The Long Road For Natural Gas Vehicles

Natural gas has made only small inroads in the world's transportation market, where the fuels of choice remain those refined from crude oil. The global market for cars and trucks powered by natural gas has been growing, however, and the technology improving, spurred by tax incentives, high gasoline and diesel prices, and a blossoming green movement.

But compressed natural gas, or CNG, vehicles are largely a niche market for fleet vehicles in the United States. Growth in their use by the general public or as a fleet fuel could accelerate Lower 48 natural gas demand in coming years – anything that builds demand could help the multibillion-dollar Alaska natural gas pipeline project. However, CNG vehicles are unlikely to rival electrical generation as the major driver of higher gas demand in the next decade.

Even with interest sparked by today's high gasoline prices, four key roadblocks stand in the way of a widespread deployment of natural gas vehicles in the United States:
• The vehicles cost more than gasoline-powered cars and trucks, a handicap partly offset by less expensive fuel.
• The compressed natural gas tanks on converted vehicles take up a lot of room, typically absorbing much of the trunk space in cars.
• Drivers must refuel the vehicles more frequently.
• Refueling stations are sparse, so refueling the vehicles is far less convenient than pulling into the corner gas station to top off the tank.

These barriers mean that converts to compressed natural gas vehicles for now likely will remain operators of diesel or gas-guzzling heavy-duty fleets - such as city or school buses, delivery or garbage trucks - whose vehicles can return to a central yard for refueling each day, or individuals with such deep commitment to curbing greenhouse gas emissions that they will spend the extra money required.

More common outside U.S.
The United States has an estimated 117,000 vehicles fueled by compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas, with CNG accounting for 114,000 of them. That's up from fewer than 30,000 in the early 1990s, but it compares to about 240 million cars and light-duty trucks using gasoline.

The United States lags many other countries in number of natural gas-powered vehicles. An estimated 12 million such vehicles are on the road worldwide. Pakistan, Argentina, Iran, Brazil and India lead the way. Pakistan with 2.3 million gas-powered cars and trucks has the most, thanks in part of a program to build CNG fueling stations around the country. Europe has about 1 million CNG vehicles, most of which also can run on gasoline, making them easier to refuel. Multi-fuel vehicles are the norm outside the United States.
An estimated 95 percent of the natural gas vehicles worldwide are cars or pickup trucks, with another 3% buses and 2% trucks.

The scarcity of U.S. CNG fueling sites has helped constrain growth of natural gas vehicle sales. The United States has about 900 CNG fueling sites, with less than half open to the public. Only 19 states have more than 10 sites, and five have none. Alaska has two, a private site on Anchorage's joint military base and a public station at Ditch Witch of Alaska, also in Anchorage.

Fueling fleets
The most recent U.S. numbers for natural gas vehicles are as of 2008. At that time, oil prices had spiked to record highs, sparking interest in alternatives to oil-based fuels.