Natural gas vehicle - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A natural gas vehicle or NGV is an alternative fuel vehicle

Alternative fuel vehicle

An alternative fuel vehicle is a vehicle that runs on a fuel other than "traditional" petroleum fuels ; and also refers to any technology of powering an engine that does not involve solely petroleum...

that uses compressed natural gas (CNG)

Compressed natural gas

Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...

or liquefied natural gas (LNG)

Liquefied natural gas

Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport....

as a clean alternative to other fossil fuel

Fossil fuel

Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...

s. Worldwide, there were 12.7 million natural gas vehicles by 2010, led by Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

with 2.7 million, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

(1.95 million), Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

(1.9 million), Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

(1.7 million), and India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

(1.1 million). The Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...

region leads the world with 6.8 million NGVs, followed by Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

with 4.2 million vehicles. In the Latin American region almost 90% of NGVs have bi-fuel engines, allowing these vehicles to run on either gasoline or CNG.

As of 2009, the U.S. had a fleet of 114,270 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, mostly buses; 147,030 vehicles running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG); and 3,176 vehicles liquefied natural gas (LNG). Other countries where natural gas-powered buses are popular include India, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, Argentina, and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. In OECD countries there are around 500,000 CNG vehicles. Pakistan's market share of NGVs was 61.1% in 2010, follow by Armenia

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

with 32%, and Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

with 20%. The number of NGV refueling stations has also increased, to 18,202 worldwide as of 2010, up 10.2% from the previous year.

Existing gasoline-powered vehicles may be converted to allow the use of CNG or LPG. An increasing number of vehicles worldwide are being manufactured to run on CNG. The Honda Civic GX

Honda Civic GX

The Honda Civic GX is a passenger car factory-built to run on compressed natural gas . The GX is based on the Honda Civic and is available for fleet sales in all 50 states in the US...

is the only NGV commercially available in the US market., although Ford offers a prep package on certain models. GM do Brasil

General Motors do Brasil

General Motors do Brazil is the largest subsidiary of the General Motors in South America and the second largest operation outside the United States. In 2005 it completed 80 years of operation in Brazil...

introduced the MultiPower engine in August 2004 which was capable of using CNG, alcohol and gasoline (E20-E25 blend) as fuel, and it was used in the Chevrolet Astra

Opel Astra

The Opel Astra is a small family car engineered and manufactured by the German automaker Opel since 1991.It is branded as Vauxhall Astra in the United Kingdom, the Buick Excelle XT in China and the Chevrolet Astra/Vectra in Latin America...

2.0 model 2005, aimed at the taxi market. In 2006 the Brazilian subsidiary of FIAT

Fiat

FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...

introduced the Fiat Siena Tetra fuel

Fiat Siena

The Fiat Siena is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. The car is similar to Fiat Albea...

, a four-fuel car developed under Magneti Marelli of Fiat

Fiat

Brazil. This automobile can run on natural gas (CNG); 100% ethanol (E100); E20 to E25 gasoline blend, Brazil's mandatory gasoline; and pure gasoline, though no longer available in Brazil it is used in neighboring countries.

Despite its advantages, the use of natural gas vehicles faces several limitations, including fuel storage and infrastructure available for delivery and distribution at fueling stations. Natural gas must be stored in cylinders, whether it is CNG (compressed) or LNG (liquefied), and these cylinders are usually located in the vehicle's trunk, reducing the space available for other uses, particularly during long distance travel. This problem can be solved in factory-built CNVs that install the tanks under the body of the vehicle, thanks to a more rational disposition of components, leaving the trunk free. As with other alternative fuels, natural gas distribution to and at fueling stations, as well as the number of stations selling CNG are other barriers for widespread use of NGVs. CNG-powered vehicles are considered to be safer than gasoline-powered vehicles. CNG may also be mixed with biogas

Biogas

Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal dung, and kitchen waste can be converted into a gaseous fuel called biogas...

, produced from landfill

Landfill

A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...

s or wastewater

Wastewater

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties, industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and concentrations...

, which doesn't increase the concentration of carbon in the atmosphere.

