Adsorbed natural gas vehicles leverage lower cost natural gas to provide a more economic and cleaner fueling option
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced it will fund a field
demonstration of adsorbed natural gas bi-fuel vehicles powered by
natural gas compressing technology developed by Adsorbed
Natural Gas Products, Inc. and Ingevity.
Adsorbed natural gas technology uses Ingevity’s unique Nuchar® activated
carbon to reduce the storage pressure of natural gas without sacrificing
the volume of natural gas stored through a process called adsorption.
Using this type of fuel provides a cleaner and lower cost fuel option
for large, light-duty vehicles, such as SUVs, half-ton pickup trucks,
and service vans, than diesel, gasoline, or traditional compressed
natural gas fuel.
“The transportation sector accounts for more than 80 percent of
smog-forming emissions and about 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions
in California,” said Yuri Freedman, senior director of business
development at SoCalGas. “Natural gas can play an important role in
reducing emissions, and adsorbed natural gas can revolutionize the way
natural gas is used as a transportation fuel. We are excited to see how
the vehicles perform during the demonstration.”
“It is the unique ‘capture and release’ properties of our Nuchar
activated carbon that makes this incredible new transportation option
possible,” said Ed Woodcock, executive vice president and president of
Performance Materials at Ingevity. “Having SoCalGas as a project partner
will provide invaluable insight and support as we work to demonstrate
the value of adsorbed natural gas to the natural gas community and
light-duty vehicle fleets, and commercialize this exciting new
technology.”
Adsorbed natural gas vehicles can be fueled at public-access compressed
natural gas stations, as well as conveniently from home or work through
a refueling compressor. They operate at significantly lower fueling
pressure than standard compressed natural gas vehicles, refilling at 900
psi instead of 3600 psi. This reduces energy consumption by over 50
percent and decreases fueling time by over 60 percent. Additionally,
these vehicles can travel long distances on adsorbed natural gas before
seamlessly switching to gasoline. As natural gas costs $1-$1.50 less per
gasoline gallon equivalent than gasoline, adsorbed natural gas offers a
lower-cost fueling alternative.
Natural gas is one of the cleanest burning alternative fuels available.
And natural gas vehicles are some of the cleanest vehicles in commercial
production today; they can reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by as much
as 30 percent, carbon monoxide by 85 percent, and carcinogenic
particulate emissions by 99 percent. Adsorbed natural gas vehicles are
90 percent cleaner than the Environmental Protection Agency’s current
nitrogen oxide standard and emit over 25 percent fewer greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions than comparable gasoline and diesel vehicles. When
refueling with renewable natural gas, GHG emissions can be reduced by up
to 125 percent.
SoCalGas is providing funding for the project with research and
development funds authorized by the California Public Utilities
Commission, and will also test and validate the adsorbed natural gas
vehicles during a six-month demonstration period.
Results from SoCalGas’ demonstration will support a commercial rollout
of adsorbed natural gas vehicles to fleet operators in Southern
California.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is
the largest
natural gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas
delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural
gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000
square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90
percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking,
drying clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered through the
company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to
Californians — about 45
percent of electric power generated in the state comes from
gas-fired power plants.
SoCalGas’ vision is to be the cleanest
natural gas utility in North America, delivering affordable and
increasingly renewable energy to its customers. In support of that
vision, SoCalGas is committed to replacing 20 percent of its traditional
natural gas supply with renewable natural gas (RNG) by 2030. Renewable
natural gas is made from waste created by dairy farms, landfills and
wastewater treatment plants. SoCalGas is also committed to investing in
its natural gas system infrastructure while keeping bills affordable for
our customers. From 2014 through 2018, the company invested nearly $6.5
billion to upgrade and modernize its natural gas system to enhance
safety and reliability. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra
Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San
Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or
connect with SoCalGas on Twitter
(@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas)
and Facebook.
Ingevity: Purify, Protect and Enhance
Ingevity provides specialty chemicals, high-performance carbon materials
and engineered polymers that purify, protect, and enhance the world
around us. Through a team of talented and experienced people, Ingevity
develops, manufactures, and brings to market products and processes that
help customers solve complex problems. These products are used in a
variety of demanding applications, including asphalt paving, oil
exploration and production, agrochemicals, adhesives, lubricants,
publication inks, coatings, elastomers, bio-plastics and automotive
components that reduce gasoline vapor emissions. Headquartered in North
Charleston, South Carolina, Ingevity operates from 25 locations around
the world and employs approximately 1,750 people. The company is traded
on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: NGVT). For more information visit www.ingevity.com.
SoCalGas: Irene Nguyen, 213-244-2442, inguyen@semprautilities.com
Ingevity: Amy Chiconas, 843-740-2005, amy.chiconas@ingevity.com