogas brings together the
advantages of natural gas with the environmental benefits of renewable energy sources.
Due to the wide different types of sources: forestry, landfills, agricultural, there is a large and
wide potential for biogas production in Europe, where it is expected to grow significantly in
the coming years.
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made out of 1.500 TWh (5.4 EJ=130Mtoe) coming from crops, plus another 1.250TWh
(4.5EJ=1.108Mtoe) coming from other sources: sewage, manure, landfills, etc.
If we choose bioethanol instead of biogas we would loose the potential of the waste,
sewages, etc (1.250TWh, 4.5EJ=108Mtoe) and we would also reduce the efficiency of the
land by 47%. In other words we would obtain 800TWh (2.9EJ=70Mtoe) instead of 2.750TWh
(9.9EJ=238Mtoe).
(Data from NGVA Europe document Fact Sheet: Biomethane production potential in the EU-
27+ EFTA countries, compared with other biofuels. September 2010)
Comparison of the land potential when dedicated to biomethane production compared with other
biofuels. (Source Erdgasmobil)
The high potential for production of biogas coming from the urban garbage landfills is really
extraordinary. Based in existing cases in Europe, we can say that the yearly biogas
production potential of a city with 4 to 5 million inhabitants could be of about 40 million m3 of
raw biogas which, once purified, would become 22 million m3 of biomethane.
This volume is enough to fuel near 1.000 garbage trucks and/or urban buses during the full
year, giving birth to the concept we have called in NGVA Europe, the virtuous circle of the
waste and gas in the city.
This concept is directly linked with our proposal that natural gas should be considered as the
recommended urban fuel, because of its significant advantages in pollutants and noise
reduction, particularly appreciated in cities, plus the possibility of being part of the
biomethane virtuous circle.
7.7.1 HYBRIDIZATION
Hybrid traction technology (thermal engine + electric motor), initiated with cars for taxi
services, has shown a significant economy in fuel consumption and the consequent
reduction also in exhaust emissions and CO2.
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This same hybridising concept, applied to heavy urban buses, initially equipped with diesel
engine, confirmed the great advantage of this technology. Fuel economies of up to 25%
compared with the traditional diesel buses are being recorded.
The following step in this development has been putting together the proven advantages of
the hybridisation concept with the clear superiority of the CNG thermal engine, as the cleaner,
affordable and more silent option for the prime mover of an urban bus.
By now there are already in Europe several producers offering the ultimate affordable
technology for the urban buses: the CNG-electric hybrid units.
The municipality of Madrid has already passed orders for 23 CNG-Hybrid buses: 13 from
Castrosua and 10 from Tata Hispano, to be delivered in 2011-2012.
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Some examples of LNG trucks around the word (from left to right):
Europe, Europe, Australia, USA.
LNG is also the perfect solution for suburban buses and long distance coaches, that cannot
use CNG because the need for high autonomy
LNG Terminals are growing in number both in Europe and in the world.
LNG terminals in Western Europe:
One for liquefaction in Norway, above the Arctic Circle
16 in operation for regasification (Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, United Kingdom,
Greece, Turkey)
52 additional projects (Albania, Croatia, Cyprus, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland,
Romania, Ukraine)
LNG terminals in the world:
Liquefaction: 21 in operation, 47 planned/being built
Regasification: 62 in operation, 127 planned/being built
First and second generation of LNG carriers. Spherical containers had been replaced by
continuous, prismatic volume, making better use of the space in the ship.
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USA forecast sees an important part of the diesel oil used in trucks and buses, being
replaced by LNG in the next 25 years.
38% of the fuel used in USA trucks and buses in 2035 will be natural gas!
Natural gas in either form, CNG and LNG, happens to be the only real, affordable alternative
to any type of surface transportation.
Alternative to any type of surface transportation
Hybrids
Bio-natural
Present Liquid (energy
Vehicle type LPG Full electric gas (CNG &
fuel bio fuels recuperatio
LNG)
n)
Yes
Three wheelers Petrol Yes (%) No No Yes (CNG)
(converted)
Petrol & Yes Yes
Cars Yes (%) Yes Yes (CNG)
diesel (converted) (city cars)
Vans & delivery Yes in vans Yes
Diesel Yes (%) Yes Yes (CNG)
trucks (converted) (city use only)
Heavy urban
Diesel No Yes (%) No Yes Yes (CNG)
trucks
Saburban & Yes, small Yes
Diesel No Yes (%) Yes
urban buses Yes (wired) (CNG/LNG)
Coaches Diesel No Yes (%) No No Yes (LNG)
Heavy on road
Diesel No Yes (%) No No Yes (LNG)
trucks
Heavy off road Yes
Diesel No Yes (%) No No
trucks (CNG/LNG)
Railway Diesel &
? Yes (%) Yes (wired) No Yes (LNG)
locomotives electric
Ships Diesel ? Yes (%) No No Yes (LNG)
(Source NGVA Europe)
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Two engine technologies are available for heavy engines: Dedicated, using 100% natural
gas and Dual fuel, using diesel injection for ignition and then natural gas as the main fuel.
So far, dedicated engines have been developed for car engines and also for urban buses
and garbage collection trucks. In both cases the engine has around 300 CV, a power well
adapted for either use.
The growing interest of running on natural gas also in heavy on road transport required more
powerful engines and in the present European offer there are not dedicated engines with
more than 330 CV.
The solution for engines in the range of 420 to 450 CV is now the dual fuel technology. This
technology allows the use of the basic diesel engine, applying to it an additional gas injection
in the inlet ports. The natural gas injection system is electronically controlled and can cater
for multi-point, mono-point and sequential port injection.
A separate electronic control unit (ECU) is used for the natural gas fuel, providing a full
closed loop feedback system that monitors existing variables alongside the diesel electronic
control unit (ECU) and controls the gas injection based on the feedback from the various
engine sensors. The ECU is fully programmable and can provide custom mapping for various
vehicle applications, giving enhanced compatibility features.
A reduced diesel injection is kept, acting as the ignition for the combustion process, which
develops mainly on gas mixture. The diesel injection can vary from 50% to go as low as 15%,
only limited by the cooling of the injector.
Lessons learnt with the experience of past years remind that the best technology for all
internal combustion engines using CNG is the multipoint port fuel injection with positive
ignition and stoichiometric combustion.
CNG offers the possibility to exploit all the innovations brought in the gasoline engines field.
Advanced and innovative technologies mean to apply simultaneously downsizing concept via
turbo charging combined with electronic valve control as Multiair system (Fiat proprietary).
The Multiair technology is a full electro-hydraulic valve control system that allows a highly
flexible management of intake valves in internal combustion engines. This technology is
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already in series production for gasoline engines allowing great benefits in terms of CO2, fuel
consumption, fun to drive and engine power output.
The application to NG engines will result in similar remarkable advantages, for example,
moving from current HD NG engine for public transportation to the same engine equipped
with Multiair system propelled by hydromethane (produced by 2nd generation renewable
sources), the following benefits are expected:
25% of CO2 emission reduction
10% of NOx emission reduction
10% of power output increase.
25% of GWI (Global Warming Index) reduction
10% of ozone promoters reduction
A further innovation based on Multiair technology, is its combination with the downsizing
concept, recently presented by Fiat and called Twinair.
The new engine implements the revolutionary Multiair system combined with special fluid
dynamics optimized for the best fuel efficiency. Furthermore, by taking the concept of
downsizing to the extreme and masterly tuning the basic mechanics, the new engine family
delivering from 65 to 105 CV emits 30% less CO2 than an engine of equal performance.
The Fiat 500 is equipped with turbo 85 HP version which has the lowest CO2 emission levels
for a petrol engine (up to 95 g/km) without compromising performance and driving pleasure.
Furthermore, with respect to a four-cylinder of equal performance and medium displacement,
the new engine is significantly shorter (-23%) and lighter (-10%), opening the way to
interesting further developments. In particular, a methane version of the Twinair will be
available soon providing a further CO2 emission reduction.
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Methane/Hydrogen mixtures
Conclusions
Natural gas (methane) is an excellent energy vector, with the lowest Carbon to Hydrogen
ratio of all the hydrocarbons. Additionally natural gas is an alternative fuel, having a
different origin from the traditional oil derived diesel, petrol and LPG
New engine combustion developments are offering much reduced CO2 emission than
with the traditional petrol derived, gas combustion
Natural gas is used in existing internal combustion engines, with minor 156 additional
investments, taking advantage of a well known and mature car & commercial vehicle
technology.
Dual Fuel technology offers the possibility of conversion for existing engines
The increasing production of biomethane, both from urban waste and from agricultural
stuff is giving natural gas the new and valuable consideration of a renewable fuel
Natural gas has been used so far as CNG mainly for urban applications. The availability
of LNG will spread its use for medium and long distances road transport
Methane/Hydrogen mixtures, that could be used the existing NGVs will become the
bridge to a potential hydrogen fuelled transport
NG vehicles are today the best and most economic affordable alternative to oil derived fuels,
also improving gaseous and acoustic emissions.
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Biomethanisation and gasification for producing biomethane makes for an efficient use of
resources in two ways:
the great diversity of the resources necessary for these two technologies;
the large quantities of available raw materials.
Two kinds of organic matter (or biomass) can be used to produce gaseous biofuels:
solid wastes or effluents, from forests, from the residential sector or the industry,
characterized by the fact that they are undesirable matters associated with desired
productions by industrial, residential or agricultural process.
energy crops.
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In the short term, use is made of wastes or effluents of organic origin. This
approach is already well developed in many European countries. In France, the
approach has undergone rapid development in the last few years.
In the medium term (2015), it may be possible to produce biomethane from
energy crops.
In the longer term (2020), the gasification of biomass derived from
lignocellulosic resources is also foreseeable.
Progressive incorporation of various substrates for biomethane production. Biomethane as vehicle fuel
will develop only if NGV infrastructures exist. (Source:GDF SUEZ/ CRIGEN)
All organic material except wood can be used in digestion processes for biogas production,
which can help solving various waste problems.
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Many different feedstocks can be used for biogas production. A general distinction is made
between biomass from agriculture like by-products (manure) or dedicated crops for biogas
and various waste streams. High water content impacts the biogas yield per ton fresh mass
as illustrated below. The figure shows that maize silage has the highest biogas yield of the
described feedstock (waste like grease or molasses offer an even higher biogas output). Due
to its high water content liquid manure has the lowest yield and therefore should be
processed close to where it is produced in order to save transportation costs.
In landfills covered organic waste forms biogas (landfill gas) which builds up and is able to
create an explosive mixture if mixed with oxygen. This gas can be collected and used for
energetic purposes. However, it is often just flared right away. This can be seen as a waste
of resources as the utilisation of this side product could offer a second income for the
operator of the landfill site and prevent unnecessary CO2 and CH4 emissions.
In anaerobic digesters the basic process has been implemented on an industrial scale
using digestion technology. After undesirable compounds have been removed, the organic
matter is put into a reactor, or "digester", kept at temperatures of the order of 35C or 50-
55C depending on the process; the residence time can be close to twenty days. In addition
to biogas, this also produces a digestate that can be treated and composted to yield a useful
organic product.
Different kinds of waste are used:
Sewage sludge as by-product of wastewater treatment. After the use as a
feedstock for anaerobic digestion the remaining bio solid can either be used as
soil conditioner or be disposed of in a landfill, according to its toxicity (especially
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Energy crops for biogas are dedicated crops planted on agricultural land to be used as
feedstock for biogas production. Typical crops are maize or sweet sorghum. The mix of
maize and manure is the most commonly used feed-stock for decentralized agricultural
biogas plants. Energy crops maximize the yield (dry matter per hectare) and offer high
conversion efficiencies.
Second crops, or catch crops, planted after the harvest of the main crop, can also be used
as biogas feedstock. This system allows two harvests per year on one piece of land. Green
cuttings, material from landscape maintenance can also be used as biogas feedstock. This
type of feedstock should be available within a small radius of the biogas plant, as the
transportation of feedstock with high water content is costly, both from an economic and
ecologic point of view.
In addition to the biomethane potential associated with fermentable wastes, a large potential
could be developed in the medium term by using farmland to grow dedicated crops that could
be converted to methane, provided that this does not compete with the production of food, or
with the production of other types of energy or materials from the same resource.
It must be emphasized that anaerobic digestion has a specific strength, the digestate, an
organic by-product that can be used to fertilize farmland dedicated to energy crops, replacing
chemical fertilizers.
The anaerobic digestion of energy crops is highly developed in Germany, thanks to tax
breaks; however, the crop most used is corn, which, alongside its strong methane potential,
has some drawbacks: irrigation needs, rising prices, etc. It is therefore essential to identify
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plants that will make it possible to produce biomethane vehicle fuel more sustainably (alfalfa,
sorghum, etc.).
The diagram below shows the most classical thermal way of producing biomethane:
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Gasification:
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Syngas purification:
That step is the most critical and the main issue of the whole bioSNG production chain. The
catalytic process of methanation is very sensitive to some pollutants, which presence,
by poisoning the catalysts and reducing drastically their lifetime, increase operational costs
and decrease the plant availability. Sulphur, chlorure and tars are the most critical
components and should be removed at a very low level (< ppm). Nevertheless, the
purification processes have to be chosen not to crack or absorb the methane present in the
syngas. Several processes, at low or high temperature can be used, but they still need
optimisation.
Methanation:
BioSNG upgrading:
The last step consists in conditioning the bioSNG produced, and especially, cleaning the
bioSNG from water and CO2. Depending on the biomethane quality expected, several
additional treatments can be applied (NH3 or H2 removal for instance). Biomethane is then
ready to be injected into the grid or used as vehicle fuel.
The diagram below summarises the thermal way for biomethane production :
The global efficiency of the whole production chain is very high (global efficiency from
biomass to bioSNG is today evaluated around 55% and could reach in the future 65%),
especially compared to the efficiency of the BTL production (around 25-35%).
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That efficiency can be improved by the valorisation of the heat from the methanation step.
Smaller plants are advantaged, as they can find more easily a local customer for the heat.
Finally biomethane produced by gasification / methanation can be expected to occupy a
favorable position among second-generation biofuels thanks to high-energy yields. The sizes
of facilities producing biomethane vehicle fuel using this approach could be adapted to local
supply of biomass and easy local use of the co-produced heat.
This thermal way uses a different biomass from that used for anaerobic digestion. In the
long term, the biomethane production potential would therefore be even larger.
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Currently, there are two options for using biogas in an economically reasonable way: Either it
is converted to energy in an on-site engine power generator or in an on-site combined heat
and power plant (CHP) ( A combined heat and power plant (CHP) is a unit that produces electricity
and heat at the same time. Basically, a CHP is a cogeneration plant. However, for biogas plants one
uses the term cogeneration plant) or it is fed into the natural gas grid. In both cases, the crude
biogas has to be cleaned before using it. If the biogas is incinerated in an on-site engine or
CHP, a primary cleaning suffices. In this process, the gas is dehumidified and desulfurised.
This is generally supposed to remove the corrosive matters that damage the engines. The
waste heat of the engines can be used for maintaining the fermentation process and for the
operators own purposes. In principle, it is also possible to feed the heat into the local or
district heating network. However, this is rarely done, as most of the facilities are located in
isolated places. Consequently, the bigger part of the heat is lost, which considerably
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decreases the plant efficiency. In recent years, though, (new) incentives and legislation has
led to a significant improvement of the heat use.
The additional processing and feeding of the biogas into the natural gas grid allows a
decentralized valorization of the energy: the biomethane can be drawn from and used
anywhere in the natural gas grid. In this way, the biomethane can be incinerated in CHPs
that are conveniently situated for heat use like plants located in industrial parks or densely
populated areas (that, hence, need a lot of heat). In doing so, the overall efficiency of the
plant can be increased considerably.
Besides feeding the biogas in the gas grid, it can also be used as a fuel substitute.
In order to feed the biogas into the existing natural gas grid, several qualifications have to be
fulfilled. The composition of the gas and the grid access are especially important. It is only
possible to admix the gas as long as it does not change the basic combustibility of the
natural gas.
Biogas or biomethane can be used either on-site or injected into the natural gas grid for a
decentralised valorisation (Source : GDF SUEZ/CRIGEN)
In lots of countries, incentive exists for biogas valorization. For instance, in some European
countries, biogas conversion into heat and power benefits from green certificates of from
feed-in tariffs.
Biogas purification is used both to eliminate undesirable compounds and to increase the
heating value of the biogas (in particular by eliminating CO2, which is inert in energy terms). It
generally comprises at least three steps:
decarbonation: carbon dioxide is the second largest component of biogas, after
methane. Its elimination reduces the risk of corrosion and increases the heating value of
the biogas. This treatment can be performed by adsorption, by scrubbing (water or
another solvent), or through membrane processes;
desulfurization: H2S is toxic and, in the presence of water, highly corrosive, even at a
low concentration. It can be separated in particular by scrubbing and/or by adsorption on
impregnated activated carbon;
dehydration: water is the leading corrosion risk factor. To reach water contents as low
as in NGV, it is possible to use the following processes: adsorption on activated alumina,
silica gel or a molecular sieve, or scrubbing with a hydrophilic solvent (this last option
tends to be reserved to very high gas flowrates).
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The biomethane vehicle fuel production chain is divided into four main steps:
production of the raw biogas,
purification of this biogas to turn it into biomethane,
the metering, odorization, and checking of the biomethane quality,
storage of the biomethane vehicle fuel, its distribution, and its compression to 200 bar.
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Environmental benefits
Sustainability of biomass...
From the sustainability of biomass point of view, two cases have to be considered:
biogas and biomethane production from waste: as no natural resources are used, this
supply is very sustainable. Furthermore, it permits to create energy and to treat waste at
the same time, which makes it an even more interesting approach.
biogas and biomethane production from cultivated wet and dry biomass: this is more
delicate, and biomass should to be cultivated in a sustainable way in order to assure that
its environmental impact is profitable to the planet.
Generally speaking, some elements that should be taken under consideration to define
biomass sustainability are:
biomass harvesting locations (in order to prevent growth in nature protection areas,
biodiverse grasslands and peatland). Even soils not suitable for food production can be
used for the cultivation of energy crops and dry biomass. Indeed cultures that are net
sequesters of carbon can be produced on agriculturally degraded lands and do neither
displace food production nor cause loss of biodiversity.
the frequency of biomass harvesting;
water consumption,
fertiliser consumption,
soil depletion (Currently most energy crops (as well as most important food crops), are
grown as intensive monocultures. Annual monocultures are often associated with high
rates of soil erosion. Some crops, like maize, deplete soil nutrients more rapidly than
others, and might require significant levels of agrochemicals (fertilizer, pesticides) unless
the digestate is carefully recycled),
supply chain
It is important also to avoid competition with food production as much as possible (This more
frequently concerns wet biomass (such as maize) than dry biomass). In this sense, the use
of bridging or catch crop is under study. Advantageously, biogas can be produced from
plants not being competitive with food production. Nowadays, the crop most used in
Germany is maize, which, alongside its strong methane potential, has some drawbacks:
irrigation needs, rising prices, etc.
It is therefore essential to identify plants that will make it possible to produce biomethane
more sustainably (alfalfa, sorghum, etc.). Researches are necessary on the selection of the
crops (and the combination of different crops) to both maximize the biogas production and
minimize the impact on environment.
As a consequence energy crops should be carefully selected, depending on local climate
conditions, availability of irrigation water, robustness against diseases and last but not least
based on biomass yield per hectare.
The European approach
The CEN Technical Committee (TC) 383 Sustainability produced biomass for energy
applications was created in 2008 in order to work on European Standards dealing with
sustainability principles, criteria and indicators including their verification and auditing
schemes for biomass for energy applications. This includes green house gas emission and
fossil fuel balances, biodiversity, environmental, economic and social aspects and indirect
effects within each of the aspects. The Renewable Energy Directive (2009/28) sets the
framework for the scope of the work of TC 383.
It has to be noted that the Renewable Energy Directive stands that in order to consider
sustainable biofuels, the greenhouse gas emission saving from their use must be at least
35 %( From 2017: > 50 %; from 2018: > 60 % (for biofuels produced in installations in which
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production started on or after 1 January 2017). Moreover, biofuels taken into account must
not be made from raw material obtained from land with high biodiversity value (Such as:
primary forest and other wooded land, areas designated for nature protection purposes or for
the protection of rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems or species, highly biodiverse
grassland.):
By products valorization
Digestate utilisation
It must be emphasized that anaerobic digestion has a specific asset, the digestate, an
organic by-product that can be used under certain conditions to fertilize farmland dedicated
to energy crops, replacing chemical fertilizers.
Its use has some environmental benefits, such as limiting inputs of chemical fertilizers,
thanks in particular to the high mineralization of the nitrogen in the product and the
preservation of the fertilizing value of the treated waste. However, in some local contexts,
using the digestates may not be environmentally friendly: risk of volatilization of the nitrogen
during spreading, low carbon content, etc.
Under certain conditions, the digestate produced by the anaerobic digestion of organic wastes or
energy crops can be used as an organic fertilizer on cropland.
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Heat utilisation
Biomass gasification produce an important amount of heat: it can be important, from an
economical and an ecological point of view to valorise it.
Anaerobic digestion
The following height steps can be distinguished principally in digestion processes:
Biomass production and harvesting (only for energy crops);
Wet biomass collection and transport;
If needed, pre-processing and storage of the substrate;
Feed regulation (substrate preparation and dosage) and fermentation (digestion);
Biogas treatment (and upgrading if biomethane production);
Biogas/biomthane storage or biomethane injection;
Biogas or biomethane valorisation;
Treatment, storage and use of digestate.
Biogas, derived from wastes or (cultivated sustainably) energy crops is renewable energy: it
can therefore contribute to reducing non-renewable energy consumption and reliance on
fossil energy.
The results of the environmental assessment of biomethane production and utilisation can
vary according to different factors such as
a. Biomass supply: environment assessment can vary according to the type of biomass
that is used.
o Waste: it is the most profitable substrate from an environmental point of view
because:
its production must not be taken under consideration in environmental
assessment (point 1 above);
its use enable to avoid other waste treatments.
o Energy crops: insofar as it is possible to convert the whole plant, the quantity
of net energy produced per hectare is high. Here again, the performance of
the approaches depends on what species are cultivated and how they are
cultivated (cultivation and harvesting practices, type and amounts of
agricultural inputs). Nevertheless, if sustainability criteria are met, the use of
energy crops will reduce GHG emissions by replacing fossil fuels.
b. Biomass water content: when waste or energy crops have high water content (such
as liquid manure), they have lower yield and therefore should be processed close to
where they are produced in order to save transportation costs (Form an economical
point of view, it is generally said that liquid manure must not be transported for more
than 10 km) and emissions.
c. Biomass collecting distance: generally speaking, the emissions increase with the
collecting distance.
d. Optimisation of the chain: it is important to minimise the emissions all along the chain
of production and utilisation of the biomethane;
e. Biomethane valorisation;
f. Energy replaced: the results will be different if biomethane replaces coal or natural
gas;
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The French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) and GDF SUEZ has
realised a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biogas and biomethane production and utilisation
concerning both:
the transport sector (car, bus and collection truck);
the heat and electricity production sector (cogeneration, heat production and electricity
production).
Biogas and biomethane emissions has been compared to the ones of more traditional
energies sources, such as fossils fuels and de French energy production mix
When biogas and biomethane replace traditional energies sources, the greenhouse gas
emissions (on a life-cycle base) are considerably reduced.
Greenhouse gas emission reduction when biomethane substitutes traditional energy sources
transport:
biomethane transport:
as a fuel VS biomethane
transport: transport: transport: transport: transport: petrol VS as a fuel VS electricity heat heat
biomethane biomethane biomethane biomethane biomethane diesel petrol VS CNG cogeneration: cogeneration: production: production: production:
as a fuel VS as a fuel VS as a fuel VS as a fuel VS as a fuel VS (collection (collection biogas VS fuel biogas VS biogas VS biogas VS fuel biogas VS
petrol (car) diesel (car) CNG (car) diesel (bus) CNG (bus) truck ) truck ) oil natural gas french mix oil natural gas
0
-200
-400
g eq. CO2 /Nm
-600
-800
-1000
-1200
-1400
-1600
-1800
Transport sector Heat and electricity production sector
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Greenhouse gas emissions (on a life-cycle base) reduction of biogas and biomethane production and
use versus traditional energies sources.
Other studies highlight the land use efficiency of biomethane production when compare to
liquid production for vehicle fuel.
Thermal way
Similarly to the anaerobic digestion, in thermal way processes the following six steps can be
principally distinguished:
Biomass production and harvesting (with the exception of forest and industrial residues);
Dry biomass collection and transport;
Biomass pre-treatment and storage;
Gasification, methanation and upgrading;
Biomethane injection;
Biomethane valorisation.
Biomethane production through biomass gasification is in R&D phases. For this reason,
fewer publications on its environmental performances are available.
Two LCA (the one based on a UK case, and the second a Swiss case) are nevertheless
been published.
Basic results demonstrate that bioSNG production and use in commercial and domestic
heating, industrial CHP and road transport achieves substantial net GHG emissions savings
relative to fossil fuel alternatives consisting of natural gas and fuel oil-fired heating and CHP,
and diesel and petrol for road transport.
Actual net GHG emissions savings depend on:
the assumed default values in the workbooks (specifically a round trip distance of 20 km
for delivery of biomass feedstock to the bioSNG plant),
the GHG emissions calculation methodology applied
and the specific choice of biomass feedstock.
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The production cost of purified, odorized, checked and metered biomethane, made from
energy crops and from liquid manure, is between 8 and 21 c/kWh, and between 5 and 15
c/kWh, respectively, and decreases as the power increases. In the case of production from
wastes, the cost of the purified biogas is less than 7 c/kWh; but it is difficult to estimate cost
variations according to power.
The cost of producing biogas that is purified, odorized, checked, and metered varies with the
substrates used and the capacity of the production facility. The ranges plotted are only a visual
representation of the major trends in the variation of the costs of purified biogas according to the
substrate used. They are not the actual boundaries.
In France, the price of NGV at the pump is approximately 0.89 /L equivalent diesel, in other
words approximately 8 c/kWh. It is difficult to define a critical size for biogas production
facilities: the price at the pump includes any taxes on this fuel, which differ from country to
country. It also includes the cost of infrastructure to convey the fuel from the production site
to the customer's fuel tank.
However, producing biomethane vehicle fuel from wastes is expected to be more profitable
than from energy crops. Without any fee for liquid manure, biomethane production projects
relying on this resource should also include wastes to make these projects more profitable.
Only a case-by-case study can determine the profitability of a biomethane vehicle fuel
production project.
Only data on biomethane produced from the biological process (bio-methanisation) will be
presented in this paragraph : so far no production unit of biomethane from gasification is
operational so that no data is available.
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Biomethane injection
When it does exist, the regulatory framework of the country usually states which kinds
biogas can be injected, and what are the conditions of the injection. Then grid
operators publish their technical specifications about biomethane quality.
In Europe, two directives should be mentioned concerning biomethane injection into the
natural gas grid:
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Today, Germany is leading in feed-in capacity (with more than 30.000 Nm3/h) in
comparison to all other European countries. This is partly related to the state of the
infrastructure of the public gas networks in the different countries, but also to the fields of
application best supported by the respective political structures. Thus, the German market
has seen a significant growth in the last few years, with the first plants, however, having
started operation only in 2006. Today about 50 installations are injecting biomethane into the
grid in Germany, and this figure could double in 2011.
