By Oisin Collins
Nowadays, cars are being powered by batteries, bio-fuels and in some cases hamsters that run on wheels. Well, maybe not the latter. But have we forgotten about the old godsend which was once the holy grail of reducing our carbon footprint? Natural Gas?
Well, the thing is, we had forgotten. And how could we not with fancy words like photovoltaic cells floating around. Recently, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the International Energy Agency chose to revert to natural gas to find a sustainable way of powering our vehicles. But why use natural gas now when we’re so close to figuring out a battery powered car that works? Are natural gas powered cars nothing but hot air? It has been done in the past, but never to large scale of production.
According to MIT and the International Energy Agency the main advantage of natural gas is its low CO2 emissions when compared to petrol or diesel. No shit Sherlock. Due to lower carbon/hydrogen ratio of methane (the main component of natural gas) emissions from natural gas are up to 75% less than old fossil fuels.
However, with most ‘renewable’ resources there is somewhat of a catch. Natural gas production produces more CO2 than fossil fuel production so the difference of 75% is greatly reduced over the lifespan of your vehicle. Nonetheless, your carbon footprint would be reduced.
The main barrier facing natural gas powered cars is the cost associated with building refuelling facilities as well as a high vehicle purchase price and the high conversion costs. In the report by MIT and the IEA it was said that natural gas cars might not be the way forward for the US or Europe, but alternatively it could be beneficial for developing countries such as Asia and Latin America.
But didn’t they just say the main barrier in the US is the cost of building infrastructure and converting cars for natural gas? As if they have that kind of money in developing countries. They have better things to be spending their money on.
Private vehicles may not see natural gas power for a long time and if we do see them, they’ll probably be driven by a 50 year old man wearing a Rasta coloured hat, blaring Bob Marley from the car with a ‘cigarette’ hanging from his mouth. Oh, ok then, a joint.
But still, there may be potential for public vehicles. As wholesale gas prices drop our governments could potentially bulk buy and stock up on natural gas for use in buses, fire trucks or police cars.
It sounds like a good idea, but as we know, good ideas are all too rarely executed.
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