Canadian Natural GasNatural Gas for Transportation
Natural Gas for Transportation
nn ThenCanadianntransportationnsectornisnanmajornenergynconsumernandncarbonnemissionsnsource.nnn Naturalngasnisnannabundant,ncost-effectivenfuelnthatncannreducencarbonnemissionsnfromnvehiclesnbynann
estimatedn15-25%nonnanwell-to-wheelsnornlifecyclenbasis.nnnn Canadianncompaniesnarenglobalnleadersninnsupplyingninnovative,nlowncarbonnnaturalngasnvehiclenandn
stationntechnologies.nnn Medium-nandnheavy-dutynvehiclesnoperatingninnmajorncorridorsnandnreturn-to-basenfleetsnarenan
particularlyngoodnfitnwithnnaturalngasnsincentheninvestmentninnrefuelingninfrastructurencannbenleveragednwhilenminimizingndeploymentncosts.n
nn Naturalngasnpassengernvehiclesnoperatenatnenginenefficienciesncomparablentongasolinenvehicles.nnn Renewablennaturalngasn(RNG)nproducednfromnwastenbiomassncannbenusedninnnaturalngasnvehiclesnwithn
nonvehiclenmodificationsnrequired.nRNGnprovidesnann85-90%nlifecyclencarbonnbenefit,nbecausenthisnnaturalngasnwouldnotherwisenbenemittedntonthenatmosphere.
ThentransportationnsectornisnthensecondnlargestninnCanadaninntermsnofnenergynendnuse.nItnaccountsnforn29%nofntotalnenergyndemand.nnApproximatelyn95%nofnthenenergynusedninntransportationnisnderivednfromnpetroleum-basednfuels.nNonothernsectornofnthenCanadianneconomynisnasnreliantnonnansinglenenergynsourcentonmeetnitsnneeds.nWhilenCanadanisnannetnexporternofncrudenoil,nimportednoilnisnusednbynrefineriesninnCentralnandnEasternnCanada.nImportednoilnprovidesnapproximatelyn50%nofnthenenergynusedninntransportationninnCanada.nnCanada’snproposednRenewablenFuelnStandardn
willnintroducenrenewablencontentnrequirementsnfornliquidntransportationnfuels.nThenStandardnrequiresnthenblendingnofn5%nethanolninngasolinenandn2%nbiodieselninndieselnfuel.nnProducersnofnrenewablenfuelsninnCanadanarencurrentlynbuildingncapacityntonsupportnthesenrenewablencontentnrequirements.n
Transportationncontributedn27%nofnCanada’sngreenhousengasn(GHG)nemissionsninn2008.nBetweenn1990nandn2008,nthenratenofngrowthninnGHGnemissionsnfromntransportationnexceedednthengrowthninntotalnCanadiannGHGnemissionsnbynanfactornofn50%.nTransportationnsourcesnarenresponsiblenfornapproximatelyn38%nofnthen142nkilotonnenincreaseninnGHGn
emissionsnfromnthenCanadianneconomynsincen1990.nn
Withinnthentransportationnsector,nmedium-nandnheavy-dutynvehiclesnhavenansignificantnemissionsnimpact.nOfnthenmorenthann20nmillionnon-roadnvehiclesninnCanada,n4%narenmedium-nandnheavy-dutyntrucksnandnbusesnweighingn4.5ntonnesnornmore.nWhilensmallninnnumber,nthesenvehiclesnhavenansignificantnimpactninntermsnofnbothnenergynusenandncarbonnemissions.nnEnergynusenfornmedium-nandnheavy-dutynvehiclesnhasnmorenthanndoublednsincen1990nwithnheavynhighwayntrucksnaccountingnfornmostnofnthenincreaseninndemand.nnBetweenn1990nandn2008,nGHGnemissionsnfromnmedium-nandnheavy-dutynvehiclesnincreasednbyn90%.n
Transportation in Canada
FornCanadantonachievenitsncarbonnreductionngoalnofn17%nlowernemissionsnrelativenton2005nlevelsnbyn2020,nemissionsnfromnmedium-nandnheavy-dutyntrucksnandnbusesnneedntonbenreducednwithoutncompromisingneconomicnactivitynornurbanntransportnneeds.nnFuelnswitchingntonlessncarbon-intensivenfuelsnisnonenoptionnandnnaturalngasnisnanleadingnalternativeninnthisnregardnfornspecificntransportationnsegments.nInnaddition,nnaturalngasnmaynprovidenancostneffectivencompliancenpathwaynwhenncarbon-basednregulationsnarenintroducednfornheavynvehicles.n
Canada’snnaturalngasnvehiclenindustrynwasnpartnofnanbroadngroupnofnstakeholdersnthatnworkednwithnNaturalnResourcesnCanadantonsubstantiatentheneconomicnviabilitynofnnaturalngasnasnantransportationnfueln,nandntondevelopnanDeploymentnRoadmapnfornincreasingnthenusenofnnaturalngasninnthentransportationnsector.nThisnworknaimedntonidentifynandnaddressnbarriersntonmarketndevelopment,nwithnanninitialnfocusnonnmedium-nandnheavy-dutynvehiclesnoperatingninnregionalncorridorsnandnreturn-to-basenfleets.
