CURRENT NGV CHALLENGES & THE NEED FOR ANG TECHNOLOGY

The number of NGVs around the world grows rapidly. This growth rate is way above the expected standard in the automotive market and It is the fastest developing alternative automotive energy sector. However, up to now it still comprises only a small percentage of the world's automotive fleet.

The massive implementation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles in most markets is restrained by the need to invest in exorbitant refueling infrastructure, in addition to the inconvenience and additional costs of on-board CNG tanks. The source of these problems lies in the need to store NG in very high pressure (200-250 bars).

CNG vehicle refueling infrastructure deployment and operation is associated with the following problems:

Capital investment for the construction of a CNG filling station is several times that of a petrol/diesel station
Approvals and land-use issues; Approval for gas facilities is a complex and long process, especially in urban populated areas (where most filling stations should be installed)
The operation of a CNG station requires high energy consumption
Expensive filling equipment maintenance costs
The costs of CNG stations substantially increase NG cost for the vehicle user. In many countries without significant tax preferences or other powerful government measures CNG price is not attractive enough compared with petrol and diesel
Classic "chicken-and-egg" scenario:
Gas companies don't invest in costly stations network because there are not enough NGVs users. Users don't buy NGVs due to a sparse stations network

On-board tanks of CNG vehicles

In order to meet 200-250 bars requirements On-board tanks of CNG vehicles:

Have cylindrical form which is not convenient for vehicle integration
Are manufactured from expensive high-strength high-plasticity metals or very expensive composite materials

CNG vehicle cylinders are a source of some functional problems beside the substantial additional cost. CNG tanks generally:

They occupy twice the volume of petrol/diesel tanks (about 100 liters of geometric volume)
They allow for half the driving range of a petrol fueled vehicle (about 300 km)

NGV filling station not connected to pipelines

In most regions of Asia and South America (and in some cases in Europe and America too) it is impossible to place NGV filling station on the pipeline. That's because in those countries gas distribution networks are not well developed.

Most NGV stations in Asia and South America are "mother-daughter" stations. A mother station is connected to a pipeline and fills gas transport trailers. The trailers bring the gas to smaller daughter filling stations, and they in turn serve vehicles.

As a result, the gas must be compressed twice, in two CNG station. In addition the special trailers, transporting gas at 200-250 bars, require big additional capital and operation costs.

Additional problems for NG fueling of 2-Wheelers

The above mentioned problems are amplified once we try to serve two-wheelers because:

There is a huge number of vehicles to be served
Each consumer uses a small amount of NG
Almost all two-wheelers are privately owned and not organized in fleets
Vehicles are dispersed and fuelling points must be deployed accordingly
Natural gas pipeline is absent in most locations in need

Consequently:

Compared with stations serving bigger vehicles There is a need for more filling points and more trailers to distribute the same quantity
There are more filling capacity requirements for peek hours
And a need for even more capital investment, more approvals and logistics for same quantity of gas sold

In addition there are technical problems with the installation of gas fueling systems including high-pressure cylinders and pressure regulators in 2-wheelers because of space limits and safety concerns.