A new study posits that natural gas vehicle (NGV) manufacturers may be able to further reduce emissions compared to gasoline cars, removing as much as 90% of unburned methane from engine exhausts.

Researchers at Washington State University (WSU) and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) National Accelerator Laboratory in California recently published their findings after exploring methods for reducing methane emissions from NGVs.

“There’s a big drive toward using natural gas, but when you use it for combustion engines, there will always be unburned natural gas from the exhaust, and you have to find a way to remove that,” said SLAC scientist Frank Abild-Pedersen, who co-authored the research. “If not, you cause more severe global warming. If you can remove 90% of...