In a North American landscape increasingly bathed in domestic natural gas supplies, the question at the end of 2011: Why aren’t there more natural gas vehicles (NGV) on U.S. roadways?

The answer, colored by the lack of consumer vehicle choices and fueling infrastructure limits, is that fleet and heavy-duty equipment are increasingly moving over to NGVs, but the consumer market has failed to develop. Prospects for growth in 2012 appear to be limited to the fleet sector where an aggressive push for more of a fueling network is ongoing (see NGI, Aug. 29, 2011).

Several big U.S. gas producers and related North American industries have taken up the rally on their own. Among the endeavors launched in the past few months:

A year-end report by the Associated Press raised questions about natural gas use in transportation in the United States, citing the existence of only one major NGV consumer vehicle model, the newly renamed Honda NG, which runs on CNG. It also cited a lack of public fueling stations, as well as an industry concentration on fleets where fuel-guzzling big rigs and heavy-duty equipment and refuse trucks are a more natural market.

Trade association NGV America contends that the initial focus needs to be on the big fuel-consuming vehicle sector if the initial goal is to reduce foreign oil imports and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. An average passenger car goes 12,000 miles and consumes about 500 gallons of gasoline in a year while the average 18-wheel, diesel-fueled big rig covers 120,000 miles and consumes 20,000 gallons of fuel.

At the annual convention of the American Fleet and Leasing Association in September General Motors (GM) executive Mark Vann, manager of government and fuel cell projects, touted various advantages of natural gas in transportation. “The economic payback for alternative fuel vehicles is dependent on many factors, including assumptions on the future price of fuel/energy,” Vann said.

Of the estimated 12.7 million NGVs globally, only about 112,000 are in the United States. The Asia-Pacific Rim (6.8 million) and Latin America (4.2 million) account for more than 90% of the NGVs operating today. Europe has another 1.4 million, followed by Africa (122,000).

At the Deloitte Oil & Gas Conference in December, former GM executive Bob Lutz said natural gas works well in vehicles but there is no significant mass consumer demand and the fueling range of the vehicles is very limiting and a stumbling block. Lutz most recently was one of the GM executives guiding the development of the gasoline-electric hybrid Chevy Volt.

Westport disagrees with Lutz’s assessment that NGVs are limited to about a 50-mile range.

“Our Ford pickup trucks will run up to 600 miles, which, frankly, addresses a major customer concern and what we refer to as ‘range anxiety,'” said a Westport spokesperson in Vancouver. He cautioned that the range of light-duty vehicles and heavy-duty trucks is dependent on a variety of factors, including but not limited to duty cycle, engine size, vehicle chassis, etc.

Big rig truckers and fleet operators contemplating the purchase of a natural gas-fueled rig have several things to consider. One is the availability of fuel. CNG and LNG don’t share the same availability characteristics, according to Kenworth Truck Co.’s Andy Douglas, national sales manager for specialty markets.

“Currently, many local transit and government agencies use CNG to power trucks and buses, so that fuel source may be easier to find,” Douglas said. “Meanwhile, the natural gas infrastructure available to the public is expanding at an accelerated rate across the United States and Canada along well traveled transportation routes. It’s amazing the amount of infrastructure activity that’s happened in the past five years,” Douglas said. “It may not be too long before we’ll see enough natural gas stations along key interstate corridors for trucks to be able to travel from Los Angeles to New York and back.”

The other thing to consider when choosing between CNG and LNG is operating range of the rig/fleet, he said. “In general, if your operating range is over 400 miles, it’s usually best to go with LNG. Under 400 miles, CNG can be an option. CNG can be used up to 66,000 pounds GVW [gross vehicle weight] with some severe-duty applications going up to 80,000 pounds GVW,” said Douglas.

Most CNG stations compress the gas into onsite storage cylinders, which can then dispense the natural gas fuel into truck fuel tanks as quickly as diesel fuel. LNG can be dispensed at 20 to 40 gallons per minute, so fueling a truck with 120-gallon tank capacity may typically take less than five minutes.

“Drivers can refuel CNG-powered trucks without needing to go through special training,” said Douglas. “LNG is a cryogenic fuel and so those vehicles must be refueled by properly trained individuals.”

Some CNG stations are lower volume, or time fill, and fill fuel tanks more slowly. The slower, time-fill system is often used to fuel fleets whose vehicles sit overnight or for several hours, Douglas said. According to recent figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average cost of diesel in the United States reached $4/gal in November. That’s up just over 25% from the same period a year ago, according to Kenworth.

“The price of natural gas over the past three years has been consistently lower than diesel, in some cases by as much as $2 per diesel gallon equivalent,” said Douglas. “It’s no wonder why natural gas has drawn increasing interest among truck and fleet operators. The fuel savings, coupled with the longer trade cycles that some vocational operators already experience with their trucks, can make a positive return on investment [ROI] attainable now, even without government incentives. The business is changing as the trend moves toward greener trucks.”

To help determine if that savings can provide a high enough ROI, Douglas said the Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report offers a comparison of CNG, gasoline, diesel and biodiesel fuels on a straight price comparison basis and an energy-equivalent basis. The report is updated every three months.

“Natural gas represents a tremendous future for our industry. Knowing how to choose the right model, fuel, tanks and engine is important for truck fleets and operators looking at adding natural gas units to their operation,” he said.

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