NGV's can be refueled anywhere from existing natural gas lines. This makes home refuelling stations that tap into such lines possible. A company called FuelMaker pioneered such a system called Phill Home Refueling Appliance (known as "Phill"), which they developed in partnership with Honda

Honda

is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...

for the American GX model. Phill is now manufactured and sold by BRC FuelMaker, a division of Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc.

Differences between LPG and CNG fuels

Though LPG and CNG are both considered NGVs, the technologies are vastly different. Refueling equipment, fuel cost, pumps, tanks, hazards, capital costs are all different. In fact, the two fuels are as different as gasoline, diesel and CNG are. One thing they share is that due to engines made for gasoline, computer controlled valves to control fuel mixtures are required for both of them, often being proprietary and specific to the manufacturer.

LPG as an auto fuel

LPG, or liquified petroleum gas, is a mixture of gasses that stay liquid. It is considerably cheaper than natural gas not only for pumps and storage but also the fuel itself. However, it has drawbacks because it is heavier than air and tends to collect below a vehicle or tank during leaks, which would allow it to ignite explosively upon ignition. Other drawbacks include up to 20 minutes refueling time for a sedan, making refueling inconvenient and queue forming. Automobile crashes of lower speeds rupture and ignite tanks with considerably less force required than for CNG tanks due to their lighter and cheaper designs. (Not a requirement of LPG technology, but an in common use design tradeoff). It is rarely used in developed countries as a transport fuel due to above mentioned drawbacks..

CNG as an auto fuel

CNG, on the other hand, being roughly 50% more expensive than LPG for the fuel itself, also requires higher compression and thus thicker walled tanks, adding to its material cost and weight. Refueling stations are also much more expensive to build than LPG. However, the cost of the fuel itself often is still much cheaper than oil based products; some part of USA as of 2011 sell a gallon's equivalent for less than one dollar. CNG is lighter than air, dispersing upwards making it a far safer fuel than LPG during leaks, as well as far stronger minimum requirements for CNG tanks vs LPG tanks. In fact, CNG tanks made by major automobile manufacturers such as Toyota are designed to withstand 50 mph impact from 1 ton trucks along with release valves to minimize safety concerns. Since tanks are usually in the back of a vehicle, it is very rare but not impossible for impacts to be greater than this, but even in this scenario explosion is not guaranteed as CNG disperses quite rapidly.

Advantages over gasoline and diesel

NGVs and especially CNG tends to corrode and wear the parts of an engine less rapidly than Gasoline. Thus its quite common to find NGV with diesel-engine like mileage, such as over 500,000 miles. Emissions are cleaner, there is generally less wasted fuel, and lower emissions of carbon and lower particulate emissions per equivalent distance traveled.

Chemical composition

The primary component of natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

is methane

Methane

Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...

₄), the shortest and lightest hydrocarbon

Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....

molecule. It may also contain heavier gaseous hydrocarbons such as ethane

Ethane

Ethane is a chemical compound with chemical formula C2H6. It is the only two-carbon alkane that is an aliphatic hydrocarbon. At standard temperature and pressure, ethane is a colorless, odorless gas....

Carbon

₂H

Hydrogen

₆), propane

Propane

Propane is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula , normally a gas, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used as a fuel for engines, oxy-gas torches, barbecues, portable stoves, and residential central...

Carbon

₃H

Hydrogen

₈) and butane

Butane

Butane is a gas with the formula C4H10 that is an alkane with four carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of two structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, butane refers only to the unbranched n-butane isomer; the other one being called "methylpropane" or...

Carbon

₄H

Hydrogen

₁₀), as well as other gases, in varying amounts. Hydrogen sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...

Hydrogen

₂S

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

) is a common contaminant, which must be removed prior to most uses.

Energy content

Combustion

Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...

of one cubic meter yields 38 MJ (10.6 kWh). Natural gas has the highest energy/carbon ratio of any fossil fuel, and thus produces less carbon dioxide per unit of energy.

Storage and transport

Transport

The major difficulty in the use of natural gas is transport

Transport

Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

ation. Natural gas pipelines

Pipeline transport

Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....

are economical and common on land and across medium-length stretches of water (like Langeled

Langeled pipeline

The Langeled pipeline is an underwater pipeline transporting Norwegian natural gas to the United Kingdom. Before the completion of the Nord Stream pipeline, it was the longest subsea pipeline in the world.-History:...

