As a professional driver, you know that fuel is your highest variable cost. With the rising price of traditional fossil fuels gouging your bottom line and everyday fuel management critical to your business and livelihood, one has to look to alternative sources of get up and go. Natural gas offers a clean burning and affordable source of fuel. 
The Freightliner Business Class M2 112 line of trucks and tractors with natural gas offers unparalleled benefits that help businesses increase productivity, performance, and profitability. Learn More 

 
Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) function on the same chief fundamentals as a gas powered vehicle - the engines run on a mixture of fuel (gasoline, diesel fuel or natural gas) and air ignited by a spark plug to move the piston up and down, “just like a bicycle rider pushing against the pedals to make the bike go.”
 
Natural gas can power all the same vehicles currently powered by gasoline and diesel fuel – light to heavy-duty; on-road and off-road. However, since natural gas is a gas rather than a liquid at standard pressure and temperature, some modifications are required to make an NGV work efficiently. The main differences are found in how it must be handled and stored.
 
Fleets around the country are discovering the advantages of natural gas vehicles:
  • Price: The main factor driving interest in natural gas fuel is the delta in price between diesel and natural gas.  While average diesel costs are back in the $4.00 per gallon range, the price of compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel has averaged about $1.80 per diesel gallon equivalent.  Even with up to 10% degradation in fuel economy vs. diesel, natural gas fuel can save you thousands of dollars per year in fuel costs depending on the application.
  • Fewer Emissions: CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicles are cleaner than traditional vehicles, producing on average 20% fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than diesel. They greatly reduce pollutants from emissions such as CO2, and produce little or no evaporative emissions during fueling and use.
  • Lower Noise Levels: Heavy-duty NGVs have decibel level that is 10 decibels quieter than comparable diesel vehicles.
  • Decrease in foreign dependencies: Utilizing natural gas means we will reduce dependence on foreign oil, as natural gas is a domestically sourced fuel.
So when using a NGV seems like a logical choice, why are there some ojections to making the switch?
  • Finding Natural Gas: Finding a station that carriers Natural Gas is not always efficient and can be hard if you are making long hauls across country. However, fuel sources and centers are taking notice of the benefits of natural gas as a fuel. In 2012, TravelCenters of America (TA) announced that it had partnered with Shell Oil to construct and operate a network of natural gas fueling lanes at TA locations along the U.S. Highway System. With fuel centers like TA supporting natural gas vehicles, it’s only a matter of time before you see more and more of these vehicles on the road and fuel centers to keep them going.
  • Environmental Impacts: Natural gas extraction also has an environmental impact with champions on both sides making their opinions heard. Proponents of “fracking,” natural gas extraction via induced hydraulic fracturing, point to the economic benefits from the vast amounts of untapped supplies the process can extract. Opponents point to potential environmental impacts, including contamination of ground water, risks to air quality, surface contamination from spills and the health effects these 8000 foot deep wells might have on communities near the fracking sites.  For these reasons hydraulic fracturing has come under scrutiny internationally, with some countries suspending or even banning it. The U.S. continues to utilize fracking to extract natural gas. 
With the rising price of traditional fossil fuels, using a natural gas alternative could really save you money for the long haul. Whatever your opinion on the extraction process or other more traditional fossil fuels, there is no denying natural gas will soon have an impact on the way you get down the road.
 

Comments (11)

Greg Treinen

As segment manager, medium duty & alternate fuels for Freightliner Trucks, Greg Treinen is responsible for driving marketing programs and communications promoting Freightliner Trucks’ medium duty and alternate fuels product lines. Appointed to this role in 2009, Mr. Treinen is responsible for developing medium duty and alternate fuel-specific content for marketing communications, web site, dealer tools and training, trade show strategy, and sales programs. Prior to his current role, Mr. Treinen served as the lead market planning analyst for Daimler Trucks North America, where he was responsible for developing the company market and internal sales volume forecasts, plus market analysis and market research. Mr. Treinen has also served as a used truck acquisition analyst with Daimler Trucks Remarketing. Mr. Treinen has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from University of Oregon and a masters of business administration (MBA) degree from University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the highest recognition a business student can receive in a business program accredited by AACSB International.

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Henry - Since LNG is a liquid, it takes about the same amount of time as diesel.
With CNG, it can vary widely. While many of the newer CNG stations were
built as true "fast fill" stations - about 8-10 equivalent gallons per
minute - some of the older stations just don't have the capacity to fill at
that rate - perhaps 4 gallons per minute or lower.

September 11, 2012 9:49:20 AM

How long does it take to fuel using CNG versus LNG versus diesel ?

September 07, 2012 19:27:49 PM

How long does it take to fuel CNG versus LNG versus diesel ?

September 07, 2012 19:27:32 PM

Having run a fleet of cng cabs the problem is still fuel stops and their maintenance the compressors can go down and when they do you get no fuel, and the more vehicles that use the pump the lower the pressure. So getting fuel for a OTR driver will still be a problem, I would like to see LNG for long haul

September 07, 2012 18:02:43 PM

Henry - A 15 liter engine, which uses the same spark ignited dedicated natural gas
engine technology featured in its 9 and 12 liter engines, is currently
under development by Cummins. That product is expected to be available in
2015. Other truck OEMs currently offer a 15 liter engine called the
Westport GX. The GX is a "dual fuel" engine, which utilizes diesel pilot
injection technology, and is a retrofitted engine - not factory built like
the spark ignited products produced by Cummins. That means you would need
a diesel fuel tank, plus diesel particular filters and SCR equipment,
making that truck a more complex, more expensive piece of equipment than a
truck using spark ignited dedicated natural gas engine technology.

September 06, 2012 11:05:58 AM

We stopped at the Flying J in Dallas and they are almost ready to open their fueling station. I was surprised to see this as they built the fueling station at the back of the lot and I was also not impressed at how many parking spots it took away from such a busy area.

September 01, 2012 4:23:44 AM

Greg ,
Are 15 liter big bore engines availible at this time for heavy weight class 8 cross country use?
,

August 29, 2012 21:10:13 PM

Linda - It all depends on the vehicle application, but generally the cost of one
of our factory-built CNG heavy duty truck with the ISL G engine is about
$40,000 above a comparatively spec'd diesel truck. The cost of CNG really
depends on region, but I can tell you on our most recent cross-country run,
we paid about $1.70 per GGE (about $1.92 per diesel gallon equivalent
(DGE)). Fuel economy degradation on a CNG is about 10% vs. a comparable
diesel. Depending on how many miles you put on your truck, with the cost
delta between a gallon of diesel and a DGE of CNG, you might see a payback
on that $40,000 of 2 years or less, even with that fuel economy loss. But,
again, it all depends miles driven, terrain, and spec.

August 29, 2012 14:21:21 PM

A follow-up article on the modifications (including cost) necessary to make natural gas practical for big rigs would be helpful.

August 29, 2012 12:43:49 PM

I would like to see a comparison between cost of the vehicle, cost of CNG, and MPG to make an informed decision. I have seen more of these vehicles doing local work and so far they all seem to be with bus or trash service.

August 29, 2012 2:32:23 AM

Natural gas seems like it may change the way vehilces are fueled much in the same way diesel replaced steam engines on the worlds railroads.

August 28, 2012 20:51:25 PM