Natural gas (CNG = compressed natural gas) is a gas that is mainly used for heating. But cars can also be powered by natural gas. You often see the sticker "I fill up with natural gas" on cabs, Companies can reduce their operating costs with commercial vehicles such as the VW caddy ecofuel, and more and more drivers in the private sector are also happy about the low operating costs. The abbreviation "CNG has also a disadvantage, the term itself "compressed natural gas", so compressed natural gas. Compression is the key, because the natural gas has to be compressed at 200 to 300 bar – an enormous pressure that otherwise only high-performance military submarines can withstand under water. For natural gas, you not only need special pressure-resistant car tanks, but also filling stations that generate the pressure with complex technology and high energy expenditure and store the compressed natural gas in reservoirs. The processing and storage of natural gas consume ten to 15 percent of the energy content of natural gas. Up to now, only the pure driving consumption and the resulting emissions were considered in the environmental balance sheet.
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Increased performance possible
Thanks to its high anti-knock properties, natural gas can be compressed to a higher level, thus enabling higher engine output than gasoline or diesel. However, the actual performance comparison depends on whether converted vehicles or vehicles with natural gas optimized engines are used for comparison. Natural gas-optimized engines use the product-specific advantages of natural gas and thus achieve a performance gain of 5-10% compared to conventional gasoline engines.
However, due to the much poorer storage density of natural gas, 2.5 times the tank volume is required to achieve the same range compared to autogas. The natural gas tank in the vehicle weighs about 5 times as much as an autogas tank, provided that pure steel tanks are used and not more expensive composite tanks.
Cost savings on refueling
The purchase costs for natural gas vehicles are around approx. 1000 euro above the price of a version with diesel engine. The additional costs compared to gasoline-powered vehicles are between 1.500 and 3.500 euros depending on vehicle model. If a vehicle is retrofitted to run on natural gas, costs of up to 5.000 euros depending on vehicle type. The higher the annual mileage, the quicker the purchase pays for itself. Retrofit.
When choosing new natural gas vehicles, you can choose from the manufacturers citroen, fiat, ford, opel, mercedes and volkswagen.
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Refueling is very simple
refueling with natural gas is child’s play. When refueling, the hose is firmly connected to the vehicle and the gas is injected at approx. 200 bar pressed into the corresponding tanks. natural gas tanks must be able to withstand pressures of up to 600 bar, thus ensuring maximum safety.
If you decide to buy a natural gas vehicle, you should ask the municipal utility company in your city about the current subsidies. subsidies are often available in the form of cash or fuel vouchers.
Filling station network becomes denser
Natural gas vehicles have a long tradition, especially in Italy, where gasoline is more expensive than gas for tax reasons. Refueling is possible at a large number of gas stations and the filling systems are uniformly standardized, with the exception of southern regions in Italy. Who is on the way there must pay attention to take along an appropriate adapter. In germany, austria and switzerland, natural gas has been cheaper than gasoline or diesel for many years, and the network of filling stations has been largely expanded. There are currently more than 800 filling stations in germany. More are planned, with the target of 1.000 gas stations in germany postponed year after year. Also due to the high costs of about 250.000 euros per filling station, expansion is currently proceeding very slowly.
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Lower carbon dioxide emissions
The favorable carbon-to-hydrogen ratio of methane lowers carbon dioxide emissions during combustion.
Compared to a gasoline-powered vehicle, natural gas produces up to 23 percent less carbon dioxide (CO²) during combustion. Reductions of up to 80 percent are also possible for hydrocarbons and reactive hydrocarbons. In particular, the critically regarded benzene and soot particles do not appear when natural gas is used. With natural gas, there are no refueling emissions due to the closed system. The environmental balance looks even better when biogas is fed into the grid.
Reduced mineral oil tax rate until 2018
as part of the federal government’s environmental policy initiative to reduce CO² emissions worldwide, natural gas was named alongside autogas and hydrogen (fuel cells) as one of the energies with which it is possible to drastically reduce pollutant emissions and their effects. Up to 31.12.In 2018, a significantly reduced mineral oil tax rate therefore applied to natural gas.