Posted on 07/12/2013 6:17:38 AM PDT by thackney
The perception of natural gas as a mainstream fuel for vehicles runs the gamut, dependent upon where you live: from the improbable…to the viable…to the everyday reality. So from recent burrito research expeditions, here are ten points to stir up the melding pot of the great natural gas vehicle debate.
1) Here is a breakdown of the total number of natural gas vehicles globally. The key takeaways: there are A LOT of natural gas vehicles already in the world (15 millionish in 2011) and the number is rapidly increasing. However, there are relatively few in North America (aka, the tiny sliver at the bottom of the chart).
2) In a recent IEA report, natural gas use in road transport accounted for 1.4% of global gas demand in 2012. This is projected to rise to 2.5% by 2018, accounting for nearly 10% of total natural gas demand growth.
3) The number of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in the world could reach 65 million by 2020, according to the International Association of Natural Gas Vehicles (IANGV), which indicates an annual growth rate of 19%. Another study by Navigant Consulting puts this number at a much more modest (but still impressive) 35 million.
4) China is leading the charge in both total natural gas demand growth (accounting for 30% of global growth over the next five years) and natural gas demand growth for transportation, with consumption from the sector set to triple by 2018.
5) China already has 1.5 million natural gas vehicles on the road, and if its ambitious targets are achieved, it will be substituting 840,000 barrels of oil by 2030. That said, for this to occur it would need to see a tenfold increase in consumption from the vehicle sector.
6) The current leaders in terms of natural gas vehicles are Iran (2.86 million), Pakistan (2.85 million), Argentina (1.9 million), and Brazil (1.7 million). These four account for 60% of the total global count.
7) The number of natural gas vehicles in the US is now estimated at 250,000. According to the EIA, April’s natural gas vehicle fuel consumption was 2.7 Bcf for the entire month. This equates to 0.1% of total US consumption.
8) The US is seeing the most growth coming through from transit vehicles, with one in five now running on natural gas (although according to Twitter it is now one in three). There has been a flurry of companies such as Frito-Lay and Proctor & Gamble announcing recently that they are converting parts of their fleets to run on natural gas.
9) But just as studies on LNG exports have indicated that natural gas prices will be relatively unaffected, natural gas prices are projected to see a limited impact by rising demand from the transportation sector. All the while, by 2035 we should still see 99% of US vehicles powered by fossil fuels.
10) Finally, given the optimistic numbers presented above (well, I’m more bullish on NGVs than when I started this piece!), it seems prudent to highlight the harshest reality faced, at least by the US: that of infrastructure. According to the IEA, it can cost from $400,000 to $1.7 million to build a compressed-natural-gas filling station, and up to $4 million for a liquefied-natural-gas station. By comparison, a gasoline station costs from $50,000 to $150,000.
‘Til next time…thanks for playing!
Nowadays we are always on the bottom looking up. We are the south end of the mule heading north.
On the other hand, there is always something new...company to convert gas to gasoline
Posting to confirm all the TheThirdRuffian said.
The nat gas at your house has been cleaned. It is nearly pure methane.
GE is involved, GE/Chesapeake, GE/Penske. GE is also rolling this out in Europe.
The whole thing is prefab, skid mounted, and delivered to a location for use. These would be available for a fleet operation or a C-Store
GE even offers these on a lease and if GE Leasing is involved, other leasing companies will also do it.
Just do a google search and/or google image search of CNG in a box.
“Raw” natural gas from the well head often contains some propane, ethane and some less desirable stuff like water, Nitrogen, CO, CO2, H2S, etc.
Natural Gas after the gas processing plant and what is delivered to your home is nearly pure Methane, CH4. Propane is a different molecules, C3H8.
When it gets cold, the vapor pressure changes a lot. When it gets cold enough, the liquid in the pressure tank won't produce enough pressure to feed the fuel system.
http://www.fleetsandfuels.com/tag/cng-in-a-box/
June 29, 2013
This is a good application for a standardized pre-fab.
I hope someone quickly develops of competing product to stinkin GE’s.
The conversion process takes money and energy and so adds cost. Depending on the price of oil it may or may not be economically feasible. CNG has some other benefits, too. It burns so cleanly that oil changes are required less often and engines last longer. The drawbacks of cold weather starts and less availability compared to gas stations are solved with a dual use vehicle.
I didn’t know that CNG vehicles had a problem with cold weather starts? How bad is it?
From what I’ve heard it is difficult to start and get a CNG vehicle to run smoothly until it has a chance to warm up in near freezing weather. It can be solved by an engine heater, parking inside a garage or avoiding the situation by having a dual use engine.
That is good to know, because we have toyed with the idea of getting a Honda Civic CNG car for my husband’s commuter car, even though it costs so much more.
I doubt we will now, since we do often have cold days in the winter. Probably stick with getting a Subaru Impreza. However, with the way the economy is, we will stick with his Ford “Barge” for a long time.
Yes it is amazing that that it costs $400,000 to $1.7 million to build a station, yet 3rd world hell holes can pump it on the cheap! Does anyone really think it costs that much to build one in the 3rd world? lol Poor ole American’s taking it in the shorts once again.
I am glad to have been a little help. I do not know if Honda solved that issue or not, though, so I hope that I did not steer you wrong.
Certainly good to know. Nothing is perfect, of course. As Thomas Sowell says, “There are no solutions, only trade-offs.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.