ERTRAC Sees CNG, LNG as Strategic Option Towards Decarbonisation

ERTRAC, The European Road Transport Research Advisory Council, has published a research roadmap on ‘Energy Carries for Powertrains’. Produced in a joint effort between ERTRAC’s Working Group on Energy & Environment and NGVA Europe, the goal is to provide an overview of R&D needs for the most promising vehicle technologies and energy carriers that offer significant potential to contribute to decarbonisation and emissions reduction of Europe’s transport in the short, mid and long term, inlcuding CNG and LNG.

For these energy carriers the roadmap discusses key issues such as maturity of technology and compatibility with engine technologies and infrastructures, availability of resources, complexity of the production process & costs for developments, GHG savings potential on a Well-to-Wheel basis, as well as sustainable and ressource efficient renewable energy production pathways.

Based on that, milestones are defined for development and implementation of various options resulting in a roadmap for research and development that is intended to provide useful input to the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, as well as the R&D strategies of industry and research organisations throughout Europe.

The ERTRAC roadmap considers Natural Gas in compressed and liquefied form, including from renewables sources, to be a fundamental strategic option to fulfil the EU target to move towards a decarbonisation and oil replacement scenario for the transportation sector. NG represents a viable immediate solution with huge potential in the short, medium and long term for energy diversification and to minimise the transportation system dependence on crude oil. CNG and LNG from fossil and renewable sources therefore deserve specific immediate attention.

The huge potential offered by biomethane – gaseous fuel derived from renewable sources – is specifically emphasised. On a Well-to-Wheel basis, biomethane is a carbon neutral fuel (also power-to-gas). Its major benefit when compared to other biofuels is that it can be produced from a great variety of sources as, basically, all types of bio matter can be used for this purpose. One of the most interesting options is the production from waste.

In addition, being the same chemical composition as its fossil counterpart, it can be used in existing NG combustion engines and refuelling technology with no blending limitations, unlike for liquid biofuels. Double investments into vehicles and CNG or L-CNG refuelling stations are therefore avoided, enabling a quick and cost effective introduction of renewables into the transport sector via the use of methane-powered vehicles. Biomethane can furthermore easily be injected into and distributed through the existing NG network, in order to supply it to CNG vehicles or it can also be liquefied and used as bio LNG. All of the above makes biomethane an ideal fuel for automotive applications, the document highlights.

The future of gas-powered mobility

The roadmap predicts that natural gas vehicles (NGVs) may reach 10% market share of new registered vehicles by 2030 (>30% by 2040), with gas from decarbonised sources – biomethane and power-to gas – reaching up to 20% in the total methane used. For heavy duty application, a filling station network along the European core network (TEN-T) with liquefied natural gas and liquefied biogas blends (LNG) will be established by 2030, thanks to European projects such as LNG Blue Corridors. In heavy duty urban vehicles, i.e. buses, garbage and delivery trucks, bio CNG will become an interesting choice with an increasing market share of up to 30% in newly registered CNG buses and trucks, including gas hybrids. Key factor in the foreseen scenario is that the refuelling infrastructure for CNG and LNG has been entirely established all over Europe, with the last infrastructure gaps being filled by 2040. Towards 2050, NGVs will play a key role in a decarbonised and clean road mobility, the roadmap states.