250
Korea
Japan
200 Chile
USA
Canada
France
150
Number of units
Czech Republic
Denmark
Spain
Finland
100
Norway
Luxemburg
United Kingdom
Germany
50
Switzerland
Austria
Sweden
0 Netherlands
In the world, there are more than 110 installations which inject more than 40 000 Nm3/h of biomethane
into the natural gas grid (above all in Europe). (Source GDF SUEZ/ CRIGEN; figures from
www.biogaspartner.de and IEA Task 37)
Figures provided for 2011 and 2012 are prospective data on the basis of available data. An
important growth is expected for the next years, especially in Germany.
Biomethane is usually injected into the distribution grid: pressures of the grids in which
biomethane is injected are usually below 16 bar (even if in some cases the pressure can
reach 40 or 70 bar). To our knowledge, there is no installation injecting into the national or
international transmission grid (and therefore no injection of biomethane into natural gas
storages).
Most of units injecting biomethane are quite small installations: they usually inject flows
under 1.000 Nm3/h, or even 500 Nm3/h in most countries. Nevertheless, in Germany and in
the Netherlands some bigger installations can be found.
In the future, when the thermal way of producing biomethane will be commercially available,
some bigger installations could inject biomethane into the grid. In Sweden, Gteborg
Energi is already planning to inject 100 MW of biomethane (produced from gasification) into
the grid: a first unit of 20 MW should be operational in 2012. In addition, E.ON Sverige plans
to produce 20 TWh of biomethane in 2020: 10 TWh by the biological way, and 10 TWh by
the thermal way.
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Biomethane as a fuel
Since the quality of biomethane is similar to that of natural gas, the incorporation of
biomethane in NGV, in any proportions, is possible with no modification either of the vehicles
running on natural gas or of the associated distribution infrastructure. These two fuels are
perfectly complementary, insofar as biomethane constitutes a renewable input to NGV,
but it will be able to grow only if the NGV approach itself is well established.
Investments in NGV (engine technology, larger number of stations) therefore contribute to
the gradual development of biomethane vehicle fuel.
While the biogas sector grows impressively every year, it hasnt received the same attention
as for example liquid biofuels for transportation. The majority of people are not aware that
natural gas powered vehicles have been available for a long time and that biomethane could
play an important role in the transportation sector. So far only Sweden has established a
market for biomethane-driven cars. Due to its relatively low prices for electricity, Sweden has
traditionally used biogas for heat production (today around 50 % of biogas) and focused less
on electricity (8 %). About 25 % of the produced biogas is upgraded and used as vehicle fuel
(the rest is fared or used for other applications). The upgraded biogas is injected into the
existing natural gas grid in 7 sites with an injection capacity of 220 GWh (replacing 2 % of the
natural gas in the system). The injection capacity is planned to increase to 1.6 TWh (10-15 %
renewable in the natural gas system) within 5 years.
Example of investment costs for biogas plants and upgrading for use as vehicle fuel (M per 1 Million
Nm3/year per unit equal to a plant with 500 kWe capacity)
Since biomthane must reach the natural gas quality, natural gas infrastructure for vehicles
can be used for biomthane.
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Compared to diesel, gasoline, fossil natural gas and liquid biofuels, RNG can offer significant
greenhouse gas reductions. There is the potential for emission reductions upstream or tank-
to-wheels (TTW) from the capture of methane emissions from landfills or dairies and well-to-
tank (WTT) via the use of RNG as a petroleum substitute or in blended mixtures with fossil
natural gas. 3 The greenhouse gas benefits of RNG derived from landfill gas, dairy digester
biogas and manure have been well-documented. 4 For example, RNG from landfill gas
liquefied into LNG for heavy duty transport applications has a WTW GHG savings of
approximately 72-97% compared to diesel fuel pathways. In a 2009 report, the California Air
Resources Board (CARB) determined that renewable natural gas is the lowest carbon
transportation fuel currently available. The feedstock capacity available for the production of
RNG and the percentage of RNG that can be directed to transportation will drive greenhouse
gas emission reductions in the sector.
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Aggressive This scenario has higher levels of feedstock utilization that range from
40% 75% for AD and 15% 25% for TG. It assumes that approximately 15% 75%
of the biomass is processed into RNG and represents a concerted national effort to
employ this resource. The total RNG production is 2.48 quads per year.
Under the two practical long term scenarios that were considered for the GTI study, the
market potential of RNG ranges from 1.0 to 2.5 quads per year. Depending on the end use,
the production of RNG could result in the annual reduction of 146 million metric tons of
carbon dioxide or the equivalent of taking 29 million cars off the road.
5
GTI recommends that these policy changes incorporate the principles of parity and
accessibility/integration. Parity refers to RNG being valued and incentivized similarly to renewable
electricity or liquid transportation fuel and accessibility/integration to pipelines enables the purchase
and transfer of RNG through pipeline infrastructure.
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Introduction:
NGV or CNG vehicles are as safe as any other vehicles (gasoline, Diesel, LPG, etc)
operating on the roads. However, safety incidents sometimes occur where a CNG system,
primarily storage cylinders, have failed. The results have been personal injury or even death
and property damage. These incidents have a negative impact on the NGV industry. Such
incidents with the CNG cylinders are considerably less frequent than those with LPG storage
systems and less harmful. Incidents happen even though there are established
internationally recognized safety standards (For example ISO 19078).
According to the ANGVA, the following are examples of the cause of safety incidents
Lack of routine and required inspections
Poor Installation
Poor Maintenance
Non-CNG cylinders
Defects in CNG cylinders and components
Over Pressure
Fire
Human Error
The safety challenge to prevent such incidents is to ensure that only vehicles that meet
codes and have been inspected and certified as being safe are able to fuel. Experience in
several countries has shown that reliance on station personnel to determine the safety
worthiness of a vehicle is not a reliable solution. There have been many cases of vehicles
with improper and/or illegal cylinders being fuelled by operators who are unaware that the
vehicle should be fuelled.
The solution is to have a means of automatically controlling the fueling of vehicles. This
process would involve:
Reliable and secure means of identifying vehicles.
Control of the fueling dispenser to limit fueling to only those vehicles that have been
certified for fueling.
It is critical that the approval of cylinders be verified before fueling begins. To ensure
traceability of all vehicles, cylinders and other components a centralized database is required.
The purpose of the radio frequency identification (RFID) system is to provide a reliable
means of assuring safe fueling of CNG vehicles. Despite the presence of established
standards for components, installations & inspection procedures, unapproved equipment
and/or modifications to equipment occurs in the field. Current means of control are limited to
fueling personnel making the decision to fuel a vehicle. In most cases, these people will not
decline to fuel a vehicle.
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The only communication interface required by the RFID System is used for:
Daily downloading a vehicle list of vehicle that are not to be fueled.
Completion of tag programming on first fueling of a vehicle.
Daily uploading of transaction data.
Uploading error/failed transaction data.
This document outlines the RFID system and how it addresses the problem.
The functions of the system are as follows:
To limit fueling to vehicles that have been approved and authorized for fueling by
regulatory agencies having authority.
To provide a traceable database of approved and authorized vehicles for use by gas
companies, regulatory agencies and other stakeholders.
To verify that no additional cylinders or illegal cylinders are installed on a vehicle.
To provide traceable fueling transaction data.
RFID Tags:
The RFID Tags are a passive, low frequency tag that are designed to retain significant
amounts of data & have unlimited read cycles. Tags can be programmed only once. Once
affixed to a vehicle, the tag cannot be removed without destroying the tag.
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RFID Tag (with CNG Bus Nozzle) RFID Tag with CNG Buss Receptacle
The data that can be programmed to a tag is determined by the regulatory body issuing the
tag. Typical data would include:
ID such as VIN.
Vehicle license.
Vehicle owner.
Conversion Company ID.
Inspection Company ID.
Date of conversion/inspection.
Expiry date.
Price level (discount/surcharge)
Credit account data
All tags contain specific data fields relating to each specific tag. These fields provide
traceability on individual tags. This assures that only RFID tags can be programmed. These
fields cannot be altered.
This is a unique device that is specifically designed to program vehicle tags and cylinder tags.
Each system has a unique identifier that is used to validate the programming device before a
tag is programmed. This assures that only qualified companies are able to program the RFID
tags. The programmer connects to a standard PC via a USB port.
An application program is included with the programmer that allows a user to complete the
necessary documentation off line. Once the application form is completed, the programmer is
connected to the secure RFID website and all data is uploaded to the secure server.
The final tag programming is completed the first time the vehicle fuels at a station.
RFID Website:
This is a secure website that utilizes web security similar to that provided for credit card
transactions. Access to the website is limited to authorized companies who are programming
RFID tags. CNG station network operators are also able to access the data base of their
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customers, installers & inspection agencies. This allows for a means of monitoring installers,
inspectors, etc.
Individual databases are maintained for each CNG station network operators and are not
accessible by others. The network operators can define who is able to access their unique
database.
This system is the heart of the RFID system. It is available as an integrated unit on CNG
dispensers and as a retrofit to existing dispensers.
The system is comprised of the following major components:
RFID Antenna.
Unique RFID CNG delivery hose.
Dispenser RFID Control System
Graphic display.
Optional keypad.
The RFID antenna is located in the fueling nozzle. It was designed specifically to ensure
accurate, reliable reading of vehicle RFID tags. The antenna is encapsulated to prevent
damage from dirt, water, impact, etc. The antenna is intrinsically safe and has third party
approval to IEC 60079-11 The antenna module available for NZS probes, NGV1 Type I & II &
(NGV2 is CNG cylinders standard) nozzles.
The dispenser module interprets the unique encrypted code on each vehicle RFID tag
without the need to access a database.
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TDR Termination Hose Start Stop Base Tag ID No Of License Cylin Vehicle
#* Code Id Time Time PPU Cylin Plate No der Type
ders Size
Tag Tag sale Kg Total Start Stop Start Price Stop Price PPU
Program Expiration Amount Sale Total Total Totalizer Totalizer
Date Date Amount Mass Mass
Flow Flow
Meter Meter
2009:02:13 2018:01:07 5.20 624.52 8.452.24 8,457.44 666.709.86 667.334.38 120.1
2009:02:13 2018:01:07 3.60 432.36 8.457.44 8,461.04 667.334.38 667.766.74 120.1
2009:02:13 2018:01:07 2.50 300.25 8.461.04 8,463.54 667.766.74 668.066.99 120.1
2009:01:31 2016:06:01 3.25 390.33 8.463.54 8,466.79 668.066.99 668.457.32 120.1
2009:01:31 2016:06:01 5.20 624.52 8.466.79 8,471.99 668.457.32 669.081.84 120.1
2009:01:31 2016:06:01 6.33 760.23 8.471.99 8,478.32 669.081.84 669.842.07 120.1
There are two critical matters that are detected / monitored by the RFID Intelligent Cylinder
Verification System:
Additional unauthorized cylinders installed on a vehicle.
Unauthorized cylinders installed on a vehicle (although the total cylinder capacity is
the same as when the RFID tag was issued.
To determine if an additional cylinder is installed the RFID system installed on the dispenser
performs the following checks:
Reads the total authorized cylinder capacity that is programmed on the RFID tag.
Verifies that all cylinders are within their approval dates.
If any cylinder is past its inspection date, the vehicle will not be fueled.
The system verifies the total cylinder capacity at the beginning of the fill. If the
capacity is detected to be greater than the approved capacity the transaction is
immediately terminated.
The system continuously checks the total cylinder capacity throughout the fill. If the
capacity is detected to be greater than the total approved capacity at any time
throughout the fill, the transaction is immediately terminated. This prevents someone
from opening a valve to an unauthorized cylinder during the fill.
To determine if an unauthorized cylinder has been installed, the dispenser system performs
the following verifications: (NOTE: The features of the total cylinder capacity system above
are combined with the following features)
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Each cylinder is equipped with a patent pending Cylinder Identification Tag or CIT.
The vehicle has an Intelligent Tag or IT that interfaces with each CID. NOTE: this
IT is also patent pending.
The dispenser reads the approved cylinder identification from the IT & compares this
with the data from the CIT for each cylinder.
If any of the cylinder data does not match the approved data, the transaction is terminated
immediately.
French situation
In France, the Grenelle II law sets the principle of a new feed-in tariff, more attractive, which
should encourage investors and boost the biogas market. In fact, a series of incentives are
currently under discussion to define the framework for biomethane injection opportunities: the
implementation of a clearing fund, a system to guarantee the green origin of biomethane,
technical specifications to inject it into the grid and specific feed-in tariff.
Frances biogas potential is hardly tapped. Most of the energy produced (526.2 ktoe in 2009)
comes from biogas trapped directly in non-hazardous waste repositories (84% of the total)
and for the most part, this deposit is still under-exploited. There are 300 landfills in France,
200 of which trap biogas but only 65 of them convert it. In 2009, there were also 74 urban
wastewater plants and 90 effluent treatment stations that digested sludge primarily to
produce heat and a little of electricity. Farm installations are also under-represented. So in
2009, biogas electricity output production was only 846.4 GWh, which is a fraction of German
or UK output. The first biomethane injection into the grid is expected in France for the
beginning of 2011, whereas biomethane injection is practised in the Netherlands since 20
years and is now even ready to feed the regional grid. Sweden is also particularly active in
this field with more than 40 enrichments plants at the end of 2009 but only 7 of them are
already feeding biomethane into the grid (19 Mm3/year).
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In 2010, there are 13.307 NGVs: 2.300 buses, and 1000 garbage trucks and approximately
10.000 light vehicles, for the majority belonging to local government agencies or companies
Lille situation
Lille Mtropole Communaut Urbaine (LMCU) is a local authority with nearly 1.1 million
inhabitants and the 4th largest conurbation in France. LMCU is primarily responsible for
structuring the conurbation and harmonising the metropolitan territory through the
organisation of networks and public services, as part of its global strategy of sustainable
development. It has a strategy of integrating three key fields of responsibility: public transport,
waste management and sewage treatment services.
The Marquette Pilot Plant producing biogas from sewage sludge was constructed in 1995.
One part of the biogas was upgraded to fuel for the first 8 gas/biogas-powered buses in
Europe, with the support of the THERMIE project (1993-1995). With an adopted policy since
1992 to implement an integrated scheme for urban waste collection & treatment, the gradual
replacement of diesel buses with (bio)gas fuelled vehicles and the decision to massively
expand its biogas production potential from sewage sludge, LMCU committed to being a key
contributor to market expansion of biogas vehicle fuel.
Grid injection
The physicochemical characteristics of the biogas required for a grid injection are described
by GDF SUEZ retailing prescriptions: Prescriptions techniques du distributeur GrDF prises
en application du dcret n 2004-555 du 15 juin 2004
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Physicochemical characteristics of the biogas required for a grid injection (source GrDF)
Characteristics Specification
H-type gas (Gas with high calorific value): 10.7 to 12.8
Upper calorific value
kWh/Nm3
(combustion conditions at
B-type gas (Gas with low calorific value (as the biogas)) : 9.5
0C and 1.01325 bar)
to 10.5 kWh/Nm3
H-type gas: 13.64 to 15.70 kWh/Nm3 (combustion at 25C:
Wobbe Index (combustion
13.6 to 15.66)
conditions at 0C and
B-type gas: 12.01 to 13.06 kWh/Nm3 (combustion at 25C:
1.01325 bar)
11.97 to 13.03)
Density Between 0.555 and 0.70
Lower than -5C at maximum pressure of the grid
Water dew point
downstream from the connection (EN ISO 18453)
Hydrocarbons dew point Lower than 2C from 1 to 70 bar
Sulphur total content Lower than 30 mgS/Nm3
Mercaptan sulphur content Lower than 6 mgS/Nm3
Sulphur content from H2S +
Lower than 5 mgS/Nm3
COS
CO2 content Lower than 2.5 % (molar)
THT content Between 15 and 40 mg/Nm3
O2 level Lower than 100 ppmv
Gas that can be transported, stored or sold without being
Impurities
subjected to additional treatment
Hg Lower than 1 g/Nm3
Cl Lower than 1 mg/Nm3
F Lower than 10 mg/Nm3
H2 Lower than 6 %
NH3 Lower than 3 mg/Nm3
CO Lower than 2 %
(Source:http://www.grdf.fr/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/Navigation_Institutionnelle/Prescriptions_techniq
ues_du_distributeur.pdf, access on July 29th, 2010 ).
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A biogas dedicated pipeline built under the road between the Organic Recovery Center and
the bus depot allows a direct delivery of the biomethane to the refuelling station. This pipeline
is not currently in operation and the buses are still filled with natural gas from the grid.
At the Organic Recovery Centre, a grid injection post has been built but LMCU has not yet
the possibility to inject the biomethane waiting for the authorisation of the French
Administration that will rely on the result of the Working group on grid injection. Initiated end-
2008 by both the Agriculture and Sustainable Development Ministries, this National Working
Group on Grid injection identified the ways of supporting biomethane production and grid
injection. Together with other partners involved in energy and waste issues (Amorce, Solagro,
Atee-Club biogas), LMCU made proposals regarding recommendations on technical and
economic aspects (feed-in tariffs systems....). Once the principle for purchase obligation was
integrated into the Grenelle 2 law in May 2010, feed-in tariffs should be published early-2011,
which will set up conditions for biomethane expansion in France.
Before that, a sanitary study has been led by the French Agency for Environmental and
Occupational Health Safety (AFSSET), a public body reporting to the French Ministers for
ecology, health and employment. The AFFSSET study was published end of October 2008.
The AFSSET Opinions and Recommendations concerning the biomethane injection into the
French grid are the following : Given the available data and the collective expertise
conclusions, the AFSSET considers that injection into gas grid of some types of upgraded
biogas doesnt seem to present any kind of additional sanitary risk for users before and after
combustion, in comparison with the natural gas currently supplied. The concerned biogas
are :
upgraded biogas from domestic waste produced in storage plant of non hazardous
waste.
upgraded biogas from methanization of non hazardous waste in digesting installations:
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The following scheme represents the refuelling station of the bus depot.
Fast filling
Biogas dedicated pipeline Compressor
Compressor
2 buffer
storages
Fast filling
Slow filling
150 places
Scheme of the Lille bus depot refuelling station source (GDF SUEZ)
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The Supply
The buses are filled with natural gas from the grid. The dedicated pipeline is not yet in
operation.
In the picture below, the upper pipe marked CVO is the one from the biogas plant and the
lower pipe marked GDF is the one from the natural gas grid. The third pipe is an input pipe
with natural gas for the compressor to avoid gas hammering.
There are 3 SAFE (Italy) compressors with a maximum flow of 1.500 m3/h. There are two
distinct arrivals: one for natural gas and another one for the CVO biogas that passes by a
dedicated drain. The natural gas is dried and vacuum-cleaned. Then the two gases are
compressed up to 220 bar. The inlet pressure is 20 bar, the pressure of the gas grid.
The compressors were designed to receive pressures ranging between 9 and 20 bar.
Fire and gases detectors are also installed in the compressor unit. The installation has a
power consumption of 75 MWh per month and has a contract of 200 MW per day with GDF
SUEZ for the gas supply. The maintenance of the compressors is realised by Cofathec.
There is no biogas storage in the bus depot because the gas comes from pipeline (natural
grid and dedicated pipeline in the future). But there are 2 buffer storages downstream from
the compressor for the fast filling.
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The filling of the buses is conducted during the night and it takes a maximum of 5 hours.
There are 150 filling stands for the buses and 2 fast dispensers (one for the light vehicles
and one for the heavy vehicles).
The buses are driven to the filling stands by inspection agents and not by the bus drivers.
The morning, the buses are not started by the drivers but by a dedicated team which starts
the buses 10 minutes before the bus departure in order to preheat the buses and to prolong
their lifespan.
Economic data
The Organic Recovery Centre represents a total investment of 75 millions of euros. The
investment for the bus depot is 8 millions of euros. The compressed gas represents
0.35 /Nm3, including investment of compression unit.
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Background
The volumes of biogas and natural gas sold in the country have been growing at a fast rate
since 1995, with a great contribution from the biogas. This increased market demand is due
to the great possibilities to reduce both oil dependence and reduce CO 2 emissions as well
as local pollutants. The current situation in Sweden demonstrates the high potential.
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The most important reasons for the development of LCMG infrastructure complementing the
existing one are:
Improvement of the economical distribution of biogas: liquefied gas will reduce the
transportation costs and will permit the optimization of the location of filling stations for CMG;
Creation of a new market for long haulage heavy transports: liquefied gas will permit
longer vehicle ranges due to its higher energy density.
Liquefied to compressed methane gas is a new and effective way to use biogas or natural
gas!
Technical specifications:
Capacity of the stationary tank: 61 m3
Required time for refueling the stationary tank:1 hour
Temperature inside the stationary tank: -150 C
Operational / Maximum pressure of the stationary tank: 6 / 10.5 bar
Number of dispensers: 1 for LMG and 3 for CMG
Dispensers capacity: 400 Nm3/h and 160 l/min for the liquefied gas
System type: closed system with no release of methane to the atmosphere from the
storage tank or during refueling
Total cost of the station: 1.5 M / 13 M SEK
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Fuel supply
Sweden has today no domestic LNG nor LBG production plants. A LNG-terminal in
Nynshamn (eastern Sweden) is soon operating and will support the Stockholm area.
However, Gteborg Energi, which is a part owner of FordonsGas Sverige AB, is now building
a facility in Lidkping, 130 km away from the filling station. The Lidkping facility will supply
the filling station with LBG as from 2011. The biogas will be produced mainly from food
processing waste and the facility has been planned to deliver 60 GWh annually.
Location
Market base criteria for the location of the station has been:
LMG refueling close to the truck operations local hubs
Access to traditional truck-stop services
Close to highway to support long haulage transit traffic
Surfaces must be able to handle the the vehicles weight
Close to existing CMG infrastructure for complementing both
Based on the criteria of the different local and national authorities the location was finally
done at Stigs Center, the largest fuel supplier in Sweden and a location close to all major
forwarding companies. The location is just beside the E-6 motorway supporting transit routes
between Malm Gteborg -Oslo/Stockholm.
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The design of the filling station has been done by the supplier of the equipment according to
the criteria given by FordonsGas regarding capacity, etc. The layout of the filling station in
terms of where the different components (storage tank, payment pillar, dispenser etc.) are
placed has been done depending mainly on safety distances according to the existing
regulations.
Experiences from the supplier together with the specific conditions at the facility and
experiences from FordonsGas in the heavy duty CNG refueling business provided the final
result as shown.
To ensure the correct and exact functionality under all conditions the filling station is using a
pump to deliver the LMG into the vehicle instead of using self storage pressure in order to
avoid variances in filling times.
Price is naturally one of the most important criteria, but in order to also secure low life cycle
costs other important criteria when choosing technology providers have been:
Based on the total evaluation the technology provider chosen is Cryo AB in cooperation with
Cryo Star.
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This project is not a standalone project, but a part of a totally new market for renewable fuel.
To create an LNG/LBG facility both vehicle suppliers and customers must be involved.
Therefore, FordonsGas Sverige AB took the initiative to invite Volvo Trucks and the other two
main CMG-distributers for the development of a common project. The result was a project
called BiMe Trucks and the purpose is to ensure that filling stations with liquefied gas are
built to serve the launch of vehicles and to secure that vehicle technology and the refueling
technology are compatible. Another important objective with the initiative is to work together
to convince the market that LNG/LBG is a true market alternative to the diesel trucks.
Operating experiences
The station has, since opening 1st of October, delivered 242.000 kg methane to customers.
Major part has been as CMG, since the number of LMG-vehicles is still low. The amount
LMGtrucks is growing constantly and OEM serial production will start in Sweden mid 2011.
Even if the amount of LNG-trucks is low, over 200 fillings have been made at the station until
now.
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The station will be supplied with LBG for the first time in June 2011.
Operating experiences
The station has a high reliability and there has been no unplanned operational standstills.
The station is constructed as a closed system, to avoid release of methane gas to the
atmosphere. This system works as it should, and the station system has not released
methane to the atmosphere, neither during the truck refueling process nor from the storage
tank.
Operating experiences
Conclusions
The filling station was planned to be ready by the end of September 2010, and the opening
ceremony was planned mid October 2010. Since the primary use of this station was to
deliver LMG for heavy duty trucks, the time plan was adopted to follow the plan for launching
test vehicles for LMG. The filling station and the vehicles had to be delivered at the same
time. Since the technology is new and to a large extent unknown, a tight dialogue with all
partners involved, suppliers, vehicle providers, branch organizations, authorities etc., has
been the single most important key success factor.
The experience provided by this project clearly shows that it is an already known technology
that has a high potential for further improvements. Standardization and development of user
friendly and cost efficient solutions are obvious potential areas for improvement. The fact that
this filling station is open for different vehicles and customers and should be operated by the
drivers of the vehicles made it obvious that this project is a world first. Still, FordonsGas
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Sverige AB is convinced that public LNG/LBG stations for heavy duty trucks are the next big
step forward. Therefore, we believe to have chosen the final solution for the filling station that
will be a benchmark for further development of LMG infrastructure and a turning point when
gas technology providers started to listen to end customer input.
While years of 2000 2010 were the morning of the global natural gas vehicle (NGV) market,
the second decade of the XXI century is doomed to become the years of its maturity. 14
million vehicles powered by methane-based transportation fuels natural gas and
biomethane are now on the roads in 80 + countries, both gas exporting and importing.
Average annual growth of the world natural gas vehicles (NGV) population in 2001 2010
was a fantastic 25%. Naturally this can not last forever, and if one sticks to realistic numbers
of 14% 16% of annual growth, the world NGV fleet will expand by 2020 to 42 50 million
units, which is actually the target proposed by the International Gas Union (IGU) Working
Committee 5 Study Group 5.3 Natural gas vehicles (IGU WOC 5 S.G 5.3).
So far, the forecast, made by the international NGV experts team three years ago, comes
true. Only during the past triennium (2009 - 2012) the number of NGVs worldwide grew
impressive 21%.
14
040
123
0 0
109
0 0
957
0
71
00
54
48
00
00
39
32
00
00
21
17
00
12
00
85
92
00
0
2008
2009
2010
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2011
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against 49% for LPG. In absolute numbers it means that consumption of LPG raised from
29.6 to 33.2 million oil equivalent tons, meanwhile demand for methane raise moved up from
19.9 to 34.3 million OET. The world fleet of LPG vehicles grew from 13.7 million vehicles in
2007 to 17 million in 2011, while during the same period population of NGVs raised from 7.1
to 14 million vehicles.
As for the world CNG/LNG filling infrastructure, the growth is also noticeable. In 2007 there
were 12,2 thousand CNG filling stations. Since that time the number of methane stations
rose to 20 thousand by the end of 2011. Statistics for LPG stations are controversial:
although the world LPG fleet and consumption are growing, the World LPG Association
counts only 40 thousand stations in 2010, which is 11,5 thousand less than in 2007.