, Interconnector

Interconnector

The Interconnector is a natural gas pipeline between the United Kingdom and continental Europe. It crosses the North Sea between Bacton Gas Terminal in England and Zeebrugge in Belgium. Construction of the pipeline was completed in 1998. It provides bi-directional transport capability to...

and Trans-Mediterranean Pipeline

Trans-Mediterranean Pipeline

The Trans-Mediterranean Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline from Algeria via Tunisia to Sicily and thence to mainland Italy. An extension of the TransMed pipeline delivers Algerian gas to Slovenia.-History:...

), but are impractical across large oceans. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker ships

LNG carrier

An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas . As the LNG market grows rapidly, the fleet of LNG carriers continues to experience tremendous growth.-History:...

, railway tankers, and tank truck

Tank truck

A tank truck or road tanker is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquefied loads, dry bulk cargo or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars which are also designed to carry liquefied loads...

s are also used.

Storage

CNG is typically stored in steel or composite containers

Composite overwrapped pressure vessel

A composite overwrapped pressure vessel is a vessel consisting of a thin, non-structural liner wrapped with a structural fiber composite, designed to hold a fluid under pressure...

at high pressure (3000 to 4000 lbf/in², or 205 to 275 bar). These containers are not typically temperature controlled, but are allowed to stay at local ambient temperature. There are many standards for CNG cylinders, the most popular one is ISO 11439. For North America the standard is ANSI NGV-2.

LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) storage pressures are typically at or just above the local atmospheric pressure (0 to 30 lbf/in², or 0 to 2.1 bar). LNG is stored at temperatures as low as -260°F (-162°C). At these temperature and pressure conditions, natural gas is in a liquid state. Storage temperatures may vary due to varying composition and storage pressure. LNG is far denser than even the highly compressed state of CNG. As a consequence of the low temperatures, vacuum insulated storage tanks are used to hold LNG. These tanks are often referred to as dewars to credit the early cryogenic scientist Sir James Dewar

James Dewar

Sir James Dewar FRS was a Scottish chemist and physicist. He is probably best-known today for his invention of the Dewar flask, which he used in conjunction with extensive research into the liquefaction of gases...

.

CNG can be stored at lower pressure in a form known as an ANG (Adsorbed Natural Gas) tank at 35 bar (500 psi, the pressure of gas in natural gas pipelines) in various sponge like materials, such as activated carbon

Activated carbon

Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, activated coal or carbo activatus, is a form of carbon that has been processed to make it extremely porous and thus to have a very large surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions.The word activated in the name is sometimes replaced...

and metal-organic framework

Metal-organic framework

Metal-Organic Frameworks are crystalline compounds consisting of metal ions or clusters coordinated to often rigid organic molecules to form one-, two-, or three-dimensional structures that can be porous. In some cases, the pores are stable to elimination of the guest molecules and can be used for...

s (MOFs). The fuel is stored at similar or greater energy density than CNG. This means that vehicles can be refuelled from the natural gas network without extra gas compression, the fuel tanks can be slimmed down and made of lighter, less strong materials.

Implementation

Natural gas vehicles are popular in regions or countries where natural gas is abundant, where the government chooses to price CNG lower than gasoline. The use of natural gas began in the Po River Valley

Po Valley

The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km² including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po River basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the...

of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

in the 1930s, followed by New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

in the 1980s, though its use has declined there. At the peak of New Zealand's natural gas use, 10% of the nation's cars were converted, around 110,000 vehicles. In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

CNG powered bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

es are the favorite choice of several public transit agencies, with a fleet of more than 114,000 vehicles, mostly buses. India

India

, Australia

Australia

, Argentina

Argentina

, and Germany

Germany

also have widespread use of natural gas-powered buses in their public transportation fleets.

Conversion kits

Conversion kits for gasoline or diesel to LPG/CNG are available in many countries, along with the labor to install them. However, the range of prices and quality of conversion vary enormously.

