The Canadian Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance (CNGVA) has recently published a Commodity Report on the benefits of taking up natural gas as a niche solution for energy and emissions concerns in Canada. The report, which refers to information from the Canadian Energy Research Institute, looks at current opportunities and argues for greater market adoption of heavy natural gas vehicles and an overcoming of legislative restraints – arguments that will be applicable in other countries facing similar issues.

The CNGVA report states heavy diesel vehicles (>4.5 tonnes) make up less than 4% of on-road vehicles in Canada, yet they consume nearly one third of vehicle fuel. Typically travelling three times the distance of a passenger vehicle, heavy vehicle annual energy consumption is thirty times greater that of a passenger vehicle. Also, heavy vehicles represent almost half of the growth in carbon emissions from on-road vehicles since 1990.

Benefits are tangible and available. They include a standard operational model of return-to-base which minimises investment in refuelling infrastructure, vehicles bought to specification from OEMs, lower fuel costs and more.

Finally the CNGVA report addresses the challenges associated with heavy NGVs, and recommends measures to bring about change.