65%
60%
55%
50%
45%
40%
35%
2007 2008 2009 2010
Propane Consumption, %
Methane Consumption, %
CNG/LPG relationship in the gaseous fuel alternatives basket
Methane will continue to serve as the pathway to alternative fuels in transport economy
either as the feedstock for production of fuel (hydrogen) or by using natural gas system as
the alternative energy carrier and storage (e-gas).
In Japan, thirteen companies are planning the launch of fuel-cell vehicles (FCVs) in the
Japanese market in 2015 and the development of the hydrogen supply infrastructure
necessary for the successful adoption of the vehicles. Hydrogen fuel suppliers are aiming to
construct approximately 100 hydrogen fuelling stations by 2015, based on the number of
FCVs expected to initially enter the market. In the U.S hydrogen fuel cell/plug-in electric class
8 on-road truck (Tyrano Freightliner) was delivered in July 2011 and will be tested to
evaluate their suitability for short distance cargo-hauling (drayage) and terminal operations.
The truck, using a 536 HP engine draws its power from a battery kept recharged with H2 fuel
cell. India joined the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE) as a
founding member in 2003 and the project is underway for fuelling the buses with CNG and
15-20% hydrogen content. Production of hydrogen on-site through the reforming process of
methane could be the feasible solution for such start-up project(s).
Audi will begin series production of CNG models that will be powered by e-gas
(synthetic methane created via the methanation of hydrogen produced by electrolysis with
renewable electricity) starting in 2013.
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Methane will as well serve as fuel for production of electricity for fuelling the electric
vehicles (EVs) through micro CHP (decentralized energy production). According to available
data, in case the electrical vehicle is also charged by the micro-CHP (which serves primarily
for satisfying 50-70 percent of electricity and all thermal needs (heat and hot water) of the
accommodation) can be achieved significant primary energy savings (20 % from micro-CHP,
10 % from the electrical vehicle) and relieve of the electrical grid by supplying electricity to
the electrical vehicle.
Regional overview of strategic trends; other than technology; which are expected to
dominate the world NGV market in the coming decade is presented bellow.
In Northern America, four factors promise to make natural gas a viable alternative to
oil-based fuels (new supplies of shale gas, oil-supply vulnerability, environmental advantages
and major advances in natural gas fuel technology) with a number of supportive policy
measures introduced or announced in the U.S: NAT GAS Act; Memorandum requiring the
Federal fleet to use alternative fuels; federal legislation of several states fostering
development of natural gas fuelling stations on the main routes and replacement of diesel
heavy-duty vehicles with natural gas oriented solutions; announced stricter CO2 emission
limitations for light and medium duty vehicles (which should add US$950 to the cost of new
vehicles in average). Major U.S fleet operators, natural gas producers and distributors and
authorities (e.g. Department of Energy - DOE) are grouping together and forming alliances to
advance the development and utilization of NGV and fuelling infrastructure in the North
American market place. In Canada, the deployment roadmap report, sponsored by the
government ministry, highlights the competitiveness and environmental benefits of
introducing natural gas for trucking along key corridors and for urban fleets in Canada.
Asia will for sure continue to be the major NGV market driver. China plans to invest up
to US$1.5 trillion over five years in seven strategic sectors aiming at accelerating its
transition from the worlds supplier of cheap goods to a leading supplier of high-value
technologies. Also, China is pledged to cut carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 2020 by 40-
45 percent from 2005 levels. By 2020, car ownership in the country is expected to reach 140
million and around 200 million by 2030. In the car sector, the chosen technologies include
also those using CNG, LNG, electric, hybrid, fuel cells, and LPG. Producers of NGV
components from China are also expanding their market coverage overseas. In India, further
development will be mainly linked with increase of the availability of natural gas within the
country (gas network expansion). It is anticipated that by 2015-16, one fifth of cars in India
will run on gas. Iran aims to become the world leader in terms of the highest number of CNG
stations as well as in CNG consumption by 2015. Government is continuing its support to this
segment and there is strong local production of NGV models and related components. The
country is also moving towards being self-sufficient in production of CNG components not
only to meet local demands, but also to be exported. In Pakistan the NGV share in total
vehicle segment in mid-2010 was 80 percent of the total LDVs segment (cars, three-
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wheelers, and other LDVs). It is about to see whether Pakistan will overcome the power
(electricity), CNG supply and the decreasing petrol-CNG price gap issues. In early 2010, the
government has re-activated the 8,000 CNG bus project in this country (with the support of
the World Bank). Similar trend can be observed in Thailand where the Thai Ministry of
Transport will push forward the 4,000 CNG buses leasing programme. Extensive NGV
market development is present in Central Asia as well, governed by the state-owned gas
corporation (Uzbekistan where officials estimate that 29 percent of total vehicle population in
the country will be powered by natural gas by 2015) or with a wide range of stakeholders
involved (NGV Road map for Kazakhstan with support of U.S DOE and involvement of a
group of national and international stakeholders including EBRD and United Nations
Development Program).
In Europe, the EU has set out an ambitious strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from
road vehicles setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars requiring a
fleet average emission of 130 g CO2/km for new passenger cars to be fully achieved by 2015.
This requirement could be achieved much sooner, however by increasing the proportion of
natural gas vehicles which creates a significant opportunity for the methane (including bio-
methane) use in transport sector. Methane is also part of the EU strategy for the future of
transport outlined in the final draft of the report of the European Expert Group released on
January 2011. Following the main recommendations from the Expert Group of Future
Transport Fuels, the European Commission officially introduced the 5th FP7 call for
2011/2012 research, innovation and demonstration projects.
One of the transport related calls is on the Demonstration of heavy duty vehicles
running with liquefied methane to promote LNG Blue Corridors on medium and longer
distances.
The heavy duty vehicles demonstration should be carried out in at least three Member
States, and should be complementary to existing demonstrations running at national level.
The project should include a first definition of European LNG Blue Corridors, with
strategic LNG refuelling points which would help to guarantee LNG availability for road
transport in a simple and cost effective way.
The demonstration part of the project should help to improve the knowledge and
general awareness of LNG as alternative fuel for medium and long distance road transport.
The project should also serve to remove the existing barriers for heavy duty vehicles
running on LNG.
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Expected impact:
Oil substitution through the use of alternative fuels, namely liquefied methane (LNG).
Reduction of GHG emission from transport using liquefied methane as fuel in heavy
duty vehicles.
Market development for heavy duty vehicles running with liquefied methane.
Increase of energy efficiency of heavy duty natural gas engines to the level of the
current diesel heavy duty vehicle engines.
Eastern Europe will keep growing in terms of NGV market. The number of NGVs is
growing and almost reached a noticeable level of 360 thousand units a little less than one
third of the European NGV fleet. Ukraine, Russia and Bulgaria lead the CNG market in the
area. However new NGV countries will shortly emerge. NGV industry OEM gas powered
vehicles (trucks and buses), conversion kits, CNG cylinders, LNG equipment, CNG/LNG
carriers - is well established in Eastern European countries and will develop further. CNG
filling station packagers typically use compressors imported from Western Europe and Latin
America. No strong government support to NGV market is offered in Eastern Europe so far.
Africa is paving its way on the global NGV map. So far, seven African countries with
gas fields in their territories have conducted demonstration projects and adopted NGVs and
CNG stations. Further development is supported by Governmental policies and support such
as replacement of older vehicles with new environmentally friendly units (Egypt); national
program of promotion and development of NGV with the participation of national companies
(Algeria) and fuel switch in transport sector in order to utilize domestic natural gas and
reduce oil (products) import (Mozambique, Tanzania, Nigeria).
The availability of not expensive conversion technologies from petrol to bi-fuel petrol/NG and
also from diesel to dedicated NG, of course in emission levels less stringent than Euro 3, will
allow low resource users to go in a much cleaner and alternative transport fuel, also reducing
its oil dependence.
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Major changes in the heavy duty sector will be most visible in the segment of urban transport.
Communal vehicles (garbage trucks, street sweepers, vacuum vehicles), public transport
(buses and taxies), utilities/services fleets (postal, gas, power, water, construction), and other
will demonstrate environmental and economic advantages of methane-based fuels.
Municipal Buses
The volumes of diesel used on urban public transport and communal vehicles may be
shrinking. One of the reasons for that is the ban on the use of diesel in municipalities. This
has already happened in a number of countries (Bolivia, India, Spain, Japan). Similar
intention has been expressed by Moscow authorities (Russia).
Chinese made buses with far lower price than European or American units are being very
well received in some South American countries where exhaust emission limits are still Euro
3.
In contrast to the above trend in a number of countries dual fuel technologies for heavy
duty vehicles are becoming popular (Australia, Brazil, India, Sweden). Volvo has developed a
new computer controlled engine that burns 30% of bio-mix diesel and 70% of methane.
To gain more kilometre per filling heavy duty and super heavy duty buses and trucks
are equipped with cryogenic liquefied natural gas and biomethane on-board storage systems.
Cleaner emissions even compared to CNG - are the bonus.
The era of aftermarket conversion of municipal buses in Western and Central Europe is
almost over now. It may still be witnessed in some municipalities in the Eastern and Southern
Europe. But the numbers of converted or retrofitted buses is significantly smaller then five
years ago.
Methane (natural gas and biomethane) will remain premium commercial fuel alternative
for municipal buses. Experimentation with compressed or liquefied hydrogen and its blends
with methane will continue to be appealing and may achieve initial phase of
commercialization. However, at this point of time only natural gas has unique combination of
environmental and economic advantages.
The share of alternative methane will slowly grow. Major alternatives to natural gas are
biomethane, e-gas, coal-bed methane and shale gas. However, these fuels are definitely
more expensive at the time and for that reason in foreseeable future natural gas will
dominate the market of non-conventional transportation fuels.
Hybrid, hydrogen fuel cell, and micro-turbine power trains are being investigated and
over time may mature into economically viable solutions.
According to Pace Global, USA purchase price differentials between natural gas
vehicles and conventional gasoline or diesel fuelled vehicles will decrease due to both the
increasingly mainstream presence of natural gas vehicles (volume production and
competition amongst producers of such vehicles) as well as the need for progressively more
complex and costly technological advances to petroleum-fuelled vehicles to make them
compliant with more and more stringent emissions standards. NGVRUS believes that by the
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end of this decade additional cost of gas bus will decrease from the current 15 30 thousand
to estimated 5 10 thousand Euros per vehicle.
Liquefied natural gas (liquefied bio-methane) will get further development in the heavy
duty sector in general and bus segment in particular. Suburban and intercity LNG buses are
coming to the front stage.
School Buses
Natural gas is becoming a fuel of choice for school buses. In the United States only,
according to the U.S. Department of Energy, currently, there are more than 2,500 CNG
buses in school districts across the country. The shift from oil to natural gas is motivated by
the urgent need to meet budget constraints (given the high prices for diesel and gasoline)
and stricter emissions regulations for heavy vehicles. A natural gas-powered school bus can
displace 5,300 litres of diesel fuel per year.
Trucks
Volvo Dual Fuel (Natural Gas - Diesel) Heavy Duty Truck, Sweden
Today major producers and stakeholders are engaged in the development of natural
gas Heavy-Duty engine technology (400+ horse power) either solely or through alliances (e.g.
in the U.S: CAP & Navistar, International Trucks & Emission Solutions, Gas Technology
Institute & Cummins Westport, American Power Group etc.) with natural gas Heavy-Duty
models on offer or announced (e.g. in the U.S: Volvo Trucks, Freightliner Trucks, Foton,
Mack Trucks, Peterbilt, Gilig Corporation, Kenworth Truck; in Asia, Hino, Isuzu, Tata,
Shaanxi Auto; in Europe Volvo & CAP, Hardstaff & Optare).
New solutions are underway also for utilization of CNG with HPDI engines for long
distances (Australia, Japan).
To be taken into account that a long distance truck in the European road uses as much
as 30 to 50 tonnes of fuel per year, same with Diesel or LNG engine.
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Major OEMs are present with CNG models in this segment and the increasing share of
OEM models is expected in the mid-term future.
In the U.S the QVM Qualified Vehicle Modifiers will continue to cover a range of the
models of cars and vans of all major producers (whose engines usually comes with hardened
exhaust valves and valve seats for improved wear resistance and durability for gaseous fuel
systems).
New trends with OEM CNG models are expected to continue in the direction of
downsizing and hybridization. To name a few examples. Volkswagen has launched its new
Up! small car range, which will include a natural gas engine version and should be available
on the market in 2012. This new car, available under VW, Seat and Skoda brands, will not
offer any diesel engine version. To some extent it is following the way opened by Fiat with its
small 500, also offering a very efficient 2 cylinder, NG version. The basic bi-fuel engine
(petrol/natural gas) has a combined fuel consumption of 3.2 kg/100 km (natural gas),
equivalent to a CO2 value of 86 g/km. As a BlueMotion Technology version the natural gas-
powered version attains a low CO2 value of 79 g/km. In Russia the Yo LPG or CNG/electric
hybrid car may hit the road in mid-2012. The average fuel consumption is announced to be
3.5 liter/100 km.
The main lesson from these new small city cars is the non-written message: the best fuel in
city is methane.
Off-Road Vehicles
Airport vehicles.
Airports of big cities host big concentrations of surface vehicles in continuous operation. An
exhaust emission study made in the Barajas airport in Madrid a few years ago, show that
there are more than 2.000 surface vehicles in service in the inner area of the airfield, never
leaving it. Most of them are diesel, with a heavy emission of PM and NOx. The most polluting
units being gensets for electric supply to the planes, because of its continuous operation and
also because the different (more permissive) emission level required to this type of
equipment.
Luggage tractors, ground power units, push back tractors, etc. are vehicles easily redesigned
to run on CNG, and not depending on public fuelling network. The AVIA project carried out in
Madrid, defining and prototype building of all types of vehicles with CNG was a success.
These types of airport vehicles could be considered an urban fleet, to be refuelled in a single,
specific point.
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vehicles) and outside needs (bringing passengers and cargo/luggage in and out). A
concentrated, emission and budget concerned, 24/7 guaranteed methane customer of
CNG/LNG will tempt investment into both fleets and infrastructure. The combination of air
and ground use of gaseous fuels will make the project even more efficient.
Inland waterways.
The rivers Amstel (the Netherlands), Chao Phraya (Thailand), Dubai Creek (United Arab
Emirates), Mississippi (USA), Moscow and Neva (Russia), Seine (France), Yangzi (China)
have seen successful demonstration and commercial operation of different size and purpose
river boats that use CNG or LNG (dedicated and dual-fuel) instead of diesel. Many of those
pilot tests matured into sound commercial projects to be executed in the nearest future. The
coming decade will witness a good rise of the natural gas boat fleet in many countries in the
world. For European environment, for instance, it is time to develop a continental project
European Blue Ring: to arrange for the movement of passengers and cargo boats/ships from
the Baltic to the Black (and Caspian) Sea across Russia, then westwards (cross the Black
Sea) to the Danube River, and then up North to the Baltic Sea again to link the circle.
European rivers and channels may link many nations with methane inland waterways.
Maritime. Emission Control Areas (ECAs) that soon will be introduced in the Baltic and
Northern seas (ECA Zone 1), North America (ECA Zone 2), the Mediterranean (ECA Zone 3)
and Singapore (ECA Zone 4) will require ship owners to use cleaner marine fuels with low
sulphur dioxide and particle content. The most attractive option is to use LNG. It might be
expected that as many as 10% short-sea ships calling at ECAs will be running on LNG by
2015. Ice-breakers, cruise ships, ferries, military and coast guard ships, platform supply
vessels and other watercraft will start consuming considerable amounts of LNG in the
coming years. Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, and Sweden are already facing the challenge of rapid
and investments consuming transition to LNG power: building new ships and developing
bunkering infrastructure.
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Rail Road. In addition to current utilization of natural gas to power locomotives (U.S,
Brazil) the new projects aim to demonstrate the technical, economic and environmental
viability of LNG (Russia, Canada) and CNG (India) engine technology for locomotives
(offering greenhouse gas reductions of up to 500 tonnes per year for each natural gas
locomotive relative to diesel locomotives). The Russian-developed gas turbine-electric
locomotive has set a new world record for a single prime mover by hauling 16,000 tonnes in
170 rail cars with record low emissions.
Lawn mowers. Now available the Dixie Chopper CNG/LNG Lawn Mower is aimed at
reducing the US EPA estimate of 5% of total U.S emissions from home lawn-mowing.
World Energy Outlook 2011 by IEA labels coming years as the Golden Age of Gas. The
global natural gas resource base is quoted to sustain current consumption for over 250 years.
This will naturally apply to automotive use of methane along with industrial and domestic
sectors.
- Composition of the global NGV fleet will slide from light duty vehicles (LDV) in the direction
of more polluting and fuel- hungry heavy duty vehicles (HDV) with longer mileage: trucks,
buses as well as different off-road applications.
- Environmental and budget efficiency will make national and municipal governments to buy
more and more HDVs municipal buses, garbage collection trucks, street sweepers and
other vehicles thus stimulating their production.
- The worldwide fleet of heavy duty (HD) natural gas vehicles will dramatically grow to
become the biggest consumer of compressed/liquefied natural gas (CNG/LNG). By 2020 HD
sector may reach annual methane consumption of 200 billion cubic meters (BCM).
- This will motivate vehicle manufacturers to market more and newer types of heavy duty
vehicles.
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- The growth of HD sector will inevitably trigger the rise of the small scale liquefied natural
gas (LNG) market. Commercial use of LNG will aggressively spread into HD automotive,
railroad and marine transportation. LNG for airplanes may technologically be available
sometime around 2015 - 2017, although commercial phase will hardly begin till the end of
this decade.
- Development of small scale LNG technologies and growing needs if filling capacities will
activate further shift from pipeline-dependent filling stations towards off-grid sites. More
traditional oil fuels stations will host natural gas filling capabilities.
- Small/mid scale LNG market will attract investment into the network of LNG hubs first in the
Baltic, Mediterranean, Sea of Japan and later other national and international waters. These
LNG hubs will supply both watercraft and on-road vehicles with clean and economic fuel.
- Growing demand for CNG/LNG for vehicles will be supported by unconventional gas
reserves: shale gas, biomethane, coal bed methane, hydrogen and its bends and other. This
will be one of the ways to reduce dependency on imported oil in the transport sector and
secure new jobs.
- Intercity traffic will make international Blue Corridors, Green Highways, Gas Highways
whatever is the name a reality. And not only for on-road vehicles: Blue Corridors will
connect sea- and airports, railway terminals.
Immediate Imperatives
Without detracting the importance of other alternatives to oil-based transportation fuels, one
may conclude that the only commercial not political option is methane. It is the viable fuel
which at a time offers exclusive combination of environmental and economic benefits.
To achieve the modest goal of 50 million NGVs on the roads by 2020 it is necessary to:
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APPENDIX I:
GASHIGHWAY PROJECT
(The sole responsibility for the content of this material lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect
the opinion of the European Communities. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that
may be made of the information contained therein.)
NGVA Europe, together with another 12 partners, has been participating in the GasHighWay
Project since May 2009. This project is co-financed by the European Commission under the
Intelligent Energy Europe, a part of the EU's Competitiveness and Innovation Framework
Programme (CIP). The aim of the project is promoting the uptake of gaseous vehicle fuels,
namely biomethane and CNG, and especially the realization of a comprehensive network of
filling stations for these fuels spanning Europe from the north, Finland and Sweden, to the
south, Italy in other words: the GasHighWay.
The main objectives of the project are: increase of the general awareness of target groups in
the use of natural gas vehicles (NGVs), increase the supply of NG/biomethane by boosting
the investments in distribution systems for these alternative fuels and in biogas production
and biogas upgrading to enhance NGVs demand.
In order to achieve these objectives, several activities have been done since the launch of
the project:
-Dissemination activities to increase awareness among the target groups on the benefits and
advantages of using biomethane and CNG as fuel for vehicles.
-The project website www.gashighway.net has been continually updated with all the material
and information produced in the project, including the best practice case brochures, the first
GasHighWay magazine, web-diaries etc. Additionally, the projects website and the project
itself have been presented at several national and international exhibitions and conferences
as well as several newspaper and magazine articles have been written.
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- The map of filling stations and upgrading units has been prepared and is available online.
The maps have been developed to become user-friendly, and its posible to download them
to GPS devices. These maps will be available at the NGVA Europe website at the end of the
project.
- Different main actors interested in the infrastructure development at national and
international level have been identified.
Poland x x x x
Austria x x x x
Germany x x
Finland x x x
Czech- x x x
Repubblic
The table below summarizes the hypothesis of increasing number of gas filling station in
each country involved in the project and their possible localization.
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AUSTRIA
Heimo T. Blattner Steirische Gas-Wrme GmbH
Birgit Baumgartner Grazer Energieagentur
The European Union has set the target of at least 20 % of fuel consumption not being oil
based by 2020. Half of these alternatives, i.e. 10 % of all fuel, are to be CNG. These EU
targets provide the basis for the intensive filling station expansion plans of the Austrian gas
industry. CNG is currently available at around 168 public and approximately 40 private filling
stations in Austria.
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In order to drive this development onward, the Austrian gas industry is consistently working
on expanding the filling station network the target is to have 200 public natural gas filling
stations in operation by 2010. Nevertheless the whole area of Austria is already well covered
in regard of CNG-filling stations. The future focus of the CNG-filling station operators manly
regional gas suppliers is put in the efficiency increase of the individual natural gas filling
stations.
All 168 CNG filling stations are well distributed over Austria (Vienna: 19, Upper Austria: 33,
Lower Austria: 29, Styria: 22, Tyrol: 20, Salzburg: 17, Vorarlberg: 12, Carinthia: 9 and
Burgenland: 7) and are situated along the natural gas grid, as the natural gas grid is well
developed in Austria. The stations are placed in large cities (> 50.00 inhabitants), along
commuting or strategic national roads or traffic junctions. Just few of them (approximately 3
to 5) are on or nearby highways. The public CNG filling stations are mostly integrated into
existing conventional filling station, where also petrol and diesel will be sold.
Generally virtually biomethane can be fuelled at each CNG-filling station, but biomethane will
not offer at the moment but the trend goes towards biomethane. Currently only one pure
biomethane filling station (Margarethen am Moos) exists in Austria. The target of the Austrian
gas industry is to offer a product with a rate of 20% biomethane and 80% natural gas.
Type of plant (number of methane pumps, technical characteristics, use of CNG or LNG,
private or public use etc.). All CNG-filling stations are consists of a compressor and tank unit,
gas dryer systems, filling priority and sequential refuelling controls as well as filling systems.
The dispenser are equipped with 1 or 2 hoses using a standard "NGV1" connector and
with 1 or 2 mass flow meters for a non-simultaneous or also simultaneous vehicle refuelling
on both sides of the dispenser. NGV1 is the standardized connector.
(Comment: Vehicles in Austria, Germany and Switzerland are fitted as standard with
connectors of this type). All public filling stations are fast-fill fuel station with a filling time of
2 to 3 minutes per car. According to the VBV (container regulations), self filling of natural gas
vehicles is fundamentally permitted in Austria.
In Austria only H-Gas quality are offered. H stands for high quality gas. The calorific value
makes the difference; it is higher in H-Gas than in L (low)-Gas. For comparison: H-Gas has a
calorific value of approx. 11.1 kWh/m, L-Gas of approx. 9.5 kWh/m. The price for CNG
differs between 0.75 to 0.94 Euro/kg Until today, LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) as fuel is not a
theme there are some few pilot projects or field trails ongoing which are done by Salzburg
AG in connection with a project called Clean Heavy Duty.
The design, production, installation and operation of NGV filling station is described in the
regulation VGW G97, Feb 2008 published by the Austrian Association for Gas and Water
VGW. This regulation will be currently reworked and the new edition will be issued by end
of 2010. The natural gas quality as well as the quality for upgraded biogas (biomethane) is
regulated in the quality standards VGW G31 and G33.
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Welfare benefits, incentives, support scheme for methane and biomethane filling stations
development: The Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water
Management launched a program called klima:aktiv. klima:aktiv is embedded in the
Austrian federal climate strategy, consisting of a bundle of measures of regulation, taxes,
and subsidies. In the four thematic clusters Building, Energy Efficiency, Mobility, and
Renewable Energy, specific programmes are carried out by various programme managers of
different institutions. These programmes follow a comprehensive and systematic approach in
supporting the market introduction of climate-friendly technologies, services and activities.
One target of this program (klima:aktiv mobility) is to reduce CO2 emissions in the
transport sector. One part of this program is focused on NGVs where the purchase of
NGVs will be supported the financial support is up to 30 % of investment costs (additional
costs to implement the CO2 reduction measurement).
This program also includes a subventions for building CNG-filling stations (per pump Euro
10.000). The Austrian government and the individual provinces also wish to promote natural
gas as fuel. Therefore since July 2008 the "NOVA-new" (NOVA means
Normverbrauchsabgabe duty payable on standard consumption) is supporting vehicles
with minor CO2 emission.
Furthermore mainly all gas suppliers are offering different incentives for the purchase of
NGVs (free fuel or bonus).
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The investment cost for a public CNG-filling stations are between 220.000 to 380.000 Euros,
depending on size, design and location of the plant. The CNG-filling station infrastructure
was mainly built by gas suppliers whereas major gas suppliers had established co-operations
for a common development of the market. The building up of the station will be supported by
means of third party financing. To run a filling station profitable a turnover of 200.000 to
300.000 Nm/year is needed this means approximately 200 to 300 NGVs per station.
Main barriers (technical, economical, legislative) The more favourable NOVA for NGVs,
defined in the kologisierungsgesetz supports NGVs with a bonus of up to 500 Euro and
acts as a positive factor. The exemption from the mineral oil tax (Minerallsteuer Mst) is
itself positive, but has also got a negative aspect since there is no tax security, regarding the
use of natural gas or biomethane as fuel, given in Austria until now.
A clear development of the general taxation for gas as a vehicle fuel is missing. Furthermore
there are unclear legal framework conditions.
Following major roadblocks or weaknesses have been identified to boost the NGV/CNG
market:
Variety of NGV models
Driving range of vehicles
Effectiveness of engines
Lack of know how (car dealer, end user)
Awareness of customers (low advertisement of car sellers)
European fuelling station network
Trends in technologies
The actual situation is that there are more than 340 biogas plants in operation in Austria.
Manly of them are agricultural plants which are focused on production of electrical power
(estimated performance: 90.1 MWel). Approximately 45 to 50 plants are in operation in Styria.
First plants for the production of biomethane and the feed-in to the natural gas grid are
already established in Austria:
The upgrading of biogas to biomethane shows an alternative way of using the energy content
of the gas instead of the conventional way of generating electric power and heat. Upgraded
biogas can be used as a fully-fledged natural gas substitute in all the natural gas applications
like fuel for households and industry as well as propellant for the automotive sector (CNG-
vehicles, compressed natural gas). Doing this, the already well established natural gas
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infrastructure like pipelines and fuelling stations can be utilised to transport the produced gas
to the consumers.
In upgrading plant the raw biogas will be upgraded to the required natural gas quality
according to the quality standards VGW G31/G33. Subsequently, this gas is injected to the
natural gas grid at elevated pressure. Natural gas and biomethane have the same quality.
Through CO2 neutral biomethane natural gas as a fuel can be substituted.