Kits in Thailand for gasoline to LPG can be done with relatively good quality for as little as $1,500 these days, whereas in the USA CNG conversions can run up to $16,000 for a family car. In the early years (2003-2006) Thailand had issues with conversion kit quality as mechanics made many mistakes, however with familiarization quality has greatly improved.

Recently, regulations involving certification of installations in USA have been loosened to include certified private companies, those same kit installations for CNG have fallen to the $6,000+ range (depending on type of vehicle).

North America

United States

As of December 2009, the U.S. had a fleet of 114,270 compressed natural gas

Compressed natural gas

(CNG) vehicles, 147,030 vehicles running on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and 3,176 vehicles running on liquefied natural gas

Liquefied natural gas

Liquefied natural gas or LNG is natural gas that has been converted temporarily to liquid form for ease of storage or transport....

(LNG). The NGV fleet is made up mostly of transit bus

Bus

es but there are also some government fleet cars and vans, as well as increasing number of corporate trucks replacing diesel versions, most notably Waste Management, Inc

Waste Management, Inc

Waste Management, Inc. is a waste management, comprehensive waste, and environmental services company in North America. Founded in 1894, the company is headquartered in Suite 4000 at the First City Tower in Downtown Houston, Texas, in the United States....

and UPS

United Parcel Service

United Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...

trucks. As of February 2011, there were 873 CNG refueling sites, 2,589 LPG sites, and 40 LNG sites, led by California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

with 215 CNG refueling stations in operation, 228 LPG sites and 32 LNG sites. The number of refueling stations includes both public and private sites, and not all are available to the public. As of December 2010, the U.S. ranked 6th in the world in terms of number of NGV stations.

Mexico

The natural gas vehicle market is limited to fleet vehicles and other public use vehicles like minibuses in larger cities. However the state-owned bus company RTP Of Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

has purchased 30 Hyundai

Hyundai

Hyundai ) is a global conglomerate company, part of the Korean chaebol, that was founded in South Korea by one of the most famous businessmen in Korean history: Chung Ju-yung...

Super Aero City CNG-Propelled buses to integrate with the existing fleet as well as to introduce new routes within the city.

South America

CNG vehicles are common in South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, with a 35% share of the worldwide NGV fleet, where these vehicles are mainly used as taxicab

Taxicab

A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...

s in main cities of Argentina

Argentina

and Brazil

Brazil

. Normally, standard gasoline vehicles are retrofitted in specialized shops, which involve installing the gas cylinder in the trunk and the CNG injection system and electronics.

As of 2009 Argentina had 1,807,186 NGV's with 1,851 refueling stations across the nation, or 15% of all vehicles; and Brazil had 1,632,101 vehicles and 1,704 refueling stations, with a higher concentration in the cities of Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

and São Paulo

São Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

.

Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

had an NGV fleet of 300,000 vehicles, and 460 refueling stations as of 2009. Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

has increased its fleet from 10,000 in 2003 to 121,908 units in 2009, with 128 refueling stations. Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

had 81,024 NGVs and 94 fueling stations as 2009,. In Peru several factory-built CNVs have the tanks installed under the body of the vehicle, leaving the trunk free. Among the models built with this feature are the Fiat Multipla

Fiat Multipla

The Fiat Multipla is a compact MPV manufactured by Italian automaker Fiat since 1998. Based on the Brava, the Multipla is shorter and wider than its rivals. It has two rows of three seats, while all its competitors have two seats in the front...

, the new Fiat Panda

Fiat Panda

The Fiat Panda is a city car from the Italian automobile manufacturer Fiat. The first Fiat Panda was introduced in 1980, and was produced until 2003 with only a few changes. It is now sometimes referred to as the "old Panda". The second model, launched in 2003, is sometimes referred to "New Panda"...

, the Volkswagen Touran

Volkswagen Touran

The Volkswagen Touran is a compact MPV based on a vertically-stretched fifth generation Volkswagen Golf Mk5, and sold in Europe and other select markets. It was launched in 2003 to fill a gap in Volkswagen's model lineup, below the Sharan large MPV...

Ecofuel, the Volkswagen Caddy

Volkswagen Caddy

Released in 1980, the first Volkswagen Caddy is a coupe utility, and van based on the Volkswagen Group A1 platform, shared with the small family car Volkswagen Golf Mk1.Volkswagen Typ is:*147 = LHD*148 = RHD-Caddy debuts internationally as a Rabbit:...