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Naturalngasnisnanninherentlynlessncarbonnintensivenfuel.nThentablenbelownshowsnthencarbonncontentnofntransportationnfuelsninngramsnofncarbonndioxidenequivalentn(gnCO2e)nonnannenergynequivalentnbasisnwithnenergynexpressedninnmegajoulesn(MJ).nNaturalngasnhasnapproximatelynone—thirdnlessncarbonncomparedntonultranlownsulphurndieselnornunleadedngasoline.nFuelnretailersnthatnalsonsellnnaturalngasncannreducenthenaveragencarbonnintensitynofnfuelsnsoldnatntheirnstations.n
Renewablennaturalngasn(RNG)ncannbenproducednbynupgradingnbiogasnfromnwastensources.nLandfills,nanaerobicndigesters,nandnwastewaterntreatmentnplantsnallnproducenbiogasnthatncannbencapturednandnupgradedntonpipelinenqualityngasnthatncannbenusedninterchangeablynwithnfossilnnaturalngas.nOnnantotalnlifecyclenbasis,nRNGncann
providensignificantnreductionsninnwell-to-wheelncarbonnemissionsnand,nwithnsomenfeedstocks,nRNGncannbencarbonnneutralnonnanlifecyclenbasis.nThisnisnbecausenRNGnwouldnotherwisenbenemittedntonthenatmosphere.
Thenusenofnnaturalngasninnancombustionnenginenemitsnlownlevelsnofnnitrogennoxidenandnparticulatenmatter.nMedium-nandnheavy-dutynnaturalngasntrucksnandnbusesnwithnspark-ignitedninternalncombustionnenginesndonnotnrequirenexhaustnaftertreatmentndevicesntonreducencriteriancontaminantsnandnthisnoffersnannoperationalnadvantagentonfleetnowners.nNaturalngasnisnlighternthannair,nsontherenisnnonrisknofnsoilncontaminationnatnrefuelingnsites.nInnaddition,ntherenarennonevaporativenemissionsnassociatednwithnnaturalngasnvehiclesnsincenthenfuelnsystemnisnentirelynsealedninnannaturalngasnvehicle.n
Lower Carbon Fuel
Onnannenergynequivalentnbasis,nnaturalngasnhasnhistoricallyntradednatnandiscountntoncrudenoil.nAnbarrelnofnoilnhasnroughlynthensamenamountnofnenergynasnsixnmillionnbtun(mmbtu)nofnnaturalngas.nGivennthisnenergynequivalentnrelationship,nitnwouldnbenreasonablentonassumenthatnanmmbtunofnnaturalngasnwouldnbenvaluednatnaboutn1/6thnofnthencostnofnanbarrelnofnoil.nHowever,nnaturalngasnisncurrentlyntradednatnanpricenthatnisn1/15th-1/18thnthen
costnofnanbarrelnofnoil.nEnergynmarketnanalystsnhavennotednthatntherenisnangrowingngapninnthencostnofnnaturalngasnandnthencostnofncrudenoilnonnannenergynequivalentnbasis.nBothnofnthesencommoditiesnarentradednonnopen,ncompetitivenmarkets.nThenwideningngapnbetweennnaturalngasnandncrudenoilnisnattributedntonthenincreaseninnNorthnAmericannshalengasnproduction.nOvernthenmediumntonlongernterm,nmanynindependentnforecastersnaren
suggestingnthatnnaturalngasnwillnremainnfavorablynpricednrelativentoncrudenoil.Dispensednnaturalngas,nwhetherninncompressednornliquidnform,nisntypicallynlessnexpensiventhannconventionalntransportationnfuels.nnAveragenCanadiannpricendatanfromnthenpastntwentynyearsnisnshownninnthengraphnbelow.nRetailnpricingnforncompressednnaturalngasn(CNG)nandndieselnfuelnarenshownninnthengraph.