The estimated amount of produced biogas lies between 265 to 414 mil. cubic meters per
year in Austria. Taking the estimated amount of 414 mil. Nm3 per year with an average
consumption of 1.200 Nm3 per vehicle and year approximately 345.000 vehicles can be
served in Austria (one vehicle: 1.200 Nm3 = 15.000 km per year). This means that 2.350
vehicles with an average consumption of 1.200 Nm3 per year will actually use 2.820.000
Nm3. A number of 200.000 vehicles, which is the goal for 2020, would consume
approximately 240 mil. Nm3.
Trends in legal and financial conditions (incentives, benefits, laws) As there will not make a
differentiation between natural gas and biomethane filling stations the strategy for the
expansion (filling satiation network, NGV) is the same. The only difference is, that for
biomethane the reduction of CO2 will be more highlighted. Therefore the subventions for
purchase a natural gas vehicle and using biomethane as fuel are higher (e.g. klima:active
program: Natural gas vehicle get a financial support of 500.- Euro and additional 500.- Euro
by using a mixture of at least 40% biomethane and 60% natural gas).
Interviews with customers show following picture concerning the use of NGVs:
Positive aspects:
Negative aspects:
Weak fuelling station network
Lower safety
Higher investment costs
Lower range/mileage
Narrow range of car models
Higher space volume needed for fuel tank
It was clearly visible that the lower operation costs the cost for CNG is mostly important
for customers to decide for an NGV. The second important point was environmental aspects,
whereas the future use of biomethane was a major aspect. Customers appreciate the
introduction of biomethane at already existing CNG-filling stations although biomethane as
product is not launched until today.
Still missing are feed-in tariff (green electrical fees or subsidies) and feed-in regulation for
biomethane into the natural gas net. Nevertheless the motive for biogas plant operators to
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built upgrading plants and produces biomethane as well as feed it in the natural gas net, is
the increased efficiency of the entire plant (electrical power, district heating and gas delivery
connection to the natural gas grid).
Since 1997, were the first station was opened, the CNG filling station network was
continuously extended. Most of the public CNG filling stations are integrated into
conventional petrol stations. Private stations are mainly built in co-operation with the industry
and are used for fill fork lifts. The illustration shows that from 2006 on till now the filling
station infrastructure was expanded rapidly.
The following table shows the amount of CNG filling stations as well as the vehicle situation
in Austria per region.
The amount of CNG filling stations as well as the vehicle situation in Austria per region
Lower Burgenl Upper Vorarlbe Carinthi
Region Vienna Salzburg Tirol Styria
Austria and Austria rg a
CNG filling
19 32 7 33 18 24 11 23 9
station
Fleet
passenger 669.279 969.902 172.902 816.173 275.430 350.821 185.857 676.453 423.210
car
NG
passenger 943 965 174 886 383 372 212 704 300
car
NGV per
CNG 50 30 25 27 21 16 19 31 33
station
Percentag
0.14 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.14 0.11 0.11 0.10 0.09
e NGV (%)
CNG filling station Source: www.erdgasautos.at
Fleet of passenger car Source: Statistik Austria Bestand an Kraftfahrzeugen 2010.
NGV passenger cars Source: OMV Refining & Marketing 2010.
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Beside of the approximately 5.000 NG passenger cars also 580 trucks and 67 busses are
registered in Austria by end of 2010. That equates to only 0.11 % of the total number of
passenger cars.
As there is a lack of natural gas vehicles, gas filling station operators which are mainly
natural gas suppliers are more interested to increase the gas sales than to further expand
the gas filling network because none of the existing CNG filling stations are running profitable.
The main barriers are that the Austrian government is restrictive regarding natural gas as fuel
and that car dealers are not interested to sell NGVs instead they find it easier to sell diesel
or petrol cars. To increase the knowledge concerning natural gas a fuel the Austrian gas
industry invested a lot in marketing- and sales activities (exhibitions, info days, workshops,
incentives for car dealers, subventions for cars, etc.). Nevertheless the number of vehicles
could still be higher.
The Austrian gas grid is a system that has evolved over time and because of its geographical
location it has an important function as a hub that transports natural gas imports onwards to
destinations in Western Europe. Grid development activities are mainly aimed at
underpinning and increasing security of supply for Austrian gas consumers.
The Austrian gas grid consists of transmission and distribution pipelines as well as the
connections to them and other auxiliary equipment such as control and metering equipment.
The total length of the Austrian transmission grid is approx. 2.900 km, and that of the
distribution networks approx. 39.500 km.
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The following table shows the length of the gas network per region:
The length of the gas network per region
Lower Upper Carin
Region Vienna Burgenland Salzburg Tirol Vorarlberg Styria
Austria Austria thia
Length
of gas
1.100 13.400 2.500 6.600 1.200 2.500 1.500 4.280 700
grid
(km)
LNG, as an alternative fuel is not at topic in Austria because of the availability of LNG and
the high investment costs for LNG filling stations. For regions that are not directly linked to
the natural gas grid, LNG could be an alternative product in the future.
At the moment there are five biogas plants with upgrading units (Pucking / Upper Austria,
Asten / Upper Austria, Eugendorf / Salzburg, Bruck a.d. Leither / Lower Austria and Leoben /
Styria) in operation. All of them are connected to the natural gas grid and insert biomethane
into the gas grid.
Three of them are equipped with a CNG/Bio-Methane filling station (Pucking; Eugendorf and
Bruck a.d. Leither).
In St. Margarethen am Moos the first Bio-methane filling station which is not connected to the
natural gas grid is situated. Sustainable renewable energy crops are used to produce the
biogas. A membrane technology for upgrading the biogas into bio-methane is used.
There are only one or two public filling stations which are not in the area of existing petrol
stations. In the rump up phase of CNG as fuel it was a customer requirement that CNG filling
stations are next to petrol stations.
As you can see in the map above all CNG filling stations are next to the natural gas grid and
also along all major highways (A1, A2, A9, and A12) and motorways. Furthermore all large
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cities (Vienna, Linz, Graz, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, St. Plten and Innsbruck) are equipped with
more than one station.
The investment costs for a CNG filling station are between 200.000 Euro and 350.000 Euro,
depending on the type of compressor, gas storage, pressure (0.22 mbar up to 6 bar),
location and requested infrastructure.
Most of the CNG filling stations are owned and operated by Salzburg AG, OMV Gas GmbH,
O Gas-Wrme GmbH and EAA Erdgas Mobil GmbH. In Styria for example Salzburg AG is
operating the filling stations but has a co-operation agreement with the regional gas suppliers
(Steirische Gas-Wrme GmbH and Energie Graz).
The willingness to invest in CNG filling stations depends on the customer and their needs.
Business and industrial customers (mainly with CNG fork lifts or internal NGV car park) are
open to invest in CNG filling station or ask for contracting (third party financing).
Fleet companies like taxi companies, social services, carriers etc. are more interested in
public CNG filling stations, but there is no willingness to invest in the establishment of further
public gas filling stations.
Natural gas busses are only running in three major cities (Linz, St. Plten and Salzburg),
whereas all of them are having a gas filling station near their bus depot. In Linz and Salzburg
bio methane is used as an alternative fuel for busses.
As you can see in the above map, there are already CNG filling stations next to highways
and motorways. There is still a need for further stations, but as the existing stations are not
fully utilized further expansion plans were moved beyond 2013/2014.
Development of the gas filling stations network related to the population density
Mainly all existing CNG filling stations are built either in large cities, places with high traffic
level, next to large fleets, or junctions.
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Comparing the pictures of existing CNG filling stations, natural gas grid and the population
density also in comparison to communities and cities it is clearly visible that all correspond
very well.
Areas without CNG filling stations are areas where there is not a natural gas grid or the
requirements to build a CNG filling station cannot be met.
The main investors in the natural gas station infrastructure are Austrians gas supplier like
Salzburg AG, O. Gas-Wrme GmbH, OMV Gas GmbH and EAA Erdgas Mobil GmbH.
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At the moment none of them is interested to invest in the expansion of the CNG filling station
infrastructure as long as the existing stations have the potential to become more efficient.
Please note that we have already 170 public filling stations but only 5.500 NGVs. To run all
170 stations profitable approximately 40.000 to 50.000 NGVs would be needed!
According to the answers to the previous questions, identify the number and the possible
optimal location for new gas filling stations that should be opened by 2020, and point
them in the relative map of your country.
In 2003 the Austrian gas industry did an expectation on needed CNG filling stations and
CNG sales in Austria by 2020. This expectation was based on the directive 2003/30/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 May 2003 on the promotion of the use of
biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport.
According to this paper by 2010 approximately 225 CNG filling stations (private and public)
should be established and approximately 87.000 NGV should be on the road. By 2020 the
numbers of filling stations were supposed with 600 and the numbers of NGV with more than
650.000.
Based on our investigations and interviews with CNG filling station operators and investors,
some areas in Austria were identified for new CNG filling stations. But as already mentioned
all interview partners highlight that investment for new stations are depending on the
pervasiveness of natural gas vehicles. As long as the existing filling stations will not be fully
utilized and the maximum natural gas volume can be sold at each filling station, no new filling
stations will be established in Austria in the next years.
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CZECH REPUBLIC
Prepared by: Pavel Novk, NGV Manager, Czech Gas Association
The concept of CNG development in the Czech Republic was drawn up by the Czech Gas
Association in 2004 as the Governments policy paper on The Programme of Support for
Alternative Fuels in Transport Natural Gas. The Government of the Czech Republic
approved this programme in its resolution of 2005 and it was then formulated in more detail
in an Agreement between the Government of the Czech Republic and Gas Companies. The
Agreement was signed in 2006 and among other things guaranteed zero excise duty on
CNG between 2007 and 2011. CNG sales in the Czech Republic continuously increase
every year. It can be expected that the gradually rising excise duty imposed on CNG starting
in 2012 will not affect this development and that CNG will continue to be the least expensive
and most advantageous motor fuel in the Czech Republic. For the development of the excise
duty see Chart 5.
CNG filling stations came into being in the CR as initiative of gasworks companies, the
beginning of building of network of filling stations in a larger extent dates back to the turn of
years 2005/2006. In this period, a voluntary agreement of gasworks companies was
concluded of CNG filling stations constructions for big consumers, in places with strategic
meaning for building the functional network of filling stations (e.g. at main international
transport routes). The Czech Republics government passed a resolution in 2005 for the
promotion of natural gas as an alternative fuel. The resolution aims to build natural gas up to
10 percent or all transportation fuel consumed by 2020, in-line with European White Paper
on transport policy in effect at that time. That target would see 400.000 CNG vehicles and up
to 400 CNG stations in operation by 2020. Currently the Czech Republic is covered with the
OEM CNG manufacturers and CNG models, both in the Light and Heavy Duty segment with
the SOR and Irisbus Iveco CNG buses also manufactured locally. The third local producer,
company Tedom, finished its CNG buses production in 2011.
Non-gas companies:
Bonett Gas Investment, a.s., Gascontrol spol. s r.o., Tvaja CNG, s.r.o., Aquacentrum, s.r.o.,
Motor Jikov, a.s., NEAT, a.s., CNG Company, s.r.o.
The table and chart show CNG development in the Czech Republic between 2004 and 2010.
For example, CNG sales increase by more than 20% annually, NGV sales increase by 45%
and the number of public CNG refuelling stations rises by 23%.
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Total
vehicles
Passenger
cars
Buse
s
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2. Prask
plynrensk 1 585 377
3. Bonett G. I. 1 321 514
4. FTL Prostjov 983 091
5. SAD Havov 981 616
6. Ostatn - others 4 151 770
Developments over the past five years clearly indicate that in the Czech Republic, a
favourable business environment has been created for the infrastructure, i.e., the rollout of a
network of CNG refuelling stations, and for the related industries, as well as a good market
environment for the sales of all categories of CNG vehicles (passenger cars, delivery vans,
buses and municipal vehicles). Part of this successful development in CNG is the existence
of technical legislation, technical standards and other legislative documents related to CNG.
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Although governmental support has been withdrawn, gas companies continue to contribute
CZK 200,000 to the purchase of every new CNG bus. This involves marketing support, for
example, the buses carry advertising posters of the respective gas company (RWE, Prask
plynrensk, a.s., E-ON) provided that the bus operator also takes CNG from the gas
company.
There is also an opportunity to transfer funds for CNG bus procurement from the budgets of
regional operational programmes. However, it is up to each city to decide on the way in
which it will allocate the funds and on how it justifies this transfer; for example, the
municipality can declare low-emission zones allowing access to clean vehicles. In the
Czech Republic, it is now possible to buy CNG buses cheaper than diesel buses. However, it
is up to each operator to decide which fuel it will use.
Road Tax
Under Section 3 of Act No 16/1993 on the Road Tax, since 1 January 2009, under 12-tonne
vehicles with an electrical, hybrid or gas drive have been exempt from the road tax in the
Czech Republic.
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Benzina, a.s.), which have in place suitable facilities and services for drivers. Unfortunately,
Czech technical and safety standards in general complicate and hinder the rollout of CNG
refuelling stations and their integration within the structure of the existing filling stations in this
country. It is therefore necessary to revise the regulation called TPG 304 02 CNG Refuelling
Stations for Motor Vehicles, which will make it possible to install multi-product dispensers
(petrol, diesel, CNG) and also to install CNG dispensers very close to other fuel dispensers.
In the Czech Republic, CNG refuelling works completely on a self-service basis. Thanks to
the development of an autonomous CNG Card Centrum network supporting the use of
customer cards, CNG can be refuelled at 31 CNG dispensing points; credit cards can be
used at 16 CNG dispensing points and cash at 27 CNG dispensing points. Customer cards
for the CNG Card Centrum system are issued by six contracting partners (RWE, E.ON
Energie, a.s., Prask plynrensk, a.s., Bonett Gas Investment, a.s., Vemex and Vtkovice
Doprava, a.s.).
The number of CNG refuelling stations as at September 2011 is shown in a map of the
Czech Republic (Fig. 1). Cooperating with Gibgas, the Czech Gas Association updates the
refuelling network on the CNG Road Planner website on a regular basis, see
http://www.gibgas.de/Tankstellen/Umkreissuche%20-%20Routenplaner?locale=en_GB
Price of VRA with the total capacity up to 20m3/h (filling last up to 8 hours and depending up
the compressors output - for max 10 vehicles) vary from about 4 800 40 000 Euros.
Measuring of CNG is here also requested because of taxation of CNG.
Investment into public CNG filling stations vary up from 320 000 Euros and depends very
much on the project conditions and local needs.
There are some regional differences in density of filling stations in the Czech Republic. It is
possible to say that the most of filling stations are located around Prague, Central Bohemia
and North East of the Czech Republic (see attached map). Main barriers were identified in
willingness of CNG stations investors who take into account quantity of CNG cars among
drivers. On the other hand some areas (especially cities in highly polluted industry areas) are
more active in conversion to CNG with focus on ecological asset of CNG buses in public
transportation. Once municipalities are intended to undergo purchase of CNG vehicles it
usually boosts up an investors interest.
In the past the most of CNG stations were designed as separately constructed stations.
Majority of public CNG filling stations is located according to demands of specific users
(transportation companies) with possibility to serve for public, as well. This does not
correspond with position needs of public station for conventional fuels, however, the recent
trends are to build CNG dispensers as a part of petrol station (also as a multiproduct
dispenser gasoline, diesel, CNG) in its chains which a newly revised legislature allows
(Lukoil, for example).
The big fleet companies have unique position for the start up of the NGV industry
consumption of CNG can potently replace a substantial volume of their traditional fuels.
Additional value they have is an ownership of land that enables them to place CNG filling
station without problems with other owners. Also there are subjects, mainly gas companies,
willing to invest into CNG infrastructure and sell CNG. This solution is for those users risky
free because of no need to maintain CNG technology they can be focused on transportation
only their key business activity.
Most of CNG filling stations investors in the Czech Republic comes from private sector. Of
the total number of 50 CNG stations in the Czech Republic to the end of 2011, 37 stations
are designed as public whereas most of them with the access 24h daily/7 days in the week.
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Since 2007 is applied the CNG CardCentrum payment system where used a special
customers CNG Card issued by 6 companies (RWE, Prazska plynarenska, E.ON, Bonett
Gas Investment, Vitkovice Doprava and Vemex). System allows invoice a CNG taking once a
month. CNG Cards are accepted at 31 points. Credit cards VISA and EC/MC are accepted at
16 public CNG stations and 27 stations accept payment cash. Since 2007 is also applied a
self-service filling of CNG in the Czech Republic. NGV1, NGV2 nozzles and self-service
safety measures are required.
There are some strategic plans (mainly by private investors) for further development of gas
refueling infrastructure. Paradoxically the most of stations are located out of highways and
motorways. It is also matter of insufficient highways infrastructure in the Czech Republic and
higher costs of investment along existing highways and motorways (see map).
Traffic intensity in the Czech Republic (vehicle annual average per 24 hours)
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Compared with oil-based fuels, the end price of which can change on a daily basis, CNG
prices change very little. The various companies change their prices only rarely, in most
cases at intervals of several months or years.
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Unlike other countries in which CNG vehicles can be freely parked in underground car parks,
in the Czech Republic CNG vehicle parking under the ground meets with certain difficulties
because of the persisting unwillingness on the part of the fire services. After many years of
relentless effort, the provisions of Regulation No 23/2008 on the technical conditions for the
fire protection of buildings and the relevant provisions of the SN fire protection standards
have been amended so that subject to certain conditions, CNG vehicles can now enter into
and park in underground car parking facilities intended for multiple vehicles.
ESTONIA
Ahto Oja, MM Mnus Minek SEES
Statistics
The first natural gas refuelling station locates close to the natural gas grid. The company
called AS Eesti Gaas plans to open 2 more refuelling station close to the natual gas grid,
namely in cities Tartu and Prnu.
Type of plant
The owner of the natural gas refuelling station is private company, which majority
shareholders are E.ON and Gasprom, minor shareholder is the Republic of Estonia. Two
methane pumps are used for CNG. Payment is possible only with AS Eesti Gaas client card,
opening hours are 8.30- 17.00, natural gas is supplied by Gazprom. Schwelm
Anlagentechnik GmbH compressors and filling station equipment are used. The cost of
methane id 10.6 Estonian crowns per kg (0.68 cents/kg., the liter of gasoline costs 1.15
cents).
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Welfare benefits, incentives, support scheme for methane and biomethane filling
stations development
Directly no benefits, incentives and support schemes exist for methane and biomethane
filling stations development.
AS Eesti Gaas has monopoly over natural gas grid and thus also over the distribution and
pricing. Thus the calculations for open market investments costs and rate of profit are not
predictible.
The main barrier for using natural gas and biomethane is in attitudes. It seems to be the fact,
that Estonian citizens and companies are not used to do so. Biomethane for vehicle fuel is
not produced in Estonia. Natural gas was used for some years by one company, which is
now bankrupt.
The second barrier is in poor legislation. The governmental regulation (no...) states the
incentives for liquid biofuels, but doesn't mention gaseous biofuels, e.g. biomehtane. The
economic barrier is in fact, that AS Eesti Gaas can put the price for natural gas in its
refuelling station freely, not depending from market actors, thus risks to invest to biomehtane
refuelling station is quite high.
The smallest barriers are in technology, there are no local refuelling equipment providers, but
via export all needed technology is available.
Trends in technologies
Trends in methane/biomethane refuelling station technologies are not predictable.
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fuel doesn't almost not exist yet. However, some biogas producers and also some fleet
managers has expressed their interest to find out profitability of using methane/biomethane
as vehicle fuel. E.g
Tallinn Bus Company (owned by municipality) implemented 1 month test with M.A.N
methane bus and got very promising results: the cost for fuel was almost half of comparing
with diesel.
The lawmakers are still quite reluctant and support development of biofuels first of all
because EU (directives) demand it, not because they think and feel themselves that this is
right and good thing to do.
Introduction
Natural gas is imported into Estonia from Russia and from the Inchukalns underground gas
storage in Latvia. AS Eesti Gaas has two gas metering stations on the border of Estonia,
where the volumes of imported gas are measured. Gas is distributed to customers through
gas pipelines, distribution stations and gas pressure reducing stations. In August 2009, the
first CNG car filling station was launched by Eesti Gaas and the car vendors are a natural
partner of Eesti Gaas as the fuel provider. The success story of using methane gas as a
clean car fuel depends on three factors: the social demand for environmentally-friendly
transport and the quality of products and services offered by the fuel and car vendors.
Starting from September 1, 2010, prices of natural gas apply to residential customers
Consumption of Price without VAT Price including VAT
natural gas EEK/m3 EEK/m3
8.639 10.3668
Up to 200 m3 per year
Eur/m3 0.55213 0.66256
3 6.108 7.3296
201 750 m per year
Eur/m3 0.39037 0.46844
750 m3 and more per 5.130 6.1560
year Eur/m3 0.32786 0.39343
The price of CNG as vehicle fuel in first filling station in Tallinn is 10.6 kr/kg, (0,6 /kg) The
sales income of AS Eesti Gaas totalled EEK 2, 646.4 million in the 2009 fiscal year. The
natural gas sales amounted to 634.8 million m in 2009, which is by 15.4% less than in 2008.
Of the total natural gas sales in the fiscal year, 57.8 million m was sold to residential
customers and 577.0 million m to eligible customers.
Biomethane has not been produced and used as vehicle fuel in Estonia. Some initiatives
have shown interest to the topic, but no investment decision has been made.
For identification of the optimal location for new Compressed Methane (Natural Gas and
Biomethane) Gas (CMG) filling stations following criteria were used:
Regional Differences
Proximity to gas grid compared with the possibility of using LNG
Proximity to biogas plant and upgrading platform
Existing traditional refuelling stations that could be implemented
Fleet companies interest
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The current only CNG station stands in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, on the main natural
gas pipeline. The two new planned locations, namely Tartu and Narva are second and third
biggest cities. Tartu locates 186 km from Tallinn towards South-East and Narva locates from
Tallinn 200 km towards East. Natural gas pipeline passes both Narva and Tartu.
The biggest need to establish CMG filling station is in Prnu, which locates 126 km from
Tallinn towards south and it is on the main International transport corridor, called Via Baltica
uniting Tallinn with Latian capital Riga (300 km from Tallinn towards South). There is private
natural gas pipeline, which is not operated by AS EG Vrguteenus.
The second priority can be Haapsalu city and western regional centre, 80 km from Tallinn
towards West and island Saaremaa. The barrier for establishing CMG filling stations to these
areas is in fact, that natural gas pipeline doesn't exist there.
There is no LNG storage facilities in Estonia, but 2 different private inititations compete to
build one, with argument of being able to provide cheaper natural gas than current natural
gas from Russia. The potential LNG storage facility will increase the energy safety of the
Estonia, while currently 100% of natural gas is imported from Russia and Europe has
experienced few times, what it means. This argument, namely independence from Russian
natural gas, is the reason why LNG terminal is important from national economy point of view.
The development of the natural gas grid is hard to predict as this can be sensitive information
from competition point of view. The possibility of establishing LNG terminal has been
discussed, currently there is no LNG terminals in Estonia.
There are few biogas plants in Estonia, 1 on manure, 3 on sludge and 3 on landfill gas.
Biomethane is not produced in Estonia.
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Currently one CNG filling station is under operation in Tallinn, Estonia, owned by AS EG
Vrguteenused. The same company plans to open second CNG filling station in Tartu in
March 2011 and third in Narva. The decision of establishing Narva CNG station is under
consideration, the final decisions are not made yet.
Leading fleet companies have not yet decided to convert their fleet to use gas. Private fleets
consider economic and investment risks too high, while contracts for passanger transport are
usually made for 5 years. Municipal bus companies lack political decision making to covert
bus fleets to use gas. Exception is Tartu City Admnistration, which also wrote the support
letter to GasHighWay Project. They manage the Interreg Baltic Biogas Project and as part of
this included the condition to start to use 5 compressed methane gas buses to the public
procurement tender and the bus fleet company, which won the contract is now obligated to
use 5 CMG buses in their fleet in March 2011. This is the main reason for establishing
second CNG filling station to Tartu.
No plan or map doesn't exist for CMG stations. GHW Project has made the proposal for new
potential CMG filling stations after consulting with members of Advisory Committee and other
leading experts in the field.
It is likely, that 4 main trafic corridors will be developed in Estonia, these are not so much
related to the population density, while Estonian population is decreasing. The main trafic
corridors are related first of all to cargo transport and transit, while Estonina bigger harbours
locate around Tallinn, and Sillame, also Prnu has big harbour. Trafic corridors will thus be
from Tallinn towards East (Narva and further to Sankt Peterburg). South East (further to
Russia, Pihkva, and down to Moscow) and to South to Prnu (and further to Riga- Vilnius-
Warzawa-Berlin, shortly Via Baltica). The fourth route probable comes from Sankt Petersurg
to Narva and then to Prnu and further. Minor corridors will be betrween Narva and Tartu
and Tartu and Prnu.
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The first 2-3 CNG filling stations will be owned and operated by AS EG Vrguteenused. Few
private companies have started to make strategies to enter to CMG market in Estonia.
According to the Estonians situation, the number and the possible optimal location for
new gas filling stations that should be opened by 2020 was identified. Our very roufh
estimation is, that optimal number of CMG stations in Estonia by 2020 is 13.
FINLAND
Jyvskyl Innovation Oy, Jyvskyl Innovation Ltd
The whole country can be reached with a bi-fuel car when using gasoline outside the gas
filling station area.
Statistics
In the beginning of 2010 there were totally 16 methane filling stations in Finland. The basic
network of filling stations in the area of natural gas grid has been built up, and the challenge
in the future is to extend the network to areas outside the gas grid and to fulfil the basic
network with new filling stations. The filling stations are mostly located in vicinity of a city, and
usually the locations are also good from road network point of view. The only filling station
outside the natural gas grid is located 10-15 km from Jyvskyl city in Laukaa. The distance
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to the closest point of natural gas grid is about 170 km. The newest filling station was opened
in Lohja in the beginning of March 2010.
The map of methane filling stations in Finland. Blue = Existing CNG filling stations owned by Gasum
Ltd. Yellow = Gasums filling stations under construction or planning.
Red = Other company owned gas filling stations. The only bio-methane filling station is the
northernmost one in Laukaa marked with red symbol. Two of the filling stations marked with
yellow have already been opened after the map has been published (Source: Gasum Ltd.).
The gas filling stations are using fast fill technology. The nozzle type is NGV1, and in two
stations there is also (NGV2 is CNG cylinder standard) nozzle for buses and other heavy
duty. The gas company Gasum Ltd. is building widely the network of filling stations, and is
operating most (13) of the existing gas filling stations. In Gasum stations there is only
possible to pay with a GasCard, that is Gasums own credit card. Energy companies also
own two natural gas filling stations, and they have the normal bank and credit cards as
payment possibilities. The price of CNG and bio-methane in Finland is nowadays around 1
/kg.
The only filling station outside the natural gas grid is owned by Metener Ltd. and is located in
Kalmari farm. The station also uses fast fill technology. Biogas is produced in farms biogas
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plant, and is upgraded to vehicle fuel quality with a farm-scale biogas upgrading unit
developed by Metener Ltd.
The technical regulations related to building a methane filling station are quite clear. The
Finnish Natural Gas Association has together with Safety Technology Authority made a
guidebook of mtechnical regulations of a gas filling station.
