Natural Gas Vehicles NGVs in Thailand By Paweenuch

Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) in Thailand By Paweenuch Chainuwat Email: talapad 21@yahoo. com

Thailand

Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) • What is it? - A Natural gas vehicle or NGV is a vehicle that uses compressed natural gas (CNG) or, less commonly, liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a clean alternative to other automobile fuels.

Sources • Where do we get natural gas from? - The Gulf of Thailand: A Long. Lasting Source of Natural Gas.

The Gulf of Thailand • Thailand found a source of natural gas in the Gulf of Thailand in 1981. • It allows the country to depend on domestic energy sources.

Benefits of NGVs • 85 -99% Methane • Clean burning • Exhaust emissions from NGVs are much lower than those from equivalent gasolinepowered vehicles • Reduced greenhouse gas emissions • Noise reductions • Lower cost

NGV Price Date Alpha-X Diesel 95 91 NGV 12 Apr 2005 22. 89 22. 09 17. 69 9. 53 12 Apr 2006 27. 94 27. 14 25. 79 8. 50 Exchange Rate: 38. 19 Bath/ USD 1. 00

NGVs in Thailand • First NGVs Use It was introduced in 1984 with transited buses and Tuk.

NGVs Today • Numbers of NGVs - 10, 569 NGVs (Jan 2006) - PTT expected to increase numbers of NGVs to 70, 000 by the end of 2006. • Numbers of NGV Refueling Stations - 60 stations (Mar 2006)

Types of Vehicles • What types of vehicles run on natural gas? 1) Dedicated NGVs 2) Bi-Fuel NGVs

Dedicated NGVs • A dedicated NGV runs on natural gas only. • Dedicated NGVs can be gasoline-fueled vehicles that have been converted to run on natural gas. • Mostly dedicated NGVs are produced by original equipment manufacturers.

Examples of NGV Cars Honda Civic GX The Omni Cargo

Bi-Fuel NGVs • A bi-fuel vehicle can run on either natural gas or gasoline. • Many are designed to switch automatically to gasoline when the natural gas fuel tank reaches empty. • These vehicles get the same or slightly fewer miles per equivalent gallon of natural gas as do vehicles using gasoline only.

Mercedes Expands Natural Gas Vehicle Production to Thailand • Daimler Chrysler plans to begin producing natural gas vehicle (NGV) outside of Germany. • Production will be for local sale as well as export.

Obstacles to The Widespread of Use of NGVs • • • The Absence of Transportation The Absence of Storage Infrastructure Loss of Cargo Space Increased Refueling Time Lower Driving Range Price

Solutions (1) • Building more pipelines. • Establishing more liquefied tankers. • A slow fill gets more gas into the tank than does a fast fill. • Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) is now promoting the new plan.

Solutions (2) • Tax Reductions for CNG Vehicles - Tax reductions of 25% for CNG buses and taxi cabs - 20% for other CNG vehicles • Giving an import tariff exemption for NGV cylinders and other related equipment

Solutions (3) • Building more NGV refueling stations - PTT plans to increase the number to 160 stations next year - 740 nationwide in 2010

Conclusion • Natural gas combustion produces no significant aldehydes or other air toxins. • Natural gas price is cheaper than the price of gasoline. • Safety