Natural Gas Transports Gaining Regard

There are four types of natural gas vehicles. Type one uses compressed natural gas exclusively and does not contain another fuel tank. Type two uses only liquid natural gas and typically is a medium- to heavy-duty vehicle because of the large tanks required for the liquid natural gas. Type three is the vehicle that can use both natural gas in either compressed or liquid form and gasoline or another type of fuel. Type four is the vehicle that burns two fuels simultaneously, often natural gas and diesel fuel.

The positive benefits to using natural gas transports are the reduction of the reliance on imported crude oil and gasoline, lowered greenhouse gas emissions and reduced carbon footprint. Consumers are growing more interested in the domestic security advantages of reducing the reliance on foreign energy sources, as well as the need to be concerned about the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels. The concern over the rising prices of imported
oil and gasoline and the instability of those prices is also a great motivation for consumers to explore other options for fueling personal and business vehicles.

At present, the top five markets for natural gas transports in the world are Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Iran and India. In these countries there are a growing number of natural gas powered light-duty transports as well. World markets for natural gas transports are growing overall, with the United States lagging behind China. The United States and China both are outpaced by the growth of the Indian market for natural gas vehicles.

The United States is expected to continue with the largest percentage of natural gas transports sold to government and industrial fleets that can more easily build and maintain fueling stations for the transports at the present time. With increasing advancements in fuel cell technology, it is expected that natural gas transports will grow as an attractive option for the private consumer as well as the government, business and industry consumer.