In Finland there is governments proposal of feed-in tariff for biogas in process. In the future
the feed-in tariff for biogas would support production of electricity and heat in Finland. If bio-
methane production will not be included to the support scheme the produced biogas might be
utilised more often in CHP-production than in transport fuel use.
The investment costs of a gas filling station in Finland are about the same as in other
European countries. Metener Ltd. offers a unique technology of biogas upgrading and
refuelling system in small scale (capacity 30-100 Nm3/h of raw biogas). The technology
enables cost-effective filling station solution for biogas producers. It also enables to invest
first in a small scale upgrading unit and to expand the capacity when the number of gas
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vehicles increases. A study about cost-effective solution for methane road transportation is
going on in GasHighW
ay-project in Finland. Cost-effective methane transportation from biogas plant to filling station
is key factor when creating CNG and biomethane markets to areas outside the natural gas
grid.
Main barriers
The main barrier for methane infrastructure to develop is challenge to start the first refuelling
stations in areas where there is no gas driven vehicles yet. The problem usually is lack of
actor, municipality or company, that would have interest to invest to a refuelling station and
find the first customers to the filling station. General unawareness of possibilities in bio-
methane production and use as traffic fuel is often the key point among politicians, municipal
decision-makers as well as normal consumers. However the situation is getting better all the
time when the basic network of filling station in natural gas grid area has developed and gas
driven vehicles have become more common. In addition the production of biogas is
increasing and utilisation of methane in traffic fuel is becoming more interesting.
There are also legislative barriers. Even though the taxation of bio-methane and CNG
nowadays is favourable and high gas vehicle tax has been removed, it is not known how
methane will be taxed in new transport fuel taxation system in 2011. Many investments are
waiting for definition of policy.
Trends in technologies
In Finland natural gas is an essential energy source, and there is good potential to increase
the use of CNG in traffic sector. Transportation of CNG and bio-methane by using
pressurised containers or LNG containers is becoming more common in Europe, and in
Finland methane transportation creates promising markets for natural gas vehicles in areas
outside the natural gas grid. Gasum has got an LNG production unit in Porvoo in south
Finland, so the first investments to gas transportation have already been done in Finland.
Biogas production units are covering almost the whole country and new biogas plants are
under construction. The increase in biogas production creates good potential to upgrade
biogas to vehicle fuel and buid new bio-methane filling stations. The gas companies Gasum
and Biovakka are planning to start bio-methane injection to natural gas grid in 2011 to
distribute bio-methane to refuelling stations. There is also a local energy company in Hamina
that owns the local natural gas grid and is planning to produce bio-methane to the grid.
Main incentives like methane fuel tax is nowadays favoring gas vehicles to become common
and thereby new filling stations to be opened. Long term strategy of incentives related to
methane use as traffic fuel is still missing in Finland. The unawareness of the new fuel
taxation system is a barrier for many companies to invest to new filling stations and for
customers to buy a gas vehicle.
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The attitudes towards methane as traffic fuel are basically quite good. Usually the attitudes
will get better when getting more information about gas vehicles and use of methane as fuel.
Lack of information and generall unawareness are the main points to work with, when trying
to boost the NGV markets ahead. In Finland there are many projects going on related to bio-
methane filling stations, and throw the projects people are getting informed also in areas
outside the filling station network.
Regional Differences
The natural gas grid, and hence the existing natural gas filling stations are covering southern
part of the country. A big share of the most populated areas in Finland is in proximity of
natural gas grid. There are still highly populated areas outside the gas filling station network
in South-Western and Western Finland.
Finland is a sparsely populated country with long distances between the cities. In order to
develop a functional gas filling station network the whole country should be covered with a
basic network of filling stations. A challenge is to find economical solution in covering the
most sparsely populated areas in Northern and Eastern Finland. However, biogas and
liquefied natural gas (LNG) are bringing new possibilities for areas outside the natural gas
grid.
Existing gas filling stations in Finland in October 2010 (Source: Gasum Ltd.)
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The existing natural gas grid is an important gas distributing infrastructure in Southern
Finland. The number of gas filling stations in natural gas grid area can significantly be
increased by 2020. The existing gas pipeline can feed gas filling stations only in South
Finland. The northernmost point of the gas grid is Tampere (and Kyrskoski) providing gas
supply for the third biggest city in Finland. The natural gas grid may expand in next decade,
but new gas lines will be constructed only if some key actor will invest in gas consuming
technology. A potential large-scale investment in natural gas grid by 2020 is a new pipeline
to Turku and Naantali in South-Western Finland. It can be assumed that by 2020 the natural
gas grid is used as distribution infrastructure of natural gas and biomethane in the area of
existing gas filling stations, and apparently in some new areas near the present natural gas
grid.
In areas outside the natural gas grid, but close to natural gas area (max. 50-100 km)
methane can be transported to filling stations by using compressed gas containers. LNG
would be an effective way to distribute gas in countries like Finland and Sweden, where the
natural gas grid is limited and long-distance distribution is needed. Gasum Ltd. has invested
in LNG production unit in Porvoo, and there are no technological barriers related to LNG
distribution. The challenge is to find big gas vehicle fleet operators and/or industrial
companies with high gas consumption to generate economical base for LNG distribution.
An interesting opportunity in the future is long-haul ship transportation of LNG and importing
to Finland. Large-scale LNG-ships are becoming common worldwide, and because the
business is based on high gas volumes, lower price of LNG can be achieved. It depends on
market built up if an LNG-terminal will be established in Finland by 2020. There is interest in
LNG also in shipping companies like Viking Line that is surveying possibilities to invest in
more environmentally friendly LNG-ships.
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The existing biogas production units are covering the whole Finland excluding the northern
part of the country. Biogas is produced in waste water treatment plants, landfills and biogas
reactors. In addition many new biogas plants will be established by 2020. There is a good
potential to utilise produced biogas as traffic fuel and expand the gas filling station network to
central and northern Finland. There is the existing biogas upgrading plant and refuelling
station near Jyvskyl showcasing and proving that the concept works. In addition
investments have been done to start injecting upgraded biomethane into natural gas grid in
2011. In eastern Finland there is also survey going on to produce liquefied biogas (LBG)
from landfill gas for traffic fuel use. It can be estimated that a high share of gas filling stations
couldbe based on biogas production in Finland by 2020.
The petrol and diesel refuelling station network is dense in Finland. There is nowadays about
2200 traditional refuelling stations. However, the trend is that the number of traditional fuel
filling stations is decreasing, and some fuel distribution companies have gone out of business
in Finland. The existing gas distributing companies have co-operated with the traditional fuel
distributing companies and there are already gas filling stations on the same refuelling sites
with diesel and petrol pumps. The co-operation will be more widespread in the future, and
some traditional fuel distributing companies might also start distributing biogas and natural
gas.
The fleet companies are aware of environmental issues and potential crisis related to
traditional fuel price. The awareness of gaseous fuels and gas vehicles is increasing, and it is
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improving fleet companies interest in using gas vehicles. The gas refuelling infrastructure is
boosting NGV markets ahead, and the increasing number of NGVs is boosting the
establishment of new gas refuelling stations. The facts are positive related to biogas and
natural gas as vehicle fuel, and these positive aspects will get even stronger emphasis by
2020.
The most crowded highways in Finland should be covered with gas filling station network.
Even though the population in Finland is moving more and more to southern Finland and big
cities, the highways through the country are important traffic lanes in serving for example
transportation companies as well as private persons driving to summer cottages and ski
centres. The best locations for gas filling stations are along highways near a city so that filling
station can serve both the local population and customers passing by through highway. The
optimal situation would be to have a gas filling station every 50 km along the highways.
The population density in Finland is much higher in South- and West-Finland compared with
northern and eastern part of the country. The traffic volumes are focused to South-Finland
and to city areas. The urban areas with dense population are the most favourable locations
for new filling stations. The 15 biggest cities are shown below, and by 2020 there should be
several gas filling stations in each of these cities. In city centres of Helsinki, Espoo and
Vantaa the aim is that the distance between the gas filling stations is max. 5 kilometres. In
other urban areas the distance between the gas filling stations could be max. 15 kilometres.
Additionally, in other cities with strategic location should be at least one gas filling station by
2020.
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Investment plans
There are nowadays five companies distributing methane as traffic fuel in Finland. The NGV
market is increasing and new filling stations are needed to improve the infrastructure of gas
distribution. The role of biogas is becoming stronger and new biogas plants are established
in Finland. It is estimated that there are several new actors in gas distribution business in
2020 compared to the situation today. In the near future the operators of the local biogas
production plants could be also operators and owners of the filling stations distributing
biomethane. It is foreseen that the number of local biomethane distributors will increase
rapidly.
Based on the visions and operational environment described above it is estimated that in
2020 there could be about 200 gas filling stations in Finland. To meet this target it requires
new gas distributing companies in addition to the existing ones. Political regulations should
also be favourable rather than hindering the development of NGV market. The optimal
locations of new filling stations are shown on the map.
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GERMANY
Fuelling Stations
The German Fuelling Station (FS) landscape has changed tremendously since the late
nineties when stricter environmental laws were introduced. In 1969 were in the OLD part of
Germany 46684 conventional FS. Since then the number of conventional FS has decreased
to 14.100 in 2010.
The first Compressed Natural Gas Vehicle Fuelling Stations (NGVFS) came in operation in
1995 and since then have increased to 860 stations. Most of the NGVFS have been
integrated into a conventional station.
The faces and images of the FS have changed quiet a lot and every station has an
supermarket with more than 500 articles for sale. From foodstuff, traveling needs, via
cigarettes and alcohol. Most of the stations are operated 24 hours. The turn-over and profit
from the supermarket is normally higher then the sales from the fuel.
The retail industry is not satisfied with this "substantially unequal treatment" of the different
businesses. The FS's are very popular with the youth in the rural areas where they are used
as meeting points for their later individual actions. Majority of the FS are operated and owned
by the 7 international mineral oil companies like Shell, Aral, Esso,Total, OMV, Avia and Agip.
Over 3500 FS's are independent station from the big companies.
Natural Gas
The very old and poisonous Town Gas Grid systems were changed to the Natural Gas
Gridsystem all over West Germany until 1980. After the German unifications the rest of
Germany has changed to the Natural Gas Grid in the late Nineties.
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Now the length of the Natural Gas Grid in whole of Germany is over 440 000km. The Natural
Gas supply contributes 22,5% of the Total Energy consumption in Germany. The supply is
approximately 100 Mil m per year.
The local Natural Gas production is contributing approximately 20% of the Natural Gas
Supply. The biggest local producer is BEB Erdgas und Erdl GmbH (Hannover). Most of the
Natural Gas is imported via pipelines from Russia (32%) Norway (26%) and the Netherlands
(19%). There are new Gaspipe Line Projects in the design stage. There are 2 Gas Groups in
Germany. The H-Gas has a calorific value of 13.2 KWh/kg and the L-Gas of 11.2KWh/Kg
Under the private gas utility companies is E.ON Ruhrgas (Essen), RWE Energy (Dortmund)
the leaders with VNG (Leipzig), Shell (Hamburg) and Exxon Mobil quiet close by.
Distribution companies are E.ON Gas transport, Gasunie (Germany) and Wingas (Kassel).
There are over 700 local gas utility companies ( mainly local Municipality owned companies)
supplying the Natural Gas to the end user incl. the NGV Refueling Stations.
To overcome supply shortages and Peak Demands 18.6 Milliard m of Natural Gas are
stored in several Underground storages all over the Republic. The Gas Price is still
connected to the Oil Price. Up to now there are no Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminals in
Germany.
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Statistics
The following maps show the different Federal States with their corresponding NGV/CNG :
From the maps we can see that the Federal State Brandenburg with the highest number on
NGV/CNG Vehicles has not the highest number on NGV/CNG Fuelling Stations.
The reason for this could be the marketing or incentive scheme of the local gas suppliers or
the very local rural conditions. At the German Autobahn system there are 385 conventional
Fuelling Stations with only 2 NGV/CNG Fuelling Stations. These Fuelling Stations have all
restaurants and sanitary conveniences integrated.
Just 1 km from the Autobahn there are 125 NGV/CNG Fuelling Stations located. There also
close to the Autobahn 210 Truck Stops located with 24 NGV/CNG Fuelling Stations. The
Autobahn A20 in the North/Eastern Part of Germany near to the Baltic Sea has over a
distance
of 340 km NO NGV/CNG FS facility.
Biomethane
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So the vehicle owners drive their vehicle nearly without CO2 emission because their fuel
comes from energy crops. An interested farmer has already built another Biomethane
Fuelling Station System with a dispenserat an existing conventional Fuelling Station
(Raiffeisen Genossenschaft Dannenberg). The Biogas Upgrading Equipment is installed but
they have to wait to get the permission from the local gas supplier to allow for the injection of
the Biomethane to the National Gas Grid.
The average sales per NGV/CNG Fuelling Station is 8.000 kg/monthThe Flow Diagram of an
average NGV/CNG Fuelling Station is below.
General description
The NGV/CNG FS is connected direct to the National Gas Grid. The air cooled
compressor(s) and storage tanks (banks) are installed in a prefabricated concrete building.
Gas alarm device, dryers, gas safety devices and controls are installed in the same building.
The compressor package(s) are controlled by individual programmable logic controllers
(PLCs) located on-board, as well as a master PLC located in the control room. These PLCs
control thestarting and stopping of the compressors as the demand for gas changes, monitor
for faults and alarms, and control the functions of the compressor packages. The motor
starters for compressor package are located in the power room.
The majority of stations is run on self-service and fast fill with filling times of 2 -4 minutes.
There are 2 different gas qualities available on the market. It will depend on the areas in
Germany where the supply of gas is coming from.
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The H-Gas has a calorific value of 13.2 KWh/kg and the L-Gas of 11.2KWh/Kg. The price
differs between 0.69 to 1.02 Euro/kg. because of the different value. There are few hundred
slow fillinstallation done all over Germany. No Mother and Daughter (Virtual Pipe) and
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Installations have been done in Germany.
In most cases there will be cooperation between the Local Municipality and the operator of
the conventional Fueling Station. The operator of the Fueling Station might be the Mineral oil
company or the operator is owing or leasing the Fueling station.
In the majority of cases is the Mineral oil company the operator. The Local Municipality is in-
charge of running the NGV/CNG Refueling Station. They are taking care of maintenance and
their own CNG price. A rent will be paid for the occupying space of the NGV/CNG FS and
service charge for collecting the CNG gas price.
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For the technical erection and running of a CNG Refueling Station only National laws and
National standards will apply. The Building permit for the construction of a Fuelling Stations
will be issued by the local authorities and their procedures have to be follow. The joint
Technical Standard for CNG Fuelling Station G 651 A vdTV was introduced by the DVGW
and TV. DVGW stands for(German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water)
and the world renown TV (Technical Inspection Authority) For NGV's construction is the
UN-ECE 110 responsible.
For all CNG Fuelling Stations an individual explosion proof safety document has to be
produced. All necessary standards and by laws identifications can be find in the G 651 A
vdTV. Maintenance and operation of an CNG Fuelling Station will be done according to
DVGW Standard G 651.
Welfare benefits, incentives, support scheme for methane and biomethane refueling
stations development Incentives and Promotions
Most of the incentives are related to the NGV/CNG Vehicles and only indirectly to the
Refueling Stations More than 120 of the local gas utility companies have incentive schemes
which are all related to new, used and/or converted CNG vehicles. The incentives are in
the form of:
Grant of EURO 200 per year for 3 years. The cars must carry the approved stickers
to indicate that you are driving a sponsored NGV from the respective gas utility
company. Payment yearly after one year and audio inspection of the NGV.
CNG Credit of 400 kg 750Kg on the local gas utility companies Refueling Station. The
same thing applies here also for the stickers. In average the credits are in the region of
EURO 500 EURO 750
Taxi and Fleet vehicles can get in some municipalities a special rate for CNG.
The Bank for Reconstruction kfw gives special incentives for commercial NGVs and
Biomethane driven vehicles when they have the following criteria:
Exhaust Emission Standard EURO 5
Vehicles according (EG) 715/2007 from 20.06.2007 (Class N1+ N2 up to 12 tons)
Fuelling Stations for the vehicles mention before
Heavy Duty Vehicles more than 12 tons with minimum Exhaust Emission Standard
EEV
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Bremer Offensive
It is a joint venture between the local gas supplier from Bremen (swb) and the Volkswagen
Light Duty Division North.
For the whole year of 2010 the VW dealers and Bremer Offensive will supply for a working
week a VW Caddy Eco Fuel for all interested companies. The NGV is available for all its
normal working tasks.
The driver can learn in this week all the advantages these vehicles can offer:
Cheaper fuel Costs
Driving in the otherwise forbidden Umweltzone (restricted driving areas)
Vehicle Taxes
From the 01.07.2009 all new limousines are under the new vehicle tax laws will be charged
as follows and will consider CO2 emission. (only consider petrol- and diesel fuel)
Taxation for petrol vehicles for every started 100cm3 engine displacement Euro 2.00.
Diesel vehicles will be charged Euro 9.50 for every started 100 cm3 engine
displacement.
CO2 exemptions will be: a basic from 120g/km CO2 will stay tax free but Euro 2.00
will be charged for every g/km above.
The Investment cost for a CNG refueling station is between Euro 190.000 and Euro 350.000.
(No building included) The cost will depend on what type of installation, location and
infrastructure will be there.
Normally there are 2 dispensers installed. Most of the installations are done by the local gas
supplier and municipality. There are no private owners. The average monthly gas
consumption at a refueling station is below 8.500kg with an average of 100 vehicles. Price
per Kg in average 0.97Euro/Kg. This is not an economical and profitable turnover. The
figures of vehicles have to be increased at least to 400 per FS and the vehicles frequenting
the stations have to be on a wider range not only limousines and some Light duty vehicles
(LDV).At the moment there are only few Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDV) using the public CNG
stations.
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The general public is not aware of the Natural Gas as an vehicle fuel. If there is any
knowledge in alternative fuels many people mixing it up with LPG. The advantages in the
vehicle tax law for vehicle with lower CO2 emission have to be made more public. The
benefits when using Biomethane as a fuel is not mention. Pricing at the refueling station is
not very clear. It does not show the price advantages to the other fuels. All fuels should be
related to its calorific value.
Biomethane
One of the most auspicious applications of biomass is the generation of biogas. In mid-2008
roughly 4.000 plants existed in Germany alone, in which biogas was created through
fermentation.
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In reaching the aim the German Gas Suppliers associations has given a voluntary
statement in where they promise to inject a minimum of 20% Biomethane to the National
Gas Grid which will be used as vehicle fuel in the year 2020.
The aim of the government fuel strategy also is to have 1,4 Million NGV's on the road in the
year 2020. That would mean that there has to be a 29% increase of NGV's every year. By
2020 the target of the Government is to inject 6 Mrd. m per year to the National Gas Grid.
To reach this aim few hundred medium size Biogas Upgrading Plants have to be built.
In Germany most of the injected Biomethane will be used in the more profitable
Cogeneration of electric power and heat. The prices for the cogeneration are contractually
guaranteed for the next 20 years by the EEG Law. (EEG=Renewable Energy Sources in the
Electricity Sector) Biomethane is exempted from the Energy Tax up to 2015 but does not
receive any other favourable incentives. The Government is checking the exemption from the
Energy Tax for the mixture of 20/80 (Biomethane/Natural Gas).
Biomethane Refueling Stations
There are only 2 100% Biomethane Refueling Stations in Germany. A third one is ready to
be opened. The oldest and public station is in Jameln and opened in 2006. The Biomethane
is produced from Energy Crops. The Biomethane production is now over 15.000kg per
month.(The German average is 8500kg/month) So the CO2 emission from these over 200
CNG vehicles is nearly neutral and the prices are the same as any other CNG station 0,96
Euro/kg.
The design limit of the Biogas Upgrading equipment and the CNG compressor station is
achieved. A farmer from the community has only 15 km from Jameln built close to his biogas
plant and Biogas Upgrading equipment the Third Biomethane Refueling Station in Germany.
He is awaiting for his legal connection to the grid.
Both installations have CHP and Biogas Upgrading installations and they are doing the
upgrading of the Biogas with Amin wash and Physical Absorption Scrubber. The second
Biomethane Refuelling station was built in Bottrop on a Sewage treatment Plant. The
Biomethane is produced from the sewage sludge and supplies internal the 20 Light Duty
vehicles of the plant and of the Municipality.
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Bioerdgas is the term used by the German Gas Supply companies when a mixture of a
minimum of 10% Biomethane is at the dispenser at the Refueling Station. End of 2009 12%
of all 850 CNG refueling stations had 10% Biomethane at the dispenser. The aim is 20%
Biomethane at all dispensers by 2020. Berlins 15 CNG Refueling stations receive their 20%
Biomethane from 1 Biogas Upgrading Plant (Rathenow) where half of its daily Biomethane
production is injected to the National Gas grid and been used as fuel. The price of the
Bioerdgas 20% is not increased by the Natural Gas supplier GASAG.
Regional Differences
There are over 14.500 conventional filling stations compared to 860 CNG filling stations at
the end of 2009. The following maps show the different Federal States with their
corresponding CNG vehicles and CNG filling station:
Fig. 139 shows that the Federal State Lower Saxony with the highest number on CNG
vehicles (39.6 CNG vehicles per 10.000 vehicles) has not the highest ratio on CNG filling
stations (7.2 CNG filling stations per 100 conventional refueling stations). One of the highest
numbers of CNG filling stations is in the Ruhr Region in North Rhine-Westphalia. Another
region with lots of CNG filling stations is from Saarbrcken to the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan
Region to the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region especially along the motorways in these
regions.
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The natural gas grid in Germany is over 440.000 km long. In Germany there are 2 different
gas groups with different calorific values. Calorific value of the H-Gas is in the region of 12.9
15.7 KWh/m3 and the L-Gas of 10.5 13.0KWh/m3.
The natural gas supply contributes 22.5% of the total energy consumption in Germany. Gas
supply is approximately 94 billion m per year (2009). Local German natural gas production is
contributing approximately 20% of the Natural Gas Supply. BEB Erdgas and Erdl GmbH
(Hannover) is the biggest local producer. Most of the natural gas is imported via pipelines
from Russia (32%), Norway (26%) and the Netherlands (19%). There are new gaspipeline
projects in the design stage. The biggest gas utility companies in Germany are E.ON
Ruhrgas (Essen), RWE Energy (Dortmund), VNG (Leipzig), Shell (Hamburg) and Exxon
Mobil (Hannover). The leading gas distribution companies are E.ON Gastransport (Essen),
Gasunie (Germany) and Wingas (Kassel). More than 700 companies mainly local public
utility companies distribute natural gas to end users. Existing CNG filling stations are all
connected to the natural gas grid.
As there often is no gaspipeline next to the motorway, therefore the use of LNG could be an
alternative. Up to now there are no liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Germany. The
LNG has to be imported from the Netherlands, Italy or Spain. For more than 25 years there
are considerations to built a LNG-terminal to reduce the dependency from gas transports via
pipelines. There are few companies are considering to use LNG for special application e.g.
ferries on the Lake Constance and for ships on the different river transport. The problem here
is another, which are the non-existence of regulations for dual fuel engines.
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In mid-2010 roughly 4.800 biogas plants existed in Germany. Innovative technologies are
available on the market, allowing biogas to be upgraded to natural gas quality also called
biomethane or BioErdgas and to be fed into the natural gas grid. This process makes
possible the replacement of conventional natural gas in many areas, thus representing an
important contribution to climate protection. Currently around 40 plants feed biomethane into
the natural gas grid in Germany. Several other projects are currently being planned or
constructed, with a very clear growth trend. By 2020 the target of the government is to inject
6 billion m per year to the national gas grid. To reach this aim few hundred medium size
biogas upgrading plants have to be built.
In Germany most of the injected biomethane is used in the more profitable cogeneration of
electric power and heat. The prices for the electricity are contractually guaranteed for the
next 20 years by the EEG (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, Renewable Energy Act).There is a
bonus for biogas upgrading and feed-in to the grid, but only in case that the biomethane is
used for electricity production in CHP units. There is no financial support for using
biomethane as a vehicle fuel.
In reaching the aim the German gas suppliers association has given a voluntary statement to
inject a minimum of 20% biomethane to the national gas grid which will be used as vehicle
fuel in the year 2020. The aim of the government fuel strategy also is to have 1,4 million
NGV's on the road in the year 2020. That would mean that there has to be a 29% increase of
NGV's every year. Biomethane is exempted from the Energy Tax up to 2015 but does not
receive any other favourable incentives. The Government is checking the exemption from the
energy tax for the mixture of 20/80 (Biomethane/Natural Gas).
Biogas plants with uprading and feed-in to the natural gas grid (GERBIO)
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There are only 2 biomethane (100%) refueling stations in Germany. A third one is ready to
be opened in January 2011. The oldest station is in Jameln and opened in 2006. The
biomethane is produced from energy crops. The biomethane production is now over
18.000kg per month (German average: 8.500kg/month). So the CO2 emissions from these
over 245 CNG vehicles are nearly neutral and the prices are the same as any other CNG
station 0.96 Euro/kg. The design limit of the biogas upgrading equipment and the CNG
compressor station is achieved. A farmer from the community has built only 15 km from
Jameln close to his biogas plant and biogas upgrading equipment the third biomethane
refueling station in Germany. He has received after a long struggle his permission for his
legal connection to the grid. Both installations have CHP and biogas upgrading installations
and they are doing the upgrading of the Biogas with amine gas treatment and water
scrubber.The second biomethane refuelling station was built in Bottrop on a sewage
treatment plant, it is non-public. The biomethane is produced from the sewage sludge and
supplies internal the 20 light duty vehicles of the plant and the municipality.
Bioerdgas is the term used by the German gas supply companies when a mixture of a
minimum of 10% biomethane is at the dispenser at the refueling station. End of 2009 12% of
all 850 CNG refueling stations had 10% biomethane at the dispenser. The aim is 20%
Biomethane at all dispensers by 2020. Berlins 14 CNG refueling stations receive their 20%
biomethane from 1 biogas upgrading plant (Rathenow) where half of its daily biomethane
production is injected to the national gas grid and used as fuel. The price of the Bioerdgas
20% has not been increased by the gas supplier GASAG.
Basically the implementation of CNG pumps at existing petrol stations is the normal way in
Germany. But there are also some filling stations that only consists of a CNG pump and no
common petrol station.
All local public utility companies and gas supplier operationg NGV refueling stations have
CNG vehicles. Until now only 3 % of the fleets include gas vehicles and these are not only
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NGVs but also LPG-vehicles. For example the Deutsche Post and some parcel services
and the Telekom have NGVs. Some rental car companies offer NGVs as well, but there are
still enough people who are afraid that there are not enough filling stations or that the
refuelling is too complicated or even dangerous. Some cab companies also use NGVs, but
this is depending on the number of refuelling stations that are located near there main
catchment area. According to a survey in 2009, 17 % of the fleet managers consider to
purchase gas vehicles (CNG or LPG) within the next three years. Especially smaller
companies that act regional are interested in case there are one or two gas fuelling stations
in the proximity.