Ecofuel, and the Chevy Taxi. Other countries with significant GNV fleets are Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

(15,000) and Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

(8,064) as of 2009.

Latest developments

GM do Brasil introduced the MultiPower engine in August 2004 which was capable of using CNG, alcohol and gasoline as fuel. The GM engine has electronic fuel injection that automatically adjusts to any acceptable fuel configuration. This motor was used in the Chevrolet Astra

Opel Astra

and was aimed at the taxi market.

In 2006 the Brazilian subsidiary of FIAT

Fiat

introduced the Fiat Siena Tetra fuel

Fiat Siena

The Fiat Siena is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. The car is similar to Fiat Albea...

, a four-fuel car developed under Magneti Marelli of Fiat

Fiat

Brazil. This automobile can run on 100% ethanol (E100), E20 to E25 blend (Brazil's normal ethanol gasoline blend), pure gasoline (not available in Brazil), and natural gas, and switches from the gasoline-ethanol blend to CNG automatically, depending on the power required by road conditions.

Since 2003 and with the commercial success of flex cars in Brazil, another existing option is to retrofit

Retrofit

Retrofitting refers to the addition of new technology or features to older systems.* power plant retrofit, improving power plant efficiency / increasing output / reducing emissions...

an ethanol flexible-fuel vehicle

Flexible-fuel vehicle

A flexible-fuel vehicle or dual-fuel vehicle is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel, and both fuels are stored in the same common tank...

to add a natural gas tank and the corresponding injection system. Some taxicab

Taxicab

s in São Paulo

São Paulo

and Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

, Brazil, run on this option, allowing the user to choose among three fuels (E25, E100 and CNG) according to current market prices at the pump. Vehicles with this adaptation are known in Brazil as tri-fuel cars.

South Asia

Pakistan
Pakistan

Pakistan

is currently the country with the largest fleet of NGV with a total of 2.7 million and the world's largest number of NGV refuelling stations with 3,600 as of July 2010. Most of the public transportation fleet has been converted to CNG. However, the vast majority of private vehicles included in the figures run on LPG, which carries inherent fuel ignition risks during refueling, there are many illegal conversions, and there is an effort to switch over to CNG but the costs of not only the modifications to the vehicle, but the fuel itself and station availability and quality of pumps (not up to North American standards) keep the progress slow. Also, in Pakistan and India, there have been on-going (last several years now) series of CNG/LPG fuel shortages which periodically waxes and wanes, getting the fuel into a tank can be a major problem. In July 2011, petrol usage shot up 15% from the month before due to shortages.

India
The use of LPG and CNG as a transport fuel was introduced in India

India

, in 1991, when the national exhaust emission standards were issued. In the year of 1993, CNG had become available in Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, India's capital, though LPG is what really took off due to its inherently far lower capital costs. Compressed Natural Gas is a domestic energy produced in Western parts of India

India

. In India, most CNG vehicles are dual fueled, which means they can run both on CNG and gasoline. This makes it very convenient and users can drive long distances without worrying about availability of natural gas (as long as gasoline is available). As of December 2010 India had 1,080,000 NGVs and 560 fueling stations, many of the older ones being LPG rather than CNG. In addition, it is thought that more illegally converted LPG autos than legal ones ply the streets in India, some estimates are as high as 15 million "autos" (running the gamut of everything from LPG motored pedal bicycles to CNG buses)

In the year of 1995, a lawyer filed a case with the Supreme Court of India

Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...

under the Public Interest Litigation rule, which is part of the Constitution of India and enables any citizen to address directly the Supreme Court. The lawyer’s case was about the health risks caused by air pollution emitted from road vehicles. The Supreme Court decided that cars put into circulation after 1995 would have to run on unleaded fuel. By 1998, India was converted to 100% of unleaded fuel after that government ruled that diesel cars in India were restricted to 10,000 ppm after 1995. At the beginning of 2005, 10,300 CNG busses, 55,000 CNG three-wheelers taxis, 5,000 CNG minibuses, 10,000 CNG taxis and 10,000 CNG cars run on India’s roads (1982-2008 Product-Life Institute, Geneva). The Delhi Transport Corporation currently operates the world's largest fleet of CNG buses for public transport.