Cost Effective Fuel
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NaturalnResourcesnCanada’snGHGeniusnlifecyclenemissionsnmodelncalculatesnthenemissionsnimpactnofnanbroadnrangenofntransportationnfuelsnandnvehiclenapplications.nThenmodelnprovidesnvaluesnonnangramsnpernkilometernbasisnandnincludesnthenemissionsnimpactnofnfuelnproduction,nfuelntransportation,nandnfuelnuseninnanvehicle.nGHGeniusnvaluesnprovidenancrediblensourcenofnemissionsnvaluesnthatnfleetnownersnandnpolicymakersncannusentoncomparenthenemissionsnimpactnofnanvarietynofntransportationnfuelsnandntypesnofntechnology.n
BasednonnGHGenius,nthenlifecyclenornwell-to-wheelsnbenefitnofnnaturalngasntrucksnandnbusesncomparedntontrucksnandnbusesnthatnoperatenonnconventionalnliquidnfuelnisnapproximatelyn16-25%.nOverallnlifecyclenemissionsnbenefitsnwillnvaryndependingnonnannumbernofnfactorsnincludingnthenregionninnCanada,nthendistancennaturalngasnmustnbentransportednvianpipeline,nthentypenofnvehicle,nenginenefficiency,netc.
Comparedntonandieselntruck,nanWestportnGX-equippednLNGntrucknoperatingninnQuébecnprovidesnan25.6%nreductionninnlifecyclencarbonnemissions.nFornantrucknthatntravelsn200,000nkilometersnpernyear,nthisnrepresentsnannestimatedn70ntonnenannualncarbonnbenefit.nApproximatelyntwo-thirdsnofnthenGHGnbenefitnisninnthenvehiclenoperationnwithnthenremainingn30%ninnfuelnproduction,nprocessing,nandntransmission.n
Well-to Wheel GHG Emissions Benefits
Lifecycle GHG Benefit – Westport GX-Equipped Truck – Québec 2009
Source: Natural Resources Canada - GHGenius 3.15
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Comparedntonandieselntruck,nanCumminsnWestportnISLnG-equippednCNGntrucknoperatingninnQuébecnprovidesnan16.2%nreductionninnlifecyclencarbonnemissions.nFornantrucknthatntravelsn200,000nkilometersnpernyear,nthisnrepresentsnannestimatedn44ntonnenannualncarbonnbenefit.nApproximatelynone-thirdnofnthenGHGnbenefitnisninnthenvehiclenoperation.
Naturalngasnhasnanrelativelynlownenergyndensityncomparednwithnconventionalntransportationnfuels.nAsnanresult,nnaturalngasnmustnbencompressednornliquefiedninnorderntonhavensufficientnenergynonboardnfornvehiclenuse.nnDifferentntypesnofnfuelnstoragenandnfuelndispensingnequipmentnarenneededndependingnonnwhethernthennaturalngasnisncompressednornliquefied.n
Compressednnaturalngasn(CNG)nisnnaturalngasnthatnisndispensednfromnrefuellingnstationsnandn
storednonboardnvehiclesnatn3,000npoundsnpernsquareninchn(psi)nornatn3,600npsi.nCanadiannstandardsnspecifynthatnnaturalngasnsoldnatnpublicnrefuellingnstationsnbendispensednatn3,000npsi.nThenCanadiannstandardsnalsonallownforncaptivenfleetsnwithnprivatenonsitenrefuellingntonbenfuellednatnhighernpressuresnsuchnasn3,600npsi.nInnthenUnitednStates,n3,600npsinisnthenstandardnfornpublicnornprivatenrefuelling.nTherenisnnonrisknofnover-pressurizingnannaturalngasnvehiclenasnthenconnectionnisndesignednsonthatnan3,000npsin
vehiclencannotnrefuelnatnan3,600npsinstation.n
