Baltic States – CIS, Energy, EU – Baltic States, Forum, Gas, Transport

The rally made use of the growing number of natural gas refuelling stations, which had increased dramatically in the last seven years – reaching some 4,000 in Europe, with 900 in Germany alone. The network has enabled more than 1.5 million vehicles to run on gas in Europe. The Blue Corridor rally highlighted the convenience of natural gas when travelling the East-West transit route.

Growth in NGVs (Natural Gas Vehicles) has been spurred by environmental concerns as well as economic benefits to the consumer. Unlike for petrol and diesel emissions, soot and carbon monoxide are reduced to virtually nothing in gas fired emissions – greatly reducing the impact on respiratory health, and compliant to the emission standards. Greenhouse gases CO2 and N2O are also cut by a third.

Using natural gas is particularly promising for reducing emissions reductions from both light and heavy duty vehicles or from shipping. LNG fired cargos could offer the silver bullet for this sector. As regards urban transport, Gazprom has been working with Polish regional bus producer Solbus to develop and commercially operate a fleet of LNG powered buses in Poland.

Price is also key for these sectors. Gas currently sells at the pump for a third less than petrol, making it an attractive economic choice for an ever growing number of motorists or transit companies. This price gap looks set to increase even further due to the better long-term prospects for gas. The International Energy Agency puts recoverable conventional gas reserves estimated at 250 years, compared to 40-50 years for oil.

What’s more, gas-fuelled vehicle technology is already widely available for news cars, trucks or buses, varying to best fit the needs. While Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a known solution for personal cars and city buses, the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) allows greater fuel intensity that could benefit the heavy trucks and intercity buses, and biogas can be added at any time.

The number of NGVs on the road is projected to reach 20 million by 2020. Yet this figure could easily be exceeded with the better awareness of citizens and support from European governments. For example the Italian government, a first mover in this area, has financially supported citizens to gas-convert their cars or purchase new gas-fired vehicles. More widespread adoption of such programmes would promote awareness of the technology, lead to increasing the number of fuelling stations, and help to reduce emissions.

At the European level, policy points in the right direction. Recent proposals will mandate manufacturers to reduce average CO2 emissions of their fleets, providing an incentive for the adoption of low-carbon technology, including NGVs. Euro 6 vehicle standards, applicable from 2015 will also strictly cap emissions of nitrogen oxide, which will greatly favour natural gas over petrol and diesel and with it lead to improved air quality.

Gazprom and its partners see the transport sector as a promising new outlet for gas in Europe. Gas infrastructure is a sound investment and Gazprom has been rapidly rolling out pump stations in Russia. Given the ready-made pipeline network that transports gas throughout Europe, promotion of the technology in the continent is a natural step.  While governments stay behind the curve, we hope that the rally has brought inspiration to European industries and citizens; demonstrating that running on gas is convenient, cost effective and environmentally beneficial.

The Blue Corridor Rally is supported by Gazprom and E.ON Ruhrgas.