Southeast Asia

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

has for over a decade run natural gas taxi cabs in Bangkok.
In view of a generous supply of natural gas but relying on imported oil, the Thailand government promoted alternative fuels like natural gas and ethanol to replace gasoline beginning around 2003. A significant effort was taken when the state-controlled oil company PTT PCL built a network of natural gas refueling stations and limited the price of LPG at roughly USD 25 cents a kilogram. The cost of subsidy was estimated at US$150 million in 2008.
As price of oil climbed rapidly, it was estimated more than 40,000 cars and trucks powered by natural-gas were converted to or purchased in six months in 2008. About half of the taxi fleet in Bangkok used the fuel. According to an estimate by oil company PTT, about 115,000 vehicles were running on LPG as of 2008, while there were only about 1,000 in 2003. Officials expected natural-gas vehicles, in many cases capable of running both gasoline and natural gas, to almost triple to 330,000 by 2012, many of those being CNG. Since 2008 there has been a government arm-twisting to switch from LPG to CNG, with a rollout of CNG stations near Bangkok around 2007 and then upcountry in 2010, at times replacing LPG stations. Some operators have balked at the conversion cost as well as CNG fuel cost, since CNG costs more than LPG, but CNG is safer during transport and fueling.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, the use of compressed natural gas

Compressed natural gas

was originally introduced for taxicabs and airport limousines during the late-1990s, when new taxis were launched with NGV engines (also mostly LPG) while taxicab operators were encouraged to send in existing taxis for full engine conversions, reducing their costs of operation. Any vehicle converted to use CNG is labelled with white rhombus "NGV" (Natural Gas Vehicle) tags, lending to the common use of "NGV" when referring to road vehicles with CNG engine. The practice of using CNG remained largely confined to taxicabs predominantly in the Klang Valley

Klang Valley

Klang Valley is an area in Malaysia comprising Kuala Lumpur and its suburbs, and adjoining cities and towns in the state of Selangor. An alternative reference to this would be Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area or Greater Kuala Lumpur. It is geographically delineated by Titiwangsa Mountains to the...

and Penang

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

due to a lack of interest. No incentives were offered for those besides taxicab owners to use CNG engines, while government subsidies on petrol and diesel made conventional road vehicles cheaper to use in the eyes of the consumers. Petronas

Petronas

PETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...

, Malaysia's state-owned oil company, also monopolises the provision of CNG to road users. , Petronas only operates about 150 CNG refueling stations, most of which are concentrated in the Klang Valley. At the same time, another 50 was expected by the end of 2008.
As fuel subsidies were gradually removed in Malaysia starting June 5, 2008, the subsequent 41% price hike on petrol and diesel led to a 500% increase in the number of new CNG tanks installed. National car maker Proton considered fitting its Waja

Proton Waja

The Proton Waja is a saloon car designed in-house by Malaysian automotive company, Proton, first released in August 2000. The Waja is the first Malaysian-designed car. The name Waja, which means "the king", meaning it is the "king" of all of the previous models. The name was chosen partly to...

, Saga

Proton Saga

- Saga :The Proton Saga was launched in September 1985 by Malaysia's then Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad. Before the production of Proton Saga, a contest was held to choose the name of the first national car, and the name Saga was chosen from the winner of the contest, Ismail Jaafar, a...

and Persona

Proton Persona

The Proton Persona is a compact car introduced by Proton in 2007 for the same model year. Being an in-house design by Azlan Othman, the Persona replaced the saloon variant of the successful Proton Wira, whose export name is not confused with this model's same name, as Proton's compact car.It is...

models with CNG kits from Prins Autogassystemen by the end of 2008, while a local distributor of locally assembled Hyundai

Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai Motor Company is a Korean multinational automaker based in Seoul, South Korea which, along with Kia, comprises the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the world's fourth largest automaker as of 2009. As of 2011, it is the world's fastest growing automaker for two years running...

cars offers new models with CNG kits. Conversion centres, which also benefited from the rush for lower running costs, also perform partial conversions to existing road vehicles, allowing them to run on both petrol or diesel and CNG with a cost varying between RM

Malaysian ringgit

The Malaysian ringgit is the currency of Malaysia. It is divided into 100 sen...