Liquefiednnaturalngasn(LNG)nisnnaturalngasnthatnhasnbeenncoolednton-160°nCelsius.nInnorderntonremainninnanliquidnstate,nthenfuelnmustnbenkeptnatnthisnlowntemperature.nDouble-walledncryogenicntanksnarenusedntonstorenLNGnonnvehicles.nNaturalngasnvehiclesnthatnusenLNGnalsonincorporatensystemsntoncapturenandnusenboilnoffnwhichnisnfuelnthatnreturnsntonangaseousnstatenasnthenLNGnwarmsnup.nLNGnhasngreaternenergyndensityn
Lifecycle GHG Benefit – Cummins Westport ISL G-Equipped Truck – Québec 2009
Source: Natural Resources Canada - GHGenius 3.15
LNG or CNG
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thannCNGnandnisnparticularlynsuitablenfornvehiclesnwithnhighndailynmileagensuchnasnhighwayntractors.n
Canadianncompaniesnarenglobalnleadersninnthensupplynofnnaturalngasnenginesnfornmedium-nandnheavy-dutynvehicles.nVancouver-basednWestportnInnovationsnandnCumminsnWestportnsupplynallnofnthennaturalngasnenginesnthatnarenintegratednintonthousandsnofntrucksnandnbusesnproducednbynmorenthann15noriginalnequipmentnmanufacturersninnNorthnAmerica.nThesenenginentechnologiesnarenfullyncommercialnandnarencertifiedntonU.S.nEnvironmentalnProtectionnAgencynandnCalifornianAirnResourcesnBoardnemissionnstandards.nBothnenginensystemsnoffernpowernandntorquencharacteristicsnsimilarntontheirndieselncounterparts.
WestportnInnovationsnenginensystem,nthen15nlitrenGX,nisn
integratednintonhighwayntractorsnsoldnbyntrucknmanufacturersnKenworthnandnPeterbilt.nThesentractorsnhavenpowernratingsnofnupnton475nhorsepowernandnfuelnefficiencynthatnmatchesnthenefficiencynofncomparablen
naturalngasnengine,nthen8.9nlitrenISLnG,ncannbenusednwithneithernanCNGnornannLNGnfuelnsystemnandnglobalnsalesnexceedn25,000nunits.nThisnenginenwasnthenfirstntoncomplynwithnnewn2010ndieselnemissionsnstandardsnthatnnaturaln
dieselntractors.nWithnfederalnfundingnsupport,nthenWestportntechnologynwasnsuccessfullyndemonstratednalongnHighwayn401ninnOntarionduringn2005-06.nThenfirstnmajornordernfornLNGntrucksninnCanadanwasnrecentlynplacednbynRobertnTrucking,nCanada’snseventhnlargestnfor-hirentruckingnfleet.nThenLNGntrucksnwillnoperatenbetweennMontréal,nQuébecnCity,nandnMississauganbeginnningninn2011.n
WestportnInnovations’njointnventurenwithndieselnenginenmanufacturernCumminsnInc.,nCumminsnWestport,nsuppliesnthenothernnaturalngasnenginenusednfornNorthnAmericanntrucksnandnbuses.nThisndedicatedn
gasnenginenwasnthenfirstnenginentonmeetnstringentn2010nemissionsnstandardsnandnitndoesnnotnrequirenexhaustnaftertreatment.
Canadandevelopednthenworld’snfirstngenerationnnaturalngasntransitnbusninnthenmid-1980sninnHamilton,nON.nSuccessivengenerationsnofnthisnenginenhavenimprovednconsiderablyninntermsnofnefficiency,ndurability,npower,nandnperformance.nThencurrentngenerationnengine,nthenISLnG,ndoesnnotnrequirenandieselnparticulatenfilternornselectivencatalyticnreductionninnorderntoncomplynwithn2010nemissionsnstandards.nThenefficiencynofnthisnenginenisnwithinn10%nofnthenefficiencynofnandieselnengine.n
Canadian Engine Technologies
Challenger Motor Freight LNG tractor with Westport Innovations GX engine. Image
courtesy of Westport Innovations.
CNG Freightliner M2 112 with Cummins Westport ISL G engine. Image courtesy of Enbridge Gas Distribution.