At the German motorway system there are so-called Raststtten or Rasthfe, motorway
service areas where you dont have to leave the motorway and so-called Autohfe,
motorway service areas where you have to leave the motorway. There are 385 Raststtten
with conventional filling stations but only 2 with CNG filling stations. The reason for this is,
that there often is no gaspipeline next to the motorway so it would be too expensive to build a
gaspipeline only for one filling station. Close to the motorways there are located 210
Autohfe, 24 with CNG filling stations. Just 1 km from the motorway there are 125 CNG filling
stations located. The motorway A20 in the North/Eastern Part of Germany near to the Baltic
Sea has over a distance of 340 km no CNG filling station.
As the NGVs are particularly interesting for long-distance drivers, it is important to expand
the gas refuelling system near the motorways and highways. For most people it will be
acceptable to leave the motorway to refuel at a Autohof, but almost nobody will accept to
drive away more than 2 km from the motorway only for refuelling.
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Most cities with more than 100.000 inhabitants have at least one gas filling station. From Fig.
4 you can see, that there are some rural areas with low density of gas filling stations. There
are some areas in east Germany or for example the mountain ranges Eifel and Hunsrck
where are only less filling stations, these are areas with low population densities. One can
say that areas with high population density as well as areas with high traffic density have
also the higest density of gas filling stations.
Cities with more than 100.000 inhabitants (left), traffic density (right, www.pvt.de)
Investment plans
In 2009 the Federal Network Agency decided on 200 applications from energy suppliers for
investment budgets. From 4.3 billion Euro that were permitted, about 4 billion were for the
expansion of the electricity grid and only 80 millions for the expansion of the natural gas grid.
The transmission grid is owned by a few large gas suppliers in Germany or neighbouring
countries. The local distribution grid is owned by gas suppliers or local public utility
companies. The gas filling station is often located at a normal filling station. Responsible for
the gas filling station is the gas supplier, not the owner of the petrol station.
In Erdgas Mobil some leading companies of the gas economy incorporated to establish
natural gas and biomethane as a vehicle fuel. According to Timm Kehler, the CEO of Erdgas
Mobil GmbH, the focus for new gas filling stations is mainly near the motorways, where about
150 new stations are planned. And it is also planned to fill the white spots of the gas filling
station map in the near future.
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ITALY
Barbara La Licata, Fabio Sagnelli, Paola Zitella ENVIRONMENT PARK S.p.A.; Francesco
Bazzoffi, Maurizio Cocchi, ETA FLORENCE.
Italy is strongly dependent on natural gas imports which in 2007 supplied around 40% of its
gas requirements. Italy has emerged as a Euro-Mediterranean trading hub for natural gas
coming from North Africa, the Middle East, Russia and elsewhere, with considerable
investments in recent years on infrastructure. Pipelines exist between Italy and Algeria,
Russia, Norway, Holland, and Libya.
Italy also imports a relatively small amount of gas as liquefied natural gas (LNG), but is
increasing its ability to import LNG by constructing additional receiving terminals at some of
its port facilities with a new terminal recently approved in the south of the country and around
five further projects currently under discussion.
Snam Rete Gas manages the natural gas transportation service in Italy, through its
nationwide gas pipeline network system. Snam Rete Gas is the market leader in the Italian
natural gas transportation and dispatching sector, it transports and dispatches natural gas
and regasifies LNG using an integrated system of infrastructures:
gas pipeline network (approximately 31.500 kilometers in Italy);
11 compression stations;
the Panigaglia LNG terminal;
8 regional operating centres;
55 maintenance centres
The network is directly connected to the production fields, import lines and storage centres
which feed the Italian gas system. Commercial and domestic end users are supplied via a
group of local distribution companies.
The following map demonstrates the extent of the CNG importation grid which is currently
existing:
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In total, the national situation says that in 2007 over 420.000 cars run on Natural Gas, with
around 100.000 new NG cars in 2007, refilling at more than 650 stations. In addiction, about
50 Italian towns run 2.100 Natural Gas urban buses and around 800 NG vehicles for
municipal services and urban goods distribution.
Statistics
Italy currently has the largest number of CNG vehicles in Europe and is the 4th country in the
world for number of CNG-powered vehicles in circulation. Refuelling stations have grown
from 370 at the end of 2001 to more than 700 in 2009. Italian filling stations distribution and
localization are summarized in the figure below:
In 2008 Eni, the Italian main integrated energy company, strengthened its leadership (sixth
place in the world) in terms of automotive methane sales. In Italy in particular, which has the
greatest number of methane powered vehicles in Europe, with over 500,000 vehicles on the
road, Eni increased its sales from 440 million m3 in 2007 to 452 million m3 in 2008. Of the 702
automotive methane service stations, 492, equivalent to around 70% of the total, are
supplied by Eni.
The distribution network for methane is growing continuously. Recent estimates indicate
around 430.000 vehicles running on methane. The Italian regions with the highest number of
vehicles running on methane are: Emilia Romagna, Marche and Veneto.
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Type of plant
The Italian Companies can offer filling stations from min to max size, from design to turn-
key supply as well as engines, fuel systems for OEM and aftermarket, fuel control modules.
Type of CNG filling stations can differ mainly in terms of size of the plant and in terms of type
of fleet that is going to use the filling stations but, in general, a filling station full-service
maintenance covers all the following components:
compression units
electric motor drive
main cooling system
extra cooling system for gas at distribution
lubrication system
gas storage
power control/panel
control/managing instrumentation
operation and regulation devices, both manually and automatically operated
mechanical and electronic safety devices
gas measuring system
air compression system
particulate filtering, liquid separation and moisture drying systems
auxiliary storage
high pressure tubing
CNG multilivel dispensers
CNG high capacity dispensers
sequential refilling systems.
However, summarizing, the main components of a CNG filling stations are the gas inlet, the
dryer, the compressor, the storage and the dispenser.
The mentioned components can be used in different ways according to the following general
scheme:
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The use of CNG for vehicle propulsion in Italy is quite widespread, both in the public as well
as in the private sector. Main reasons are not only the environmental benefits from using
methane for transport but also, besides polluting less, that CNG is cheaper than oil and
diesel and that the refueling infrastructure for methane is growing continuously.
Fiat pioneered methane fuelled vehicles over 10 years ago and is now Italy and Europes
leading manufacturer of original methane fuelled vehicles (OEM) offering a wide range of
dual fuel models. Fiats ecological "Natural Power" versions are available in a choice of
models, from the compact (Panda) to the multi-space models like the Doblo and the Qubo.
The natural gas sector has been subjected to stringent regulation at national and Community
levels. Specifically the regulation process was set in motion at the European level by the Gas
Directive which defined common rules for the transportation, distribution, supply and storage
of natural gas. This Gas Directive was adopted in May 2000 in Italy through the Legislative
Decree of 23 May 2000 (the so-called Letta Decree).
The Letta Decree introduced regulations in the gas market in Italy to encourage a greater
deregulation of the market. The Decree specifically identifies and defines segments of the
gas market (import, production, export, transportation, dispatching, storage, regasification of
LNG, distribution and sale) and establishes the main regulating principles in terms of
liberalisation, corporate separation, network access and transparency.
On the basis of current regulations, the important role and responsibility for regulation of the
sector is delegated to the Ministry for Economic Development and to the Italian Authority for
Electricity and Gas.
Italian current regulations for CNG filling station realization can be summarized by the
following:
D.M. 24 maggio 2002 fire prevention regulation for CNG road filling stations
D.M. 24 novembre 1984 fire prevention regulation for CNG tubing
D.Lgs. n. 93 del 25 febbraio 2000 Attuazione
Direttiva 97/23/CE for CNG vessels
Norma CEI 64-8 (IV ed.) for electrical system
Direttiva 94/9/CE del 23 marzo 1994 (Atex) for electrical system
Norma CEI EN 60079-10 for electrical system in case of CNG installations
Norma CEI 31-35 (classif. 31-35) for electrical system in case of CNG installations.
Moreover, the recent modification of the legislation that allows the construction of multi-fuel
stations with CNG or small CNG station next to petrol ones, as well as the possibility to install
selfservice refueling systems at the CNG filling stations, will bring a further increase of the
Italian CNG distribution net.
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Welfare benefits, incentives, support scheme for methane and biomethane filling
stations development
The countrys successful development in the use of CNG for transport can be attributed to
the governments attitude toward this kind of fuel, with a technological developments in the
country.
The Italian government has shown strong commitment over the years to address the issues
of air quality and energy dependency. As part of this initiative, the Italian government has
provided anumber of incentives for car manufacturers and consumers to switch to CNG and
LPG vehicles. The Italian government decided to promote the purchase of methane fuelled
vehicles in 2009 by offering a high incentive (3.500 Euros) in addition to that already
available for scrapping an old car:
In addiction to incentives for vehicles, some Italian regions have enacted special incentives
for the developing of the CNG filling stations infrastructure:
Liguria Region, year 2010: Public bid (total budget 1.050.000) for private or public
entities interested in opening new CNG filling stations. Eligible costs can be
reimbursed up to 70% of the total with a limit of 90.000 per CNG filling station
Lombardia Region, year 2010: Public bid (total budget 2.000.000) for private or
public entities interested in opening new CNG filling stations. Eligible costs can be
reimbursed up to 50% of the total with a limit of 200.000 per CNG filling station.
Piemonte Region, year 2009: Public bid (total budget 339.000) for SME interested
to install natural gas fueling dispenser in traditional fueling stations. Eligible costs can
be reimbursed up to 70% of the total with a limit of 90.000 per CNG filling dispenser.
Trentino Region (Bolzano city area): Until 31.12.2011 (three years). Financial
contribution (total budget 3.200.000) to cover part of the investment costs borne by
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service stations which install a gas outlet. The contribution will depend on the number
of outlets already existing in the various comprensori. It will be 70% of the eligible
costs for the first two outlets of a comprensorio, and 40% for the next outlets, up to
the fifth outlet. A contribution of 70% will be granted to existing gas outlets for
investments concerning the upgrade of existing equipment enabling a reduction in
refueling time. Overall eligible expenses cannot exceed 500.000.
In Italy, depending on the region, a CNG filling station can be realized as a solely installation
or, in order to differentiate the fuel offer, in an already existing station.
Before deciding to invest in natural gas filling station, it is necessary to consider some
elements:
Area location;
Eligibility in full obedience of the overall development plan;
Safety regulations;
Feasibility project;
Preliminary project of the installation;
Estate costs, demolition and renovating costs;
Filling station costs (fuel dispensers, pumps, compressors, point of services etc.);
Possibility of connection to the gas grid;
Possibility of power supply and connection to water;
Electrical equipment;
Public works (shelter, large square, link road);
Environmental impact analysis (use of renewable energies for energy consumption
reduction).
To build a gas filling station it is necessary to have many permits; in Italy, 12 month is the
time required to build a gas filling station. The authorizations inquiry required are:
Declaration of the suitability of the area for the specific installation from the cognizant
Municipality;
Fire department preventive advice;
Licence for fuel selling (station asset and mode of se private or open to the public);
Planning permission (from the cognizant Municipality), s well as the environmental
impact;
Analysis and the sanitary authorization;
Permit for road access.
As regards the investment costs, in the table below there is a summary of costs for a public
or a private gas filling station.
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The maintenance costs could vary from 3.000 /year to 8.000 /year according to the
dimensions of gas filling station.
In Italy at the moment, there are approximately 580.000 CNG running vehicles; in fact, due to
the high cost of gasoline and diesel, many car manufactures have introduced natural gas
vehicles in the market. Despite of this leadership, the refuelling infrastructure is not optimized
and is still insufficient compared to other countries: about 700, with 23 gas filling station on
the motorway, one methane service station every 3.6 LPG service stations.
In order to enhance the potential value of methane, it is necessary to enlarge the number of
gas filling stations and to promote the developing of alternative filling system like home filling
system.
In particular one of the main problems connected to CNG filling stations is the location: most
of methane service stations are out of the cities, far away from the centre, and a very low
number of stations are localized on Italian motorways compared to the number of gas
vehicles. So it is necessary to develop the network of CNG filling stations both near the
centre of the cities and on the main roads.
As regards the agreement between the customers of gas filling station and the Grid operator,
one of the main problem is represented by the penalties if they exceed the daily allowed
consumption rate.
One of the most frequent technical problem that customers face daily is the waiting period for
supplying methane in service stations. The engine of the compressors often doesnt support
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the load for the supplying from gas grid, so the time for supply a car could increase till 10-15
min, causing a dissatisfaction on final customers.
These types of problems could be solved by improving the methane services technologies
with most suitable engine compressors related to the number of vehicles served. For
examples in thisof view, Regione Emilia Romagna has been fixed the lower limit for CNG
supply at 450 m 3/h in order to optimize the vehicle filling time (DCR 355/2002, Emilia
Romagna). Furthermore, photovoltaic panels for the production of electric energy (at least 8
KW) are integrated in the structure of recent service station in order to support internal costs.
Trends in technology
Actually, technology improvements could be carry out both on natural gas vehicles and on
gas filling stations. The technology in vehicles engines has undergone steady refinement
during its ten years on the market, in particular many steps further are taken in these ambits:
The cost of a methane-fuelled engine makes the price of a new car slightly higher, but driving
on methane generally means significantly lower operating costs and the higher purchase
price is quickly recovered through lower fuel costs. Depending on the market, the cost of
driving on methane is 20 60 percent lower than for petrol and between 20 and 40 percent
lower than when running on diesel.
Besides the use of compressed natural gas on vehicles, a new trend is represented by
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) that is natural gas that has been converted temporarily to liquid
form for ease of storage or transport.
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The liquefaction process involves removal of certain components, such as dust, acid gases,
helium, water, and heavy hydrocarbons, which could cause difficulty downstream. The
natural gas is then condensed into a liquid at close to atmospheric pressure (maximum
transport pressure set at around 25 kPa/3.6 psi) by cooling it to approximately 162 C. The
reduction in volume makes it much more cost efficient to transport over long distances where
pipelines do not exist. Where moving natural gas by pipelines is not possible or economical,
it can be transported by specially designed cryogenic sea vessels (LNG carriers) or
cryogenic road tankers.
Global demand for natural gas may double by 2030, with LNG growing perhaps fivefold
driven by continued cost reduction. Despite the capital intensity of LNG projects and the
complexity of the value chain, LNG supply capacity is increasing rapidly. Existing schemes
are being expanded and many greenfield projects are moving ahead. The operational costs
(electric power and maintenance) for CNG delivered from an L-CNG station will be at least
2/3 lower than the costs at a conventional CNG station; in fact, for a conventional CNG
stations the electric power demand depends on pressure in the grid, the higher the inlet
pressure, the lower the compression energy demands). Moreover the transportation costs for
LNG are lower than for CNG, as report in tab.22.
Although the spot market for LNG is growing, new projects continue to be underpinned by
longterm sales contracts.
On the other hand, the upgrading of biogas into biomethane for its use as transport fuel has
been recently gaining a lot of interest among biogas producers, fleet owners, public
institutions and other stakeholders. The December 2008 Green Paper on the Management of
Biowaste in the European Union recognized biogas as an opportunity to reduce GHG
emissions most significantly if used as a biofuel for transport or directly injected into the gas
distribution grid.
Bus fleets using purified biogas are already running in the major European cities, Sweden
being the pioneer in testing this technology at large scale. Italy is the third European biogas
producer (80% from landfill) with 220 million of cubic meters of biogas produced against a
potential of 54 million of cubic meters. Despite of this great potential, biogas is used in Italy in
CHPs for the production of electric and thermal energy supported by the issue of green
certificates. A feasibility study, led by Piedmont Region in collaboration with CRPA, showed
the economic convenience of biomethane production for its use as a fuel when the size of
the production plant is large enough to produce at least 150-200 Nm3/h.
The lack of specific references to biogas/biomethane in the national legislation for the
regulation of transport and distribution of natural gas represents the main barrier to the
exploitation of this renewable source of energy as a fuel for transport. It is the most markets
free of fuel tax and, in a wide-range vision, the increase of natural gas grid use will lead to a
strong development and use of biomethane. Moreover, cryogenic upgrading of biogas,
liquified biomethane, dual fuel technology for HD trucks used in long distance, will reduce
diesel use by 80% without any loss of energy efficiency, and will thus yield 20% reduction of
tailpipe CO2 emissions (some 80% reduction if NG is replaced by biomethane).
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Till now the policy on NGVs could be applied just to the purchase of alternative fuelled
vehicles, and not to the use of alternative fuels. These benefits have been used to purchase
vehicles, returning a cost benefit to the owner, but the owners sometimes have continued to
fuel its vehicles with gasoline or diesel and not with alternative fuels.
As regards Italian laws, the Government has issued in the past years many decrees in order
to incentive the purchase of alternative fuelled vehicles and the conversion of existing
vehicles. For example, in 2009, for the purchase of an alternative fuelled vehicles, the Italian
government grant a bonus of 1.000-1.500 for GPL vehicles and a bonus of 3.500-4.500 for
methane vehicles (depending on the size of the cars) These can also be combined with the
scrapping incentives.
Moreover, other bonus were established for boosting the use of CNG/GPL vehicles: 500 for
engine into GPL engine and 650 for conversion of petrol engine into methane engine On
the other hand, Italian Government has not supported expansion of gas filling station in terms
of bonus or incentives but many works has been made in order to modernize and improve
gas filling station network. In particular in October 2008, Italian Ministry of Interior has issued
two new decrees on the safety norms for CNG refuelling stations with important amendments
that allow for the adoption of multi-dispenser and self service stations in public CNG
refuelling stations.
These decree draw up Italy to other European Countries such as Austria, Germany, Czech
Republic, Sweden and Switzerland where these aspects have been in application for a long
period.
In addition there are also the activities related to the technical regulation within the ISO and
ECEONU standard, in particular:
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ISO 15.501-1:2000 Road vehicles Compressed natural gas fuel systems, par I:
safety requirements and part II test methods;
Therefore some Italian Regions, Piemonte, Lombardia and Liguria, have allocated funds in
order to improve the supply of gas filling stations in these regions and to expand the network.
For example, Liguria Region has approved an announcement of competition of one million of
euro for public or private enterprises that will decide to place side by side a methane pumps
in our traditional fuel filling station.
Besides institutional incentives, in Italy many associations work to improve the network of
gas filling station and of methane fleets. For examples NGV System Italia, the association of
the Italian Industry for natural gas, brings together the most significant companies whose
products allow and ease the use of natural gas in transport and builds up the channel for
common initiatives in the field of regulations, communication, and commercial operations, in
a dialog with all national and international institutions.
Federmetano is an association of gas filling stations owners and components producers and
sellers (engine systems, compressors, gas cylinders etc.). The aims of this association are:
On a local region, Torino Metano, a leading company in the field of low emission and
alternative fuels, supplies integrated solutions applicable to the natural gas and hydrogen
automotive sectors, works for public transport utilities, alternative fuels fleets companies and
natural gas components manufacturers for the automotive sector.
Attitudes
Natural gas represents one of the most potential fuel for transport if compared to the
alternative fuels, due to the its environmental and economic convenience. Worldwide there
are about 6.7 million NGVs supported by a network of 11,500 fuelling stations; in Europe
there are 820.400 NGVs (548.850 in the EU-27), 82.7 % are passenger cars; 6.8 % are
buses; and 10.5 % are trucks; just over 580.000 of the European NGVs are in Italy.
Today there are some 65 manufacturers worldwide that produce nearly 300 vehicle models
and engines that run on natural gas. In Europe, Citroen, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Opel,
Peugeot, Renault, and Volkswagen produce a total of 13 different category M1 factory built
passenger cars running on NG/biomethane. A similar number of LD/MD commercial vehicles
are offered by the same manufacturers, and by Iveco. HD engines and vehicles (buses
and/or trucks) are offered by Daimler Chrysler, Ekobus, Iveco, MAN, Scania, Tedom, and
Volvo.
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Over the last years in Italy, the number of service stations selling methane has increased by
64%, in Piemonte, over the same period, the number of gas filling station increased four
times (as shown in fig. and )
Natural gas is one of the cleanest low polluting fuels available today. Used in cars, natural
gas reduces CO2 by 20-25% over similar gasoline vehicles, moreover natural gas is
economical: as a vehicle fuel it is about 30-50% cheaper than petrol or diesel, due to a
combination of the cost of natural gas on an energy equivalent basis relative to petroleum
fuels and fuel taxes.
In Italy refueling stations have grown from 370 at the end of 2001 to 766 at 2010, 26 on the
motorways with a 107% rise during 9 years. Gas filling station distribution and localization
vary along Italy with the highest number of stations mainly located in the northern part of the
country, despite the development of gas grid all over Italy. In particular, central and southern
regions of Italy present a lower number of gas filling stations if compared with northern
regions (Lombardia, Emilia Romagna, Piemonte, Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige). This is
mainly due to the lack of a strategic plan for the development of gas refueling infrastructure
at national level for the coordination of different regional plans.
An effort has been done to overcome this barrier in recent years by some gas companies as
for example GasNatural which is directly involved in the opening of more than 11 new gas
filling stations in the south of Italy (Campania, Lazio and Sicilia).
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Other possibilities for regional development of new gas filling infrastructures are related to
the GALSI project which will bring natural gas in Sardegna where actually there are no gas
stations. Italian filling stations distribution and localization are summarized in the figure below
(last update October 2010)
Italy has a 31.500 kilometers gas pipeline network. One of the main element taken into
account for the installation of new gas filling stations is represented by the distance from the
natural gas grid. Connection costs depend on the distance from the grid (approximately 300-
600 /m), while operating cost for gas compression are related to the methane pressure in
the grid (low pressure (3-5 bar): 0.02-0.03 /m3 ; medium pressure (20 bar): 0.02 /m3 ; high
pressure (40 bar): 0.015 /m3).
The widely spread gas grid would allow a better development of gas refuelling infrastructure,
especially in the central and southern regions where a better exploitation of the existing
network would be possible.
Since its higher energy density, LNG could represent an interesting and environmental
sustainable solution for HD transports both in existing multi-fuel stations not easily
connectable to the gas grid and in new monofuel LNG stations for public and private fleet, i.e.
buses, waste harvesting trucks, road haulage, etc... LNG can represent also a solution for
the refueling of vehicles along motorways where the connection to the gas grid is more
difficult for technical and regulatory reasons.
LNG could represent a suitable alternative only if regulatory national barriers for its usage
can be overcome and the environmental convenience in terms of GHG emissions
(WellToWheel Analysis) is proved. In this sense, in Italy there is actually only one LNG
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station in Piemonte and some companies ,such as Polargas, are hardly working for the
development and establishment of this technology.
In Italy there are actually 542 plants producing biogas of which 235 from livestock effluent in
co-digestion with energy crops or agro-industrial waste (121 plants from municipal and
industrial sewage sludge, 14 plants from organic fraction of municipal solid wastes; 31 plants
from agro-industrial wastewater and 141 plants from the recovery of biogas from MSW
landfills). Regarding biomethane, only one up-grading system unit is actually present (Rome,
Malagrotta) and two pilot projects are under development (San Giovanni a Persiceto and
Legnano).
The possibility for the use of biomethane as a fuel for vehicles complementary to natural gas
during the next 10 years is strictly connected to:
The updating of national legislation for the definition of physical-chemical
characteristics of biomethane for its injection into the gas grid
The assessment of a feed-in tariff for selling biomethane
The realization of centralized large-sized upgrading platforms to connect different
biogas production plants
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In Italy many fleet companies have invested or are going to invest in purchasing new CNG
vehicles; for example DHL Italy, Ericsson, AMA Rome, Wrth srl Italy, Vepal, Coop Aura,
Poste Italiane, GTT and also municipalities. In case of CNG buses, for example in the city of
Turin, the gas filling station for refueling urban buses is located in the same area of bus
depot.
The development of CNG fleets is also correlated to the possibility for this means of transport
to circulate during limited traffic hours in the city centre.
The development of gas infrastructure for the refueling of public fleets could represent a
preliminary step for the opening of gas stations to the public in order in all the regions where
a CNG/biomethane market hasnt been assessed yet. Valle dAosta region is an example in
this sense in Italy.
Technical and economic feasibility studies should be performed in order to evaluate the
investment costs, the operating costs and the environmental benefits in terms of GHG
emissions of CNG fleets compared to traditionally refueled transports. One main barrier to
overcome is related to the believing that maintenance costs for CNG public fleet are higher
than diesel/petrol fleet.
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Development of the gas filling station network related to the population density
Areas with high density population are well pre-disposed for methanization; this is probably
due to the possibility of being allowed to use CNG/biomethane vehicles even during traffic
limitation periods. In the case of areas with high traffic level, the identification of optimal
locations for new gas filling stations should take into account short, repeated and regular
vehicle patterns.
As concerning operating costs for new gas filling stations near to city, if the plant is located
close to a town its likely to have very low network pressure, requiring a need for more power.
But filling stations closer to urban areas represent a better appeal on drivers. Conversely,
outside the cities the so-called primary network would flow CH4 at a close-to-desired
pressure. This implies a lower use of energy but plants relatively out of reach for the majority
of end users.
In many regions in Italy, a strategic plan for the expansion of actual gas infrastructure in the
city centre is under development; for example in Turin a study has been led by Torino
Metano, with the identification of 19 locations for new gas filling stations for the province of
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Turin by taking into account the typology of patterns, the number of inhabitants, the traffic
level and the actual existing gas refueling network.
Some regions have planned to expand CNG refueling infrastructures as a measure for the
improvement of air quality. One of the largest plan in this sense is represented by the
investment assessed by Regione Lombardia and by the agreement signed by Regione
Lombardia and ENI for the opening of 30 new gas filling stations by 2012.
In Trentino Alto Adige Region there is a plan for the implementation of methane refueling
pumps in 18 of the actual 22 petrol stations along the motorway A22 (Autobrennero)
connecting Italy to Germany.
A recent regional determination in Piemonte (13/10/2010) has allocated funds for the
implementation of actual existing petrol stations with natural gas refueling service.
On the other hand, GasNatural is directly involved in the opening of 11 new gas filling
stations in the south of Italy (Campania, Lazio and Sicilia).
POLAND
Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego S.A. w Bielsku-Biaej Regional Development Agency in
Bielsko-Biaa; Instytut Paliw i Energii Odnawialnej Institute for Fuels and Renewable Energy.
The refueling infrastructure for CNG in Poland is, as for the country of approximately 40
million people, rather poorly developed. There are in total 32 refueling stations open for
public use. What is most important, the CNG market is not developed with the focus on
private users; the decisive majority of stations was built with the focus on corporate users
and after the strategic partnership between Polish Gas and Oil Company (currently the main
investor in a CNG refueling infrastructure and gas provider) and some big company
(municipal public transportation or private shipping companies) have been concluded.
The small number of CNG refueling stations are now hardly sufficient, but it is also true that
the amount of NGVs is very small, too. Statistically there are 19 refueling stations per 1000
NGVs. This is comparably (for example with Italy, Europes CNG market leader) not a bad
result, but only due to the fact that there are very little NGVs. The other indicators, reflecting
the situation more realistically, are not that good for Poland. This is especially true if we look
to number of refueling stations per 100.000 inhabitants. This indicator is less than 0.08 for
Poland while in other countries with established CNG market and well developed
infrastructure the indicator reaches 1 or is even higher.