3,500 to RM5,000 for passenger cars.

Singapore

There were about 400 CNG-fueled vehicles in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

in mid-2007, of which about 110 are taxis operated by Smart Automobile. By February 2008, the number has risen 520 CNG vehicles, of which about half are taxis. All vehicles had to refuel at the sole CNG station operated by Sembcorp Gas and located on Jurong Island

Jurong Island

Jurong Island is an artificial island located to the southwest of the main island of Singapore, off Jurong Industrial Estate. It was formed from the amalgamation of seven offshore islands, the islands of Pulau Ayer Chawan, Pulau Ayer Merbau, Pulau Merlimau, Pulau Pesek, Pulau Pesek Kechil , Pulau...

until the opening of the first publicly accessible CNG station at Mandai

Mandai

Mandai is the name of an urban planning area located in the North Region of Singapore. Mandai Road passes through the area, linking Woodlands Road to Upper Thomson Road....

in 2008, operated by Smart Automobile. The company plans to build another four stations by 2011, by which time the company projects to operated 3,000 to 4,000 CNG taxies, and with 10,000 CNG public and commercial vehicles of other types on Singapore's roads. Sembcorp Gas opened its second CNG station a week after the Mandai station at Jalan Buroh.

Indonesia

A few vehicles in Indonesia run on LPG, known as Elpiji, despite it being widely available in state controlled Pertamina

Pertamina

Pertamina is an Indonesian government-owned corporation which extracts and refines the country's oil and gas reserves. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of Pertamin and Permina...

stations even in rural and far flung parts of Indonesia; it is mainly used as a cooking gas or heating fuel to replace kerosene

Kerosene

Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...

. CNG is almost unheard of as a transport fuel before 2010 in the archipelago except in Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

, where a very relatively minor amount of vehicles, most notably Transjakarta

TransJakarta

TransJakarta is a bus rapid transit system in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was the first BRT system in Southern and Southeast Asia. TransJakarta started on January 15, 2004. As of March 2011, there were 10 corridors in operation, with five more to be built...

buses, use the fuel. However, since 2010 there has been a government emphasis to push usage of CNG as well as LPG not only for vehicle fuel, but also for domestic consumption over wood burning (can produce deadly methanol) and kerosene.

China

China had 450,000 NGV's and 870 refueling stations as of 2009. China's national reserves was 134 billion cubic meters at the end of 2007.

Iran

As of mid 2011 Iran with 2.6 million NGV fueled vehicles holds the second biggest NGV fueled transportation system in the world after Pakistan, and the world's largest number of CNG vehicles. In November 2011, Iran had 1800 operating NGV stations and it is slated to rise to 2100 until 20th March 2012. The NGV system in Iran is supplying 16 million cubic meters of natural gas equivalent of 16 million liters of gasoline per day. Iran’s daily gasoline consumption has decreased following the implementation, of among other measures, the expanding CNG-powered fleet. The original stimulus for the CNG program was the cost of imported gasoline due to insufficient local refining capacity and possibility of sanctions which could restrict imports of gasoline. With its vast natural gas reserves (second in the world after Russia) Iran has no technical limits in natural gas resources in the forseeable future. Iran's large cities have significant pollution issues which could be turned around dramatically with the replacement or conversion of older gasoline and diesel vehicles to run on CNG or dual-fuel. All NGVs in Iran are currently bi-fueled (NGV/gasoline).

External links

CNG Blog
CNG Forum
CNG-NGV Community Forum
CNG Users Site
CNG Vehicle Information
DOE-Natural Gas Vehicle Availability
Greener Cities International project dedicated to the development of an ever growing demand for environmentally friendly eco-sustainable vehicles, specifically to promote the use of cleaner fuels such as CNG and Biogas.
Natural Gas Vehicle Information

Europe

The Italian community of Natural Gas Vehicles Forum, technical info, maps also in English, German, and French.
What is Compressed Natural Gas?
US Department of Energy Consumers' Guide
Boost for natural gas cars: Home fueling

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