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RNGnfurthernextendsnthenenvironmentalnvaluenpropositionnfornnaturalngas.nRNGncannbenblendednwithnfossilnnaturalngasnornusedndirectly.nNonvehiclenmodificationsnarenrequired,nsonfleetsnthatnpurchasennaturalngasnvehiclesnnowncannpositionntheirnoperationsnfornfuturenRNGnorn“greenngas”nuse.nThenCitynofnTorontonrecentlynannouncednCanada’snfirstnRNGnforntransportationnpilotnproject.nBiogasnproducednfromnthenanaerobicndigestionnofnhouseholdnorganicnwastenwillnbenupgradednandnusednasnvehiclenfuelnfornthenCity’snrefusencollectionntrucks.nBasednonnfavorablenresultsnfromnthenpilotnprojectn,nthenCitynwillnassessnwhetherntonextendnntheninitiativenandnmakenallnfuturencollectionntrucknpurchasesnnaturalngasntrucks.n
ThenTorontonprojectnalsoninvolvesngridninjectionnofnthenRNGnintonthenlocalnnaturalngasndistributionngrid.nCanada’snnaturalngasndistributionnindustrynisninnthenprocessnofndevelopingnantechnicalnguidelinenrelatedntoninjectingnRNGnintonthenlocalnnaturalngasndistributionngrid.nSeveralnEuropeanncountriesnarenalsonmovingnaheadnwithngridninjectionnofnRNG.
RNGnproductionnandnusencannprovidenthenbasisnfornann
integrated,nlocalnenergynsolution.nInnadditionntonallowingnfornmoreneffectivenusenofnwastenresources,nrenewablennaturalngasnprovidesnannestimatedn85-90%nlifecyclencarbonnreductionnwhennusednasnanvehiclenfuel.nThisnisnbecausenthisnnaturalngasnwouldnotherwisenbenemittedntonthenatmosphere.nMunicipalitiesnandnprivatensectornfleetsnthatnownnlandfillsnandnothernwaste-relatednassetsnarenshowingnincreasingninterestninnthenpotentialnfornrenewablennaturalngasntonreducencarbonnemissions.n
Renewable Natural Gas
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NaturalngasnvehiclesnwerenfirstncommercializedninnItalynfollowingnWorldnWarnIInwhennconventionalnvehiclenfuelsnwereninnshortnsupply.nTodayntherenarenannestimatedn11nmillionnnaturalngasnvehiclesninnmorenthann30ncountriesnaroundnthenworld.nCanadanhasnhadnannactivennaturalngasnvehiclenindustrynfornmorenthanntwenty-fivenyears.nCanadiansnhavenplayednanleadingnroleninnthendevelopmentnofnCanadiannandninternationalncodesnandnstandards.nFormernNaturalnResourcesnCanadanofficialnBernardnJamesnchairednthennInternationalnStandardsnOrganizationnWorkingnGroupnthatndevelopednthenstandardnfornhighnpressurennaturalngasnfuelnstoragencylinders.nnThisnworknprovidednthenbasisnfornstandardsnusednaroundnthenworldntodaynthatngovernnthensafenstoragenandnusenofnCNG.
WithinnCanada,nthenindustry’sneffortsnhavenledntonthendevelopmentnofnanrobustnsetnofncodes,nstandards,nandnregulationsntonensurenthensafenusenofnnaturalngasnasnanvehiclenfuel.nProvincialnauthoritiesnhavingnjurisdictionnovernfuelnusenoverseenthensafenhandlingnofnnaturalngasnasnantransportationnfuel.nIndustrynmembersnparticipatenonncommitteesnthatnensurenthenongoingnmaintenancenandndevelopmentnofncodesnandnstandards.n
AsnCanadanhasnnotnhadnanynLNGnvehiclesninnthenpast,ncodesnandnstandardsnneedntonbendevelopedninnthisnarea.nAsnpartnofnthenDeploymentnRoadmapnworknthatninvolvednindustrynandnNaturalnResourcesnCanada,nanninitialnanalysisnwasnundertakenntonassessnnAmericannLNGncodesnandnstandardsnnwithnreferencentonCanada’snindustrialnproductionnLNGnstandardn(CSAnZ276)ntonbeginntondeterminennextnstepsninnthencodesnandnstandardsndevelopmentnprocess.nn
A Long History of Safe Use
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Canadian Natural Gas is a made-in-Canada advocacy project sponsored by the following associations:
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