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It may be concluded, that looking only at number of CNG refueling stations in relation to
number of NGVs the situation in Poland seems very good. This indicator however, is
important but not crucial. It can be low, but only if the number of stations in relation to total
population and market potential is relatively high, which is not the case in Poland. That
means firstly that the number of stations is very low comparing with the country population
and that the infrastructure is not ready for the growth of NGVs use.
The next figure shows the main groups of consumers for refueling stations in Poland, what
also has an influence on the level of infrastructure development. Firstly to state, the private
users of natural gas vehicles constitute only 42 % of total sum. The rest is composed of
public transportation companies (12 %) and corporate fleets (46 %).
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Polish Gas and Oil Company (Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe I Gazownictwo, PGNiG) is the
biggest NGV fleet operator (the PGNiGs fleet itself constitutes almost 30 % of the total
number of NGVs in Poland) and, as already mentioned before, the company is besides the
major player on the market when it comes to investments in the CNG refueling infrastructure
and therefore its important to mention few words about it. Firstly to say, the company is
divided into several, very autonomous regional branches, that have independency when it
comes to development strategies and policies, also towards development and investment in
CNG which leads to regional disparities in CNG infrastructure development. Secondly, the
PGNiG has a very broad scope of business and commercial activity, CNG constitutes very
small percent of companys activity and as well, comparably, does not bring significant
income. Thats why CNG development lies not within the priorities of PGNiG. And here the
paradox: regardless the small (or even marginal) interest in it, PGNiG remains the main
investor in CNG infrastructure in Poland so far, simply because there is no one else.
This situation of course implies a big pressure put on PGNiG to invest further and develop
the CNG infrastructure. This pressure is especially coming from private users. For the
company, however, it is not profitable unless a big corporate purchaser is interested in
partnership (in this case the private users may use the built infrastructure, but the services
are focused mostly on convenience of corporate partner). This situation comes also as the
result of Polish CNG/NGV market structure: the corporate users (including PGNiG itself with
the 30 % market share) are the most important and biggest group. PGNiG has recently
prepared the special strategic document dedicated to development of CNG infrastructure.
Regional differences
The figures below are showing that the regional differences in the development of CNG
refueling infrastructure are quite big in Poland. The first one shows 5 main clusters, regions
where concentration of CNG refueling stations is high comparing to the area they serve.
The figure shows the potential territorial coverage of one refueling station as a pink circle (the
distance that one vehicle can make without the need of refueling). Again, its clear that in
some regions the territorial coverage of stations are overlapping with each other, making
NGVs usage more flexible the more pink the region is, the better the CNG refueling
infrastructure is developed. On the other hand there are regions completely without the
infrastructure of refueling stations, light pink or even totally blue, especially at the western
and eastern border and in central Poland, literally meaning that it is not possible to drive
NGVs there and the users would need the backup of second fuel.
This is definitely a very negative positive phenomenon. Such a big regional disparities
preclude a significant part of people potentially interested from using CNG as an vehicle fuel,
make driving NGVs rather comfortable only in few regions and affect possibilities for long-
distance travels.
Thats why existing infrastructure is rather good for locally-operating car fleets than for
longdistance traveling, when in lot of situations it becomes absolutely necessary to use a
backup fuel other than CNG.
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Statistical data
All 32 stations are using natural gas, and none of them biogas. The first company that
declared the will to include bio-methane into their offer is the Biogaz Inwestor, a joint stock
company with majority of municipality shares in the city of Toru. This is however still a
distant future before the offered gas will become at least partially bio (company exploits the
waste biogas power plant).
The only gas provider for all of the refueling stations so far is the Polish Gas and Oil
Company already mentioned before. All of the stations are directly connected to the gas grid.
There are only 9 stations opened non-stop, a lot of stations operates in standard working
hours of gasworks where they are located, so between 7 am and 5 pm, or even 7 am and 2
pm.
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Approximately 40 % of the stations are owned and located at the area of Polish Gas and Oil
Company (the gated area of local gasworks). 50 % of the stations were built on basis of other
various partnerships of public and private companies with PGNiG (majority of them being
public, such as municipal authorities, municipal public transportation companies) and in this
case are located at gated areas of companies (bus de in any case, no matter the partnership
conditions, the technical equipment (pumps, distributors, compressors) is legally owned by
PGNiG or one of its daughter-companies.
As mentioned before, the stations are not distributed equally across the country, its a bit
better situation if the road network and traffic streams are take under consideration. In some
cases station is located where the biggest daily traffic streams appear this is basically next
to big cities especially in Upper Silesia and in major cities such as Warszawa, Pozna,
Wrocaw, Gdask, Gdynia or Radom. There is however lack of stations located next to the
mostly used traffic routes especially within the axis north-south, from Gdask and Toru to
Warszawa and from Warszawa to Upper Silesia.
The main disadvantages of most of the Polish CNG refueling stations can be describes as
follow:
As already mentioned before several times, the existing filling stations were built to satisfy
mainly the corporate needs of big fleet operators (city bus companies, long-distance
transportation) since only very high and stable demand for natural gas can guarantee the
profitability of investment in natural gas refueling infrastructure. The sector of private natural
gas cars drivers is still very low in Poland and also still instable, so in majority of cases it is
not a sufficient base for investors to go for.
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Location
Also the location is problematic, especially for the users from outside the city or area where
the station operates. Most of them are located at the outskirts of the cities, but far from the
communication routes and nodes, in an industrial areas. The location is chosen according to
the need of the key corporate partner (eg in case when the bus company is the strategic
partner the station is located next to the bus depot, the other possibilities are gasworks or
private area of transportation companies). To reach the station very detailed directions are
needed, and even then there are situations when drivers get lost. Its necessary to get off the
motorway or simply the main road, since the stations are not located along the
communication lines. When the address if finally found, theres a need to find the entrance to
the gated area, get through the security check and finally find the station inside the gated
area, what is often a big challenge.
This get especially difficult for outsiders and foreigners.
Due to the fact that majority of refueling stations are adapter for the sue of big fleet operators,
the service for the private users can be rather inconvenient:
- Lack of possibilities to pay by credit cards (applies to almost 90 % of the gas refueling
stations) or sometimes even lack of possibility to pay by cash (only by bank transfers for
those who have signed the special contract with the station operator), which of course
eliminates from using the station those from outside of the city or area around the station, all
the travelers.
Whats more interesting, the majority of stations (as already mentioned 85 % of all stations)
are owned by the subsidiary entities (kind of regional branches) of parent company The
Polish Gas and Oil Company, state controlled. The biggest problem is that regardless the
fact that in reality it is one holding company, the contract for bank transfers signed with one
of the subsidiary entity does not extend for the others. As the result, even if the given person
signs the contract, the payment for the gas is limited to only one station, or few stations in
one region, while in fact it could be extended for the entire network of stations owned by
Polish Gas and Oil Company covering the whole country. Such a solution would at least
enable polish citizens from different cities and regions to refuel their cars more easily.
Inconvenient opening hours. Only 37 % of the natural gas refueling stations in Poland are
opened 24 hours daily! There next 3 are open 24 hours but with very long breaks (those
breaks are reserved for corporate refueling). 25 % of the refueling gas stations in Poland and
open only during weekdays until 3 PM (the working hours of grid gas distribution centers
where the stations are located).
The rest of the stations are generally opened on weekdays sine morning till later evening (8
or 10 pm) and on Saturdays since morning till noon or early afternoon, closed on Sundays.
This all limits the possibility of driving the natural gas driven car in Poland when you are the
traveler, cause you would need to know one need to know exactly where and when hed
have to refuel the car, which is very difficult to plan, eliminates the possibility of traveling in
weekends and at night. It is in fact only possible for those living in the area where the station
is located to use this stations, since they are able to plan when to refuel the vehicles.
Time required to refuel the car. Very often the time required to refuel the car is very long.
First, if one gets to the station in time of refueling the vehicles of the strategic partner of the
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station (busses, trucks) she/he has to wait in line (refueling those types of vehicle lasts quite
long, especially that in lot of cases the compressors are of low capacity) and there are no
additional distributors reserved only for private users.
Additionally, even if there is no queue for the distributor, a lot of the stations do not have the
separate worker dedicated only to servicing the CNG refueling and the distributing devices
are well hidden in the private area. One have to first wait for somebody to let him in the gated
area of the gas distribution center or bus depot, then wait for the specific worker to come,
and finally go through the complicated payment procedure. Sometimes even the pre-call is
necessary.
Frequent breakdowns. The breakdowns are frequent and normally it takes a considerable
time period to fix them. In case when the station with the breakdown is the only natural gas
refueling station in the area, it makes it impossible for the owners of natural gas driven cars
to refuel their vehicles. Which in turn discourage users to buy only natural gas driven cars, as
very often they would need gasoline backup and makes the natural gas availability very
unreliable.
Language skills of the stuff. In majority of case the stuff does not speak English. This is not
a problem with normal, commercial refueling station, located next to the communication
routes and well signed.
However, in the situation when the driver must call, get through the security check, find the
right person and explain what she/he wants and then pay according to sometimes not clear
rules the language skills are very important.
When it comes to natural gas, there are no direct, legal barriers for investment in CNG
infrastructure. In Poland the biggest barrier to invest in CNG is lack of interest to do so,
especially by major petrochemical holdings and companies operating in the country. The lack
of interest is in turn a result of small market, that such an investments are for now
economically not rentable and that such companies or other private investors simply do not
see the profits in this fuel segment. The costs of building one, modern and effective refueling
station for CNG are huge, the equipment is very expensive. From the other hand, the
awareness of the society about gaseous fuels is very low and there is no overall societal
pressure on developing CNG market. Also the incentives and stimulation from governments
side are lacking.
When it comes to biogas use for vehicle fuel, all the actions undertaken by government are
now targeted to foster biogas production as such, but little is talked about biogas for cars (the
standard utilization of biogas in Poland is for cogeneration). From the strictly legal barrier its
maybe worth to mention that Polish law requires that biogas produced is always being
introduced to the grid, what may prevent some biogas plants operators from utilizing the gas
for a car fuel (they would prefer to utilize it directly, without the need of introducing the gas to
the grid). Except for that, the awareness of bio-gas as a car fuel is even smaller than this of
CNG in general. As mentioned before, there is only one company that declared the will to
include biomethane into their offer is the Biogaz Inwestor, a joint stock company with
majority of municipality shares in the city of Toru. If the plan will be realized, the case of
Biogaz Inwestor should serve as the best example for others.
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Few years ago, the plan for investments in CNG refueling infrastructure presumed that the
network should consists of at least 60 refueling stations, located not further than 60 km from
each other (in other case it with the harm for individual NGVs market). The plan was only
discussed, but no real actions followed.
The closed circle: lack of refueling infrastructure lack of users lack of infrastructure lack
of users and so on and on is the major problem in Poland. Lack of interest of private
companies to invest in CNG causes two other major problems:
1. Big expectations towards PGNiG, often not rational (it cannot be expected from PGNiG
that it will be the remedy for all the problems and that as single company will develop CNG
infrastructure in Poland). PGNiG cannot remain the only investor on the market, first,
because it simply economically impossible for the company, and second, the monopolists,
even when it comes to investments, is never good for future and quality development.
2. Very poor accessibility for individual traffic (location of the refueling infrastructure far from
the communication routes, where regular gasoline stations are located, poor payment
possibilities, very bad working hours, subordinated to corporate needs and very often
eliminating possibilities individual traffic based on CNG and definitely eliminating refueling
infrastructure from the use of long-distance transportation. One thing is clear in this situation:
the refueling infrastructure will not develop itself on its own.
Above mentioned actions apply to both, natural gas and bio-gas. The promotion and
incentives for users are here same: its only gas-driven vehicles that should be promoted
(doesnt matter if its a natural gas of bio-gas). However, the promotion for investors could be
different, or better say, different groups should be targeted. The overall trends are positive.
Environmental protection is getting more and more important, also the government is legally
bound by international treaties to reduce the pollution. Therefore, sooner or later the
governmental attention will have to be drawn to methane and biomethane as a vehicle fuel.
Incentives towards expanding refueling infrastructure and not yet existing, but looking at the
other sectors (for example other green solutions) where those incentives are already
introduced can suggest that there will also be a change when it comes to CNG and bio
CNG. But, it must be highlighted, governmental actions and more attention put towards
development of CNG from public authorities side market are crucial for the success, just as
the extended cross-sectorial cooperation between public and private bodies.
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Regional differences
There are very big regional disparities, shown by the maps. Firstly, there are 5 main clusters,
regions where concentration of CNG refueling stations is high comparing to the area they
serve (Northern Poland, Greater Poland, Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia, Carpathian).
Generally the infrastructure is better developed in southern Poland, especially
in Carpathian Region (results of popularity of CNG for a public transportation purposes and
positive activity of PGNiG regional branch). Quite big concentration of CNG refueling station
is also in Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia, also the northern part of Poland along the Baltic
Sea. Its clear that in some regions the territorial coverage of stations are overlapping with
each other, making NGVs usage more flexible the more pink the region is, the better the
CNG refueling infrastructure is developed. On the other hand there are regions completely
without the infrastructure of refueling stations, light pink or even totally blue, especially at the
western and eastern border and in central Poland, literally meaning that it is not possible to
drive NGVs there and the users would need the backup of second fuel.
This is definitely a very negative phenomenon. Such a big regional disparities preclude a
significant part of people potentially interested from using CNG as an vehicle fuel, make
driving NGVs rather comfortable only in few regions and affect possibilities for long-distance
travels. Thats why existing infrastructure is rather good for locally-operating car fleets than
for long-distance traveling, when in lot of situations it becomes absolutely necessary to use a
backup fuel other than CNG.
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Gas grid
There is no problem with natural gas grid in Poland. Definite majority of places are in very
proximity of the gas grid. Therefore, in Poland the gas grid is not a barrier nor a driver
towards refuelling infrastructure development.
There are no biogas plants in Poland equipped with upgrading units. There are currently 6
biogas plants big enough to potentially supply the refuelling stations, but they are located in
remote rural areas, close to big farms in northern Poland.
The already existing filling stations in Poland and the petrochemical concerns are not
interested in investing in CNG refueling infrastructure. Therefore the possibility of
implementing CNG into existing petrol stations is very low.
Fleets development
Development of the vehicle fleets that run on CNG is the most important driver to boost
polish NGV market in general. Currently only fleet development guarantees erection of new
refuelling stations, therefore the prospective and potential fleets identification is crucialwhen
designing the optimal location for new refuelling stations. Potentially there are big fleets in
majority of bigger cities in Poland, due to the fact of bigger municipal and regional passenger
transport and also due to existence of big companies.
Currently there are only two refuelling stations located at the highways, motorways and at
roads which will be converted into motorways, and this is very low number. Majority of
stations are located in the city centres or at the outskirts, but not close to any important roads,
and they are hardly accessible. Therefore it is highly recommendable to include locations
close to the motorways and future highways in the plans.
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Population density
Potential investors
In Poland the only investors that exists are, first of all the branches of Polish Gas and Oil
Company (possible investment only when big gas consumption is guaranteed) and private
companies that wish to convert their fleets into CNG (investments according to company
needs, mostly at the headquarters).
After the analysis of the above mentioned factors, 20 new optimal locations have been
identified. However 20 new stations by 2020 is not enough to form a sufficient network of
refuelling infrastructure, it is rather realistic number if the development of CNG market in
Poland will follow current patterns. 9 of them should be constructed in the cities, suitably for
companies (investors) and urban traffic, 11 of them at the highways and motorways to serve
the transit transportation.
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Locations in the cities, mostly for urban purposes, but also with benefits for transit:
od: the 3rd biggest polish city and with vast metropolitan area (population
density), lots of industry and transport companies (potential investors), big fleet of
municipal busses (potential investor), in the middle of Poland with big deficiency of
CNG infrastructure (decreasing regional disparities), located at the transportation
corridor VI
Szczecin: 7rd biggest polish city (population density), big fleet of municipal busses
(potential investors), in north-western Poland with big deficiency of CNG
infrastructure (decreasing regional disparities)
Bielsko-Biaa: 23rd biggest Polish city with developing metropolitan area
(population density), big municipal fleet and existing CNG corporate station with
possibility for being open to public (potential investors, potential for public-private
partnership, low investment costs due to initial infrastructure existing), close to border
with Czech Republic and Slovakia and to the express road S1 (European corridor VI
Biaystok: 11th biggest Polish city with developing metropolitan area (population
density), big municipal fleet (potential investors), in north-eastern Poland with big
deficiency of CNG infrastructure (decreasing regional disparities), located at the
important travel route and I European transport corridor.
Czstochowa: 13th biggest Polish city with developing metropolitan area
(population density), big municipal fleet (potential investors), in central Poland with
big deficiency of CNG infrastructure (decreasing regional disparities), located at the
important VI European transport corridor
Opole: 30th biggest Polish city in densely populated area, with municipal fleet
(potential investors), located at the important III European transport corridor
Zielona Gra: 33rd biggest Polish city in densely populated area, with municipal
fleet (potential investors), located at the important south-north corridor in Poland, in
Eastern Poland with deficiency of CNG infrastructure (decreasing regional disparities)
Gorzw Wielkopolski: 31st biggest Polish city, in densely populated area, with
municipal fleet (potential investors), located at the important south-north corridor in
Poland, in Eastern Poland with deficiency of CNG infrastructure (decreasing regional
disparities)
Katowice: 10th biggest Polish city, capital of biggest conglomeration in Poland
(very densely populated area), with very big municipal fleet and numerous
companies, industry and logistics (potential investors), located at the crossing of two
very important European transport corridors (III and VI).
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Midzyrzecz Podlaski: at the crossing of A2 highway and express road S19, close
to border with Belarus
Krakw: at the A2 highway in the proximity of the airport
Suwaki: at the express road S8 and close to the border with Lithuania
Rzeszw: at the crossing of A1 highway and express road S19, important transport
hub
\
Network of CNG stations in 2020 is covering the whole country
Possibility for transit transportation of NGVs along Polish motorways and highways
with no need for getting off the main roads.
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However the situation may improve if new filling stations will be located in the depicted
locations, the network of Polish CNG refueling stations will not be still totally efficient. Further
investments will be needed, especially along express roads and in Northern and Central
Poland.
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EUROPE
.Andreevsky, Gazprom, Russia.
During the last decades the European NGVs market has traditionally held the third place in
the world after the most dynamically developing Asian and Latino American markets.
As of the end of 2011 1.56 M NGVs were running across Europe (2.0 M in UN ECE region,
i.e. including USA and Canada and others), which were filled with 4.033 (5400 in UN ECE
region) NG filling stations.
The spread of CNG as a motor fuel is due to different factors.
One of them is the aspiration of European countries and their governments to new alternative
economically sound, sustainable and environmentally friendly kind of fuels.
In 2000 in the concert with that trend the international Blue Corridor Project was launched,
and as early as in 2002 an official study on the project was issued by the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe being the result of work of experts from 18 European
countries. The study grounded the feasibility, as well as economic, environmental and social
benefits of organizing international NGVs traffic through three pilot transport corridors: Rome
Berlin; Berlin Moscow and Moscow Helsinki.
Nowdays the idea of Blue Corridors comes truth. Since the start of the project some NGVs
rallies covering the wide spaces of Europe and Russia have been organized. The aim of
these events was obvious, i.e. to attract the attention of local authorities, car manufacturers,
mass media and general public to the benefits of introducing natural gas into engines.
The Russian rallies run from St Petersburg to Moscow (2008), from Moscow to the Olympic
Sochi (2009), the rally encompassing the Russian car producing plants (2010), and one more
from Ural to Moscow (2011).
In June 2011 the first international NGVs Blue Corridor caravan linked Czech Republic and
Germany starting in Prague and finishing at the Baltic Sea shore in Greifswald (landing point
of the Nord Stream underwater gas pipeline).
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The density of the Italian NG filling stations network (820 stations) allows extending the
European Blue Corridors through the entire Italian territory. Very impressive was the rally
executed in 2009 by the team of German vehicle tester Rainer Zietlow who started with his
NGV Volkswagen Caddy Maxi EcoFuel in Portugal at the Atlantic shore, crossed the entire
Western and Eastern Europe, the Russian Siberia and finished at the shore of the Pacific
Ocean.
NGVA Europe is working in the preparation of a European Program to develop the concept
of European LNG Blue Corridors. The availability of LNG all around the Iberian Peninsula,
plus several other points in the European coasts constitutes a good infrastructure to develop
a basic infrastructure of L-CNG filling stations in the Blue Corridors we are proposing.
The intention is to define at least three initial pan European routes with strategically placed
LNG filling stations that would allow the heavy, long distance truck transport across Europe:
Portugal-Spain to France, Netherlands, UK
Portugal-Spain to France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden
Mediterranean arch to Italy and Slovenia
These corridors could also be complemented with a transverse one going from UK,
Netherlands to Eastern Europe.
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These initially proposed Blue Corridors will also develop with connection to other LNG
distribution initiatives as: Danube Inland Waters Blue Corridor, from Romania to Vienna, and
the AGRI (Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania-Interconnection) project to transport LNG from
Azerbaijan to the EU through Georgia and Romania.
Two other and very important inputs will be studied in the project:
LBG (Liquid Bio Gas). This renewable fuel, CO2 neutral, is also methane, the same
composition than the LNG, and as a consequence is fully miscible. The inclusion of LBG
filling stations in the study will widen the possibilities of the European Blue Corridors,
integrating better all the resources.
In other cases like Poznan (Poland) LNG is produced using the liquefaction process as a
mean of depuration of the natural gas coming from a local well, that contains nitrogen and
other components that have to be separated.
The main objective of the project is to initiate a European network for sustainable road
transport by tackling non-technological barriers to the production of LBG and the use of
LBM/LNG in heavy goods vehicles. This will be done through an analysis and development
phase, followed by pilot projects and the initiation of a European network of
production/fuelling facilities.
The installation of L-CNG stations in nearby urban areas will also help the development of
the CNG fuelled inner city transportation.
The analysis will be aimed at determining the member state and European market barriers.
In addition, the differences in legislation, taxation and subsidy programmes will be
investigated throughout Europe by the project partners. Moreover, recommendations will be
formulated for European policy makers. Finally, an effort will be made to normalise and
standardise the various technologies related to both LBG production and application in
methane vehicles using LNG/LBG.
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Within the pilot projects, LBM production and identifying strategic supply routes of LNG for
application in heavy goods vehicles will be demonstrated in partner countries and several
regions being interested to apply the Bio LNG concept in heavy goods transport, functioning
as an connector to other regions and big European cities using the same principle, thus
creating the Bio LNG Blue Corridor. All pilot projects results will be monitored and
disseminated to potential users. The deliverables of the project will be applied to accelerate
the development of so-called Blue Corridors. And by testing various marketing strategies to
solve the identified barriers, potential users will be inspired by early adopters and will in this
way help to boost the market. Typical tools for this approach are workshops, business
meetings, conferences and consultancy meetings.
NORTH AMERICA
N. Leclercq, Westport Innovations Inc., Canada
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LNG Blue Corridors in the USA: The Natural Gas Highway System
Clean Energy Fuels Corp. and the LNG Fueling Infrastructure
Chesapeake Energy (CHK), the 2nd largest U.S. natural gas producer after ExxonMobil, has
agreed to invest $150 million in newly issued convertible debt of Clean Energy Fuels Corp
(Nasdaq: CLNE).
CLNE will use CHKs $150 million investment, plus $150 million from CHK friends
Temasek/Seatown/RRJ, to accelerate its build-out of LNG fueling infrastructure for heavy-
duty trucks at truck stops across interstate highways in the U.S., thereby creating the
foundation for Americas Natural Gas Highway System.
These two investments are projected to help underwrite 250 300 LNG truck fueling stations,
increasing by more than 20-fold the number of publicly accessible LNG fueling stations and
providing a foundational grid for heavy-duty trucks to have ready access to cleaner and more
affordable American natural gas fuel along major interstate highway corridors.
CHK believes $1.5 2.0 billion of LNG truck fueling stations (1,000 1,250) puts entire
heavy truck fuel demand market in reach for natural gas substitution. 8 million American
heavy duty trucks consume ~3 million barrels of diesel every day, thats equivalent to >6 tcf
of incremental natural gas demand per year. The effort to move U.S. transportation sector to
natural gas is an important element in significantly increasing domestic natural gas demand.
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Corridors ranked by
diesel consumption
#7 #11 #9 #3
Salt Lake
City #5
Las
Vegas
Los #6
#10 #12 #4
Angeles
#1
Dallas
#8
San
Antonio Houston
#2
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LATIN AMERICA
R.Fernandes (ALGNV Latin America NGV Association)
Abstract
Information and data contained in this paper is basically the result of an evaluating analysis,
conducted by the Energy Group of the Institute of Economics from the UFRJ Federal
University of Rio de Janeiro, in March 2005, as contracted by Petrobras Gas Energy and IBP
Brazilian Oil and Gas Institute, through the IBP Committee and ALGNV support, and herein
revised and updated by the author.
Introduction
Based upon the concept of Blue Corridors, developed in Europe, where cargo or passenger
vehicles fueled by natural gas, could be moved and integrate key economical centers of
specific regions, a decision was made to evaluate this opportunity, covering the Southern
Latin America. The basic reason behind this decision, was the fact, that, by that time and still
today, this region counts with the best served natural gas distribution network in the continent,
due to the high concentration of economical centers in the area.
Some four (4) regions have been included in this evaluation: Southern Brazil, Uruguay,
Northern Argentine and Chile. This corridor will also allow an important and strategic
economical connection for the involved countries: the Atlantic-Pacific Ocean liaison.
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Executive Summary
The selection of the routes have been based in the following criteria: a) importance or the
highway to integrate the region; b) traffic intensity; c) availability of natural gas distribution
networks around the routes. In addition to this, it was estimated that some 34 fueling stations
would be required, assuming that those stations will keep a distance between each other of
about 200 km. It was found that 4 of those stations could not be served by any gas
distribution network. Therefore, they would be supplied by LNG or trucks with CNG tube
bundles.
Based upon the estimated social-economical aspects, it is important to list the following
expected results of this project:
The proposed dual-oceanic Blue Corridor is shown in the figure below, and starts in Rio de
Janeiro being formed by roads BR 040, BR 116, BR 376, BR 101, BR 290 in Brazil, RN 14
and 9 from Brazil to Argentine, Buenos Aires to Montevideo and the route from Buenos Aires
to Santiago, and then down to Valparaiso.
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The execution of this project still depends on a number of measures. Regardless of the
number of bi-lateral agreements signed in the past years, the energy integration process in
the region, is still going in a gradual way. To count with a completed integrated market, the
region still depends on a number of barriers to be removed. This involves strategic, political
and economical issues, and it is not simply energy integration.
The European integration experience has been showing that regional energy integration is, in
most of the cases, subject to long and multi-dimensional processes, and therefore with
completely unpredictable results. In fact, government, local or international energy
companies, non-governmental organizations, credit multi-lateral institutions, among others,
are permanently trying to influence the decisions to be made. Regardless of the integration
benefits, there are many, many barriers to be removed, in order to obtain an agreement that
will satisfy all the parts involved. To remove these barriers, it is essential to improve the
institutional basis, in each regional country.
