Alternative Fuels For Cars: Eco Friendly Fuel Watch Jan.2014

Newsletter January 2014

FISIKON Natural Gas Fuel for Cars. It's Here!

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) will soon be available to all Greek motorists and not just, as at present, only to taxis and buses. The current CNG price is €0.99 per kilogram which is €0.40 cheaper than the already widely distributed Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) which I reported on in my blog in December 2013. In talking price, you need to note that CNG is sold by the kilogram while LPG is sold by the litre. The Cost of converting cars to run on either CNG or LPG are the same- around €1200

FISIKON is the brand name which Dimosia Epihirisi Aeriou (DEPA) has created for the distribution of CNG to the automotive and transport industries in Greece. DEPA strongly supports its FISIKON product on environmental grounds, claiming that,

“ Natural gas is more environmentally friendly since per unit of energy produced, it is less damaging to the environment by 38% compared to coal, by 28% compared to crude oil and by 24% compared to diesel oil.”

CNG should not be confused with another natural gas motor fuel- Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Both are natural gas but they are in a different forms. CNG is gaseous while LNG is liquified and created by freezing at temperatures of between -120° and -180°C . The need for cryogenic freezing makes the processing and storage of LNG extremely expensive, and so in terms of both price and performance its benefits have made it a realistic fuel only for heavy duty, long haul vehicles in Japan, USA, UK and some other European nations. LNG for the time being isn't a feasible fuel for the Greek market.

Should Greek drivers consider changing over to CNG?

Although much cheaper and better for the environment than LPG, CNG has it downsides. A car that has been converted for CNG will experience a 20% decrease in its power performance compared to only a 2-3% % power drop in an LPG conversion. This is not a point in it's favor.
Another point on which CNG does not compare well, is that an equally sized CNG tank is 3 times heavier than an LPG tank. A full CNG tank adds about 150-200Kg to a car whereas a full LPG tank adds about 100Kg. That means that on its own a CNG tank adds about 100Kg or dead weight to a car.

Availability

Availability is yet another point which would suggest that there is no good reason at the present time to prefer CNG to LPG. As at January 2014 there are 8 CNG filling stations around Greece with another 5 planned for the near future. This will bring the total in Athens to 7-8, 3 in Thesalonika, 1 in Larisa and 1 in Volo. LPG by way of contrast can be readily found at most large filling stations throughout the country.