The natural gas vehicle (NGV) industry is poised for a period of growth that could put 7.3 million new NGVs on the road worldwide by 2015, a 75% increase from the current 9.7 million NGVs in operation, according to a report from Boulder, CO-based Pike Research.

More than three million NGVs will be sold worldwide in 2015, the clean technology market intelligence company said. But while the global NGV market will grow, the report concluded that only 31,347 NGVs will be sold in the United States in 2015. The U.S. NGV market will continue to be dominated by fleet sales to government and commercial customers.

According to the report, demand for NGV adoption is driven by economics — fuel for NGVs must be cheaper than gasoline/diesel — and by environmental benefits, availability and energy security concerns.

A shortage of available refueling stations has been one of the key market issues for NGVs. According to the report, the cost to build refueling stations is high enough that owners tend to be large fleets, government agencies or gas companies that have a vested interest in selling the gas. “As such, the growth of refueling infrastructure is largely driven by government incentives within the marketplace,” according to the report. Government-provided grants or tax incentives for installing refueling stations helps to generate demand for the vehicles.

The full report is available at www.pikeresearch.com.

Earlier this year the House approved legislation (HR 1622) that reauthorizes federal spending for research and development of NGV for five years (see Daily GPI, July 23). A Senate bill would extend and expand federal tax credits for NGVs and refueling facilities (see Daily GPI, July 21).

Developing transportation markets and a fueling infrastructure in North Texas for NGV is the goal of gas producers and other companies behind the newly formed Metroplex Natural Gas Vehicle Consortium (see Daily GPI, Sept. 25). Utah, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Colorado are other states with NGV initiatives under way (see Daily GPI, July 9; June 3).

Creating markets for NGVs is one of two major market-building goals of the recently formed America’s Natural Gas Alliance (see Daily GPI, Sept. 8). According to Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey K. McClendon, about 20% of America’s existing fueling stations, which dispense 80-85% of transportation fuel, could be retrofitted to supply natural gas for $20-25 billion.

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