Therefore, some efforts are required to develop an energy regulatory model for the involved
countries, applied to natural gas, in order to meet all different interests. It is required to
recognize the countries have different business interests, different cultural standards, and
also collected in the memory, past events between them, that has caused some unpleasant
situations. The key objective shall be energy integration in the region, and not only the
interest of each individual business or country in the project. To do this, there are some
regional organizations that should be involved, such as IIRSA South American Regional
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Infrastructure Initiative, and UNASUL South America Nations Union, which is similar to the
European Union Organization.
No question, there are obstacles to be removed. However, the technical people has
proposals to resolve most of those barriers. By the other hand, there is a general feeling that
decisions made, use to take a long time to be executed. In some cases, those decisions
have been submitted to politicians, who use to give priority to their ideology convictions,
instead of the technical interests of the nations involved.
However, there are indications, that apparently this is a good moment, to come up with a
sound decision, as long as there is a better understanding today, related to regional energy
integration, in line with the purpose to improve the social and economical development, and
consequently, the position of the region in the worldwide scenario.
ASIA PACIFIC
Lee Giok Seng, Executive Director, ANGVA
ANGVA Green Highways 2011 Begins Its Journey of A Thousand Miles of Friendship
and Cooperation
Background
ANGVA Green Highways, which started in 2007, are implemented by ANGVA every two years
to coincide with its biennial conference and exhibition. ANGVA Green Highways are events
and activities involving various countries in Asia Pacific which will end in the country where
ANGVA biennial conference & exhibition are held.
ANGVA Green Highways are not about driving from points A to B. It is about getting local
NGV industry and association involvement, to share and exchange information, experiences
and networking. It is also about harmonisation of standards and practices and about creating
NGV and ANGVA Green Highways to highlight the benefits of NGV in term of energy
security and supply, economics and environment.
For ANGVA Green Highways 2011 (AGH2011), the following routes were chosen:
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All together fourteen (14) countries are involved along the three routes. The AGH2011s
torches and message scrolls start its journey from each route to reach Beijing, China in time
for the opening ceremony of ANGVA 2011 on October 2011.
Team Indonesia
The Southern Route started its journey of a thousand miles of friendships and cooperation
with the first flag-off of the Southern Route in Jakarta, Indonesia on 12th July 2011,
coinciding with the ANGVA Roundtable Indonesia, 12 -13th July 2011 at Sultan Hotel,
Jakarta.
The Southern Route flag-off started with a ribbon cutting ceremony by Dr. Herman
Agustiawan (member of the National Energy Council) and ANGVA Executive Director (Lee
Giok Seng) lined with six (6) natural gas vehicles at the open space of Sultan Hotel, Jakarta.
Team Singapore
Team Singapore, led by Team Leader William Aw, held the flag-off of their leg of AGH2011
in the morning of 15th July 2011 at the Smart Energys Mandai NGV Daughter Station.
The ribbon cutting and flag-off, involving 5 CNG cars (including 1 CNG car from Malaysia),
was conducted by William Aw and ANGVA Executive Director.
The CNG Cars were then driven from the Smart Energys Mandai NGV station to Union Gas
Toh Tuck Road NGV Station, the world largest NGV station in term of number of dispensing
hoses.
Team Malaysia
Team Malaysia held a flag-off ceremony on 20th Sept 2011 in Puchong (near Kuala Lumpur),
Malaysia. The flag-off coincided with the ceremony for the official delivery of the first
Malaysian Fully Composite CNG Long Tube Trailer by Sime Darby Industrial Sdn Bhd to
MISC Logistics Services (the operator of CNG trailers and prime movers for PETRONAS
mother daughter stations). A total of 19 trailers will be delivered.
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Team Thailand
On 21st Sept 2011, Team Malaysia, in a convoy of 3 CNG cars drove all the way up to the
Malaysian-Thailand border to hand over the AGH2011 Torch and Friendship Scroll to Team
Thailand in the morning of 22nd Sept 2011 at a NGV Refuelling Station in Hatyai. Team
Thailand later drove 1000 km from Hatyai all the way up north to Bangkok in 4 CNG cars, to
held a flag-off and Safety Forum in Bangkok on 24th Sept 2011 with a Driving Clean, Driving
Safe theme.
Team Vietnam
Team Vietnam, led by Petrovietnam Gas South and ITO Holdings, hosted the Vietnams leg
of the ANGVA Green Highways 2011 on 30th Sept 2011. The handover and flag-off
ceremony was held at Petrovietnam Gas Souths CNG daughter station in Ho Chi Minh City.
This is the first CNG station in Vietnam, located beside a bus depot.
Team Iran
The Western Route of the AGH2011 was launched on 24th July 2011 in Tehran, IR of Iran, in
conjunction with the Iran NGV 2011 International Conference and Exhibition, 24th 26th July
2011, Olympic Hotel, Tehran.
The flag-off started with a ribbon cutting ceremony by HE M.J. Mohammadizadeh, Vice
President of Iran and also Head of the Iranian Environment Protection Agency, accompanied
by HE M. Royanian, Special Representative of the President of Iran and also Head of
Transportation and Fuels Management Committee, and Mr. M. Mashayekhi, General
Manager of Hamayesh Sanaat Institute and Chairman of Iranian CNG Permanent Secretariat
and AGH2011 Team Leader for Team Iran.
Team UAE
Team UAE continued the Western Route journey by conducting the flag-off event in Dubai on
26th Sept 2011. The event, hosted by Emirates Gas (EMGAS), and sponsored by
Volkswagen, CG Tech and Emirates Transport, was attended by over 90 key stakeholders
including senior management from ENOC, EMGAS, Dubai Municipality, Emirates Airlines,
ADNOC Distribution, RTA, Dubai Municipality among others.
Team Pakistan
Team Pakistan successfully held the ANGVA Green Highways 2011 flag-off in Islamabad on
1st October 2011. The event was well attended by major stakeholders of NGV market in
Pakistan. Around 25 CNG cars told part in the flag-off rally in Islamabad.
Team Bangladesh
Team Bangladesh, led by Team Leader Mr. Hasin Parvez, CEO of Green Fuel CNG
Conversion Center and also ANGVA Country Representative for Bangladesh, successfully
held the ANGVA Green Highways 2011 flag-off ceremony in Dhaka on 5th October 2011. The
flag-off started with eight (8) cars rallying from MCW CNG Refuelling Station at Mirpur,
Dhaka and ended at CIRPAD Auditorium, Dhaka.
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Team Myanmar
The flag-off by Team Myanmar (led by Team Leader, Daw Yin Win Thu (Ms. Sandra),
Managing Director of M.N.T. Co., Ltd) was successfully held in Yangon with the opening and
ribbon cutting ceremonies held at the conference hall of the Myanmar Info Tech and the flag-
off at the Parami CNG Station.
Eastern Route
Team Japan
Team Japan, headed by Mr. Toshio Ohashi, General Manager, Natural Gas Vehicle Project
Dept., Japan Gas Association (JGA), successfully launched the ANGVA Green Highways
2011 (AGH2011)s Eastern Route on 6th Sept 2011 at Sagawa Express Company Ltds depot
in Tokyo, Japan. Later the torch and scroll were handed over by Mr. Ohashi to
representatives of Sagawa Express to bring it to Nagoya on 18th Sept 2011 and then to
Sakaiminato on 24th Sept 2011 to send it by ferry to Donghae, Korea.
Team Korea
Team Korea held the ANGVA Green Highways 2011 (AGH2011) flag-off at the Ferry
Terminal of Donghae City on 26th Sept 2011. The AGH2011 was handed over to Team Korea
by representative of the DBS Cruise Ferry which had brought over the torch and scroll from
Sakaiminato, Japan via ferry to Donghae. At the flag-off ceremony, 2 CNG cars were flag-off
at the port area and traveled to the sole NGV Refuelling station in Donghae.
Team China
The last flag-off of the ANGVA Green Highways 2011 was held in the city of Xian, China on
15th October 2011 by Team China before proceeding to join the ANGVA 2011 Conference &
Exhibition in Beijing, China on 18th October 2011. An NGV Forum for major CNG bus fleet
operators and transport officials from various cities in China were held in Xian.
The ANGVA Green Highways 2011 Torches and Friendships Scrolls from the three routes
(Western, Southern and Eastern routes) were handed over to China Automotive Technology
and Research Center (CATARC) at the opening ceremony of ANGVA 2011 on 18th October
2011. Team leaders and representatives of the 13 country teams were present on stage to
witness the handover of the torches and scrolls to CATARC, the host and organizer of
ANGVA 2011. The ceremony marked the end of the journey of a thousand of miles of
friendships, cooperation and enthusiasms demonstrated by all the 13 country teams and the
achievement of the objectives of the ANGVA Green Highways 2011.
Eastern Route
Eastern Route: travel from Tokyo to Osaka to Sakaiminato to Donghae, Korea.
The Logo
The logo was slightly amended from the previous ANGVA Green Highways logo with the
addition of the international symbol for NGV refueling stations for dispensing CNG
(Compressed Natural Gas) and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
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The Torch
The AGH2011s torch has three spirals moving from the base towards the globe on the top.
The three spirals represent the three routes chosen for the AGH2011 i.e. Southern Route,
Western Route and Eastern Route. The colour blue represents the universal colour of natural
gas, which is clean and environmentally friendly Green. The three spirals were inspired
from the DNA double helix, which symbolize that all teams participating in AGH2011share the
same DNA to promote the usage of natural gas as a clean or Green fuel for the transport
sector.
The message on the scroll is written in two languages i.e. English and Mandarin. The
following is the message:
The ANGVA Green Highways Teams has embark on the journey of a thousand miles of
friendships, enthusiasms and cooperation to achieve the ANGVA Green Highways objectives
of
creating awareness and promoting NGV, ANGVA and NGV Infrastructure,
promoting harmonization of NGV Standards and Code of Practices especially safety
standards, and
Creating cooperation and exchange of information and experiences.
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Tajikistan 10.600 10.600 0,07% 53 53 0,26% 4,13 1,91 216,5% December 2007
Switzerland 9.857 9.547 181 69 60 0,07% 126 123 3 5 0,61% 117 1,59 2,32 68,5% June 2011
Chile 8.164 8.055 109 0,06% 15 15 0,07% 1 3,20 1,78 180,1% December 2010
Kyrgyzstan 6.000 6.000 0,04% 6 6 0,03% 0,60 1,08 55,6% December 2007
Austria 5.910 5.759 133 15 3 0,04% 201 171 30 5 0,97% 12 0,50 1,45 34,5% June 2011
Singapore 5.567 5.552 15 0,04% 4 3 1 0,02% 1,04436 July 2011
Indonesia 5.520 4.850 400 20 250 0,04% 14 14 4 0,07% 2,10 0,0% October 2011
Mexico 4.831 4.800 31 0,03% 14 14 0,07% 22 0,02 0,96 2,1% June 2011
Belarus 4.600 4.600 0,03% 42 42 0,20% 0,65 0,83 78,5% September 2011
Netherlands 4.300 3.530 590 180 0,03% 85 65 20 40 0,41% 558 2,55 0,0% June 2011
Australia 3.500 100 1.700 950 750 0,02% 51 4 47 39 0,25% 130 5,92 0,0% October 2011
Turkey 3.339 1.850 1.489 0,02% 14 8 6 0,07% 35 0,40 4,80 8,3% April 2010
Czech
3.409 3.012 356 41 70 0,02% 50 37 13 8 0,24% 83 0,85 1,55 54,9% October 2011
Republic
Spain 3.051 574 1.405 1.028 44 0,02% 55 9 46 17 0,27% 21 4,48 5,14 87,1% June 2011
Georgia 3.000 3.000 0,02% 50 50 0,24% 0,54 0,0% August 2011
Trinidad &
3.000 3.000 0,02% 8 7 1 0,04% 0,80 0,54 148,1% June 2011
Tobago
Moldavia 2.200 2.200 0,02% 24 24 0,12% 0,40 0,40 101,0% September 2011
Poland 2.082 1.502 276 4 300 0,01% 33 32 1 0,16% 49 1,12 0,0% June 2011
United Arab
1.751 1.750 1 0,01% 17 16 1 18 0,08% 1 0,32 0,0% September 2011
Emirates
Dominican
1.614 1.614 0,01% 3 3 40 0,01% 0,09 0,29 31,7% May 2011
Republic
Finland 970 850 85 15 20 0,01% 19 18 1 2 0,09% 10 0,28 0,42 66,5% June 2011
Slovakia 823 429 334 60 0,01% 11 7 4 2 0,05% 0,96 1,13 85,3% December 2010
Greece 600 0 520 80 0 0,00% 3 3 0,01% 1,62 0,0% November 2010
Norway 545 300 198 22 25 0,00% 13 7 6 1 0,06% 4,55 0,67 682,3% March 2010
Portugal 504 46 354 54 50 0,00% 5 1 4 3 0,02% 1,11 1,12 99,6% June 2011
Serbia 519 494 25 0,00% 6 4 2 4 0,03% 1 0,027 0,16 16,7% December 2010
Nigeria 345 260 85 0,00% 6 6 0,03% 0,11 0,0% November 2011
Mozambique 315 280 35 0,00% 2 2 0,01% 0,16 0,0% July 2011
Hungary 300 225 75 0,00% 16 2 14 1 % 14 0,13 0,27 47,1% October 2011
Belgium 241 235 6 0,00% 14 8 6 6 0,07% 12 0,05 0,0% June 2011
United
368 68 250 50 0,00% 14 9 5 5 0,07% 10 3,00 0,13 2379,1% September 2010
Kingdom
Vietnam 282 280 2 0,00% 3 3 3 0,01% February 2011
Iceland 255 237 2 16 0,00% 2 2 2 0,01% 0,04 0,06 63,5% December 2010
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Luxembourg 234 199 35 0,00% 6 5 1 0,03% 2 0,06 0,14 39,4% June 2010
New Zealand 201 19 61 84 37 0,00% 14 14 0,07% 0,26 0,0% December 2010
Lithuania 195 85 110 0,00% 3 2 1 2 0,01% 5 0,20 0,35 57,9% September 2011
Croatia 194 133 61 0,00% 1 1 1 0,00% 0,100 0,21 48,3% December 2010
Estonia 130 121 6 3 0,00% 2 2 0 2 0,01% 0,02 0,04 47,4% September 2011
Algeria 125 115 10 0,00% 3 3 0,01% 0,05 0,0% October 2004
Lichtenstein 104 72 31 1 0,00% 3 3 0,01% 0,11 0,0% December 2009
Philippines 71 11 60 0,00% 3 1 2 0,01% 0,18 0,0% October 2011
Macedonia 54 7 47 0,00% 1 1 3 0,00% 0,02 0,14 14,8% January 2011
Ecuador 40 40 0,00% 1 1 0,00% 0,01 0,0% May 2009
Tunesia 34 32 2 0,00% 1 1 0,00% 0,01 0,0% October 2007
Tanzania 31 31 0,00% 1 1 2 0,00% 0,01 0,0% October 2010
South Africa 24 21 2 1 0,00% 2 2 0,01% August 2010
Bosnia &
21 20 1 0,00% 1 0 1 1 0,00% 2 0,01 0,0% October 2010
Herzegovina
Kazakhstan 20 20 0,00% 10 10 0,05% December 2010
Latvia 18 18 0,00% 1 1 0,00% 0,003 0,00 79,3% September 2011
Panama 15 15 0,00% 0,00% November 2008
Slovenia 8 8 0,00% 2 0,00% 8 0,007 June 2011
Ireland 2 2 0,00% 1 1 0,00% 1 0,00 0,0% October 2008
Montenegro 1 1 0,00% 1 1 0,00% 0,00 March 2006
Turkmenistan 1 1 0,00% 0 1 0,00% November 2009
Total 14.550.720 13.581.713 434.133 250.384 284.490 20.681 18.113 2.567 1.692 9.479 1.525,20 3.963,49 38,5% December 2011
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NGVs 365.591 418.916 480.764 544.748 630.548 755.671 879.587 1.164.839 1.348.126 1.459.236 1.429.973 1.678.230 1745677 1.820.601 1927007
Stations 515 570 646 770 871 982 1.049 1.152 1.330 1.494 1.636 1.744 1.806 1.856 1888
CNG sold (MNm3) 1.092 1.270 1.412 1.508 1.681 1.851 2.041 2.649 3.062 3.186 3.061 2.940 2.659 233.892 229,4
Brazil 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
NGVs ... ... ... ... ... 284.751 380.515 642.844 826.364 1.052.295 1.325.823 1.467.219 1.588.331 1.631.173 1.664.847
Stations ... ... ... ... ... 265 506 667 905 1.206 1.411 1.575 1688 1777 1725
CNG sold (MNm3) ... ... ... ... 251 635 959 1.340 1.573 1.937 2.305 2.580 2.341 1.962 154,7
Germany 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
NGV 1.059 2.040 3.245 (*) 6.829 10.509 14.420 19.105 27.175 38.933 54.772 77.191 85.000 91.890
Stations 30 50 120 130 250 350 400 500 630 720 804 863 900
14.6
CNG sold in MWh 132.472 165.127 239.871 325.546 424.697 527.314 685.836 963.204 1.400.000
MNm3
Italy 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
NGV (LDVs) 260.000 260.000 260.000 263.119 296.358 327.643 344.306 335.205 326.104 358.488 410.000 432.900 523.100 676.850 772.984
Stations 262 276 281 298 323 344 402 456 498 535 589 609 700 770 831
CNG sold (MNm3) 310 330 335 340 400 448 448 442 442 468 520 588 588 62,03
Sweden 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
NGVs 204 657 1.079 1.374 1.725 2.000 3.309 4.248 5.298 7.897 12.119 14.536 16.900 23.125 32.000
Stations 8 14 19 22 26 31 39 48 65 85 97 115 122 136 169
CNG and CBG sold
4.308 7.137 9.862 11.335 13.950 16.678 20.125 25.434 28.872 35.450 43.856 53.636 58.126 67.000 7.730.000
(Nm3x1000)
Switzerland 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
NGVs 20 30 60 80 100 150 350 650 1.250 1.965 3.313 5.830 7.122 8.599
Stations 3 3 7 13 14 20 26 37 50 64 78 97 112 122
CNG and CBG sold
220 452 841 995 1.576 1.859 2.281 3.054 4.423 658 10.200 13.150
(Nm3x1000)
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MW - Megawatt
MWh - Megawatt Hours
NAFA - US National Association of Fleet Administrators
NAPT - National Association of Pupil Transportation
Ncm normal cubic meters
NEPI - Energy Policy Institute
NG natural gas
NGC Nigerian Gas Company
NGP - NEOgs do Per S.A
NGV Natural Gas Vehicle
NGVA Europe Natural Gas Vehicle Association Europe
NGVC Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition
NGVFS - Natural Gas Vehicle Fuelling Stations
NGVI - Natural Gas Vehicles International
NGVPPT - Natural Gas Vehicle Program for Public Transport
NGVRUS National Gas-Vehicle Association
NIGC - National Iranian Gas Company
NIOPDC - National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company
NIPCO - Nigerian Independent Petroleum Company
Nm - Normal Meter
NOVA - Normverbrauchsabgabe - duty payable on standard consumption
NREL - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
NTU - Nanyang Technological University
NUS - National University of Singapore
NYCTA - New York City Transit Authority
OBD - similar to Euro 3 norm but less strict
OEM original equipment manufacturer
OGRA - Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority
OMTK - Omnitek Engineering Corporation
PGNiG - Polish Oil and Gas Company
PLC programmable logic controller
PM - particulate matter
PNGRB - Regulatory Board
PNOC-EC - Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corporation
POGC - Pars Oil and Gas Company
PSPC - Philippians Shell Petroleum Corp
PSV - Platform supply vessel
Pte - Private
PTT - Petroleum Authority of Thailand
PUB - powered public utility bus
QVM - Qualified Vehicle Modifier
RES - Renewable Energy Source
RFF - Resources for the Future
RFID - Radio Frequency Identification
RTA - Regional Transport Authority
RTO - Regional Transport Office
RTP - Red Transporte Pasajeros
SAIC - State Administration of Industry and Commerce
SANBAG - San Bernardino Associated Governments
SCAQMD - South Coast Air Management District
SECA - Sulphur Emission Control Area
SG Special Group
SNG synthetic natural gas
SPC Syrian Petroleum Company
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APPENDIX V: REFERENCES
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29. Nordic biogas conference 2008. Biogas-optimized yields from energy crops,
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
30. IEA bioenergy task 37, Biogas from Energy, Crop Digestion, http://www.iea-
biogas.net/Dokumente/energycrop_def_Low_Res.pdf
31. Algal Biomass Does it save the world? http://www.iea-
biogas.net/Dokumente/AlgaeBiomass8-09.pdf
32. ATEE Club biogaz Emplois dans la filire biogaz de 2005 2020
(2011)Document finalis en fvrier 2011
33. IEA bioenergy task 37 Utilisation of digestate from biogas plants as
biofertiliser http://www.iea-biogas.net/Dokumente/Digestate_Brochure_12-
2010.pdf
34. Future Transport Fuels, European Expert Group on Future Transport Fuel,
2011
35. Analysis of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Thermochemical BioSNG
Production and Use in the United Kingdom Project Code NNFCC 10-009
Study funded by DECC and managed by NNFCC
36. Evaluation of ecological impacts of synthetic natural gas from wood used in
current heating and car systems, Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland, 2007
37. tude biogaz AFGNV; tat des lieux et potentiel du biomthane carburant.
2008
38. AEBIOM (European Biomass Association). A biogas roadmap for Europe.
2009
39. BIOGASMAX, D4.3. Demonstration report on fuel stations including
deployment strategies and regulatory requirements. 2010
40. http://www.ngvaeurope.eu/european-ngv-statistics , access on January 2011
Biogaspartner, http://www.biogaspartner.de, access on December 2010
41. IEA Task 37, http://www.iea-biogas.net, acess on December 2010
42. Basic Statistics of Indian Petroleum and Natural Gas 2008-09, Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Gas
43. Marcados Energy Markets India Private, 2010, Llimited Study on Common
Pool Price Mechanism for Natural Gas in the Country for GAIL.
44. Eleventh Five Year Plan, Planning Commission, Government of India
45. Report of the Working Group on Petroleum and Natural gas sector for
eleventh Plan, 2007-12
46. World Bank 2004, Towards cleaner urban air in south Asia: tackling transport
pollution, understanding sources, Energy Sector Management Assistance
Programme of World Bank and United Nations Development
Programme,Washington DC, USA,
47. ARAI 2007, Draft report on Emission Factor development for Indian Vehicles
as a part of Ambient Air Quality Monitoring and Emission Source
Apportionment Studies, Pune
48. The Energy and Resources Institute, 2004, Fuel Choices for Transport and
the Environment, New Delhi 8. Enstrat International Limited 2004, The
emission reduction potential of low-sulfur diesel fuel in Asian countries, , UK
49. Frank Dursbeck, Lennart Erlandson, Christopher Weaver 2001, Status of
implementation of CNG as a fuel for urban buses in Delhi, CSE, New Delhi
50. Lennart Erlandson, Christopher Weaver, et al 2002, Safety of CNG buses in
Delhi: Findings and recommendations, CSE, New Delhi
51. EPCA Report No. 30, March 2007, CNG safety: Progress and action taken
report, Mimeo
52. EPCA Report No. 26, July 2006, Investigations relating to fire hazards and
safety in CNG Buses, Mimeo
53. H B Mathur, Report on the fire incidents in a converted CNG Bus, 2006,
Mimeo
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2008, Supply, Distribution And Marketing Of Natural Gas Including Cng And
Lng, [Action Taken Report], Standing Committee On Petroleum & Natural Gas
(2008-09), Ministry Of Petroleum & Natural Gas, 24th Report, Lok Sabha
Secretariat, New Delhi, December, p40-41
54. Nils-Olof Nylund & Kimmo Erkkil 2004, Transit Bus Emission Study:
Comparison Of Emissions From Diesel And Natural Gas Buses, Paper
presented at the NGV 2004, Buenos Aires
55. Gas Authority of India Limited, 2005, Transmission fee GAIL for uniform
methodology for all players, press release, New Delhi, March 10
56. Anon 2001, International experience with CNG vehicles, south Asia Urban Air
Quality Management briefing note No 2, World Bank, Washington DC, USA,
World Bank, 2004, Breath of Fresh Air, Washington
57. Michael Walsh et al 2003, Progress towards clean cars, trucks, and buses,
International Council on Clean Transportation, San Francisco, The Hewlett
Foundation and The Energy Foundation, San Francisco, USA, 23 A
Roychowdhury, V Chattopadyayay et al, 2006, The Leapfrog Factor, Centre
for Science and Environment, New Delhi.
58. Blue Corridors: A Study on the Feasibility of NGVs in the South Cone
International Roads, IE-UFRJ, Coordinator: Prof. Edmar L.F.Almeida , Rio de
Janeiro, March 2005
59. Energetic Integration in South America Motivations, Difficulties and Results
Renato Queiroz, Thais Vilela, IE-UFRJ , May 2010
60. http://ec.europa.eu/transport/urban/vehicles/road/clean_transport_systems_en
.htm
61. http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/vehicles/index_en.htm
62. http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/vehicles/index_en.htm
63. CNG and LPG for transport in Germany environmental performance and
potential for GHG emission reductions until 2020. An expertise for Erdgas
Mobil, OMV and SVGW. Munich/Ottobrunn, 21 September 2010, p. 77.
64. Expert Group report on Future Transport Fuels, Brussels, 25th January 2011,
p. 5.
65. Expert Group report on Future Transport Fuels, Brussels, 25 January 2011,
Annex 2A, p.72-74.
66. Expert Group report on Future Transport Fuels, Brussels, 25th January, p. 36.
67. EN ISO 18453: 2005 norm Natural gas Correlation between water content
and water dew point. (Gergwater correlation) is used to convert water dew
point into water content.
68. Argonne National Labs (2010) Well-to-Wheels Analysis of Landfill Gas-Based
Pathways and Their Addition to the GREET Model Report: ANL/ESD/10-3
Available at http://www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/TA/632.PDF
69. California Air Resources Board (2009) Californias Low Carbon Fuel
Standard Available at http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2009/lcfs09/lcfsfsor.pdf
70. American Gas Foundation (2011) The Potential for Renewable Gas: Biogas
Derived from Biomass Feedstocks and Upgraded to Pipeline Quality
Available at http://www.gasfoundation.org/ResearchStudies/renewable-gas-
2011.htm
71. The non-aggressive and aggressive scenarios have the potential to meet
between four and ten percent of 2010 natural gas usage in the United States.
This assumes a national usage of approximately 24 TCF of natural gas or 24
quadrillion BTU as per
http://www.eia.doe.gov/dnav/ng/ng_cons_sum_dcu_nus_a.htm
72. National Grid Paper (2010) Renewable Gas Vision for a Sustainable Gas
Network Available at
http://www.nationalgridus.com/non_html/NG_renewable_WP.pdf
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73. Center for American Progress (April 2010) Developing Natural Gas for Heavy
Vehicles Available at
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/04/pdf/american_fuel.pdf
74. Chesapeake Energy September 2011 Investor Presentation
75. Transportation Energy Data Book Edition 30, 2011
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