As a vehicle fuel, LNG (liquefied natural gas) has advantages such as high octane rating, good anti knock performance, low engine loss, low fuel cost, and good environmental performance compared to traditional fuel fuels. Therefore, the research and application of LNG commercial vehicles have been vigorously promoted abroad for a long time.

Commonly used in the field of commercial vehicles

Taking the United States and Germany as examples, the promotion of LNG vehicles has been ongoing for many years. It is understood that currently LNG vehicles in operation are mainly commercial vehicles, such as urban buses, urban engineering vehicles, sanitation vehicles, and logistics transportation companies. This is primarily due to the large transportation volume and high usage rate of commercial vehicles, as well as the relatively cheaper price of natural gas compared to fuel. Secondly, LNG vehicles have smaller pollution emissions. Compared to the large amount of particulate matter and noise pollution caused by diesel engines, LNG vehicles have less pollution.

In the United States, the most commonly used LNG vehicles are logistics vehicles. In the promotion of the use of medium to short distance heavy trucks, LNG vehicles mainly adopt the method of placing single gas cylinders longitudinally on both sides of the frame, which can choose either the ignition combustion method or the hybrid compression ignition method of HPDI (similar to diesel engines). For example, most of the medium to short distance vehicles used by UPS Logistics Group adopt HPDI type, which is gradually recognized by developed countries as a control type for pre ignition compression ignition and ignition of natural gas. As early as 2011, UPS purchased 48 LNG trucks and put them into the company in Lake Ontario, California. Meanwhile, the New York City Transit Authority also operates natural gas buses. And telecom companies Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. are also using natural gas powered trucks.

In Germany, the large logistics company Hellmann began testing LNG fueled heavy-duty trucks in the autumn of 2012 and conducted a 4-week road transportation. From then on, LNG trucks also opened up the market for German LNG logistics suppliers.

Road tests have shown that LNG trucks can complete tasks well. Ren é Stocker, the head of Hanhong Logistics, stated that trials have shown that compared to diesel vehicles, LNG trucks can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while emissions of other harmful substances such as carbon particles and nitric oxide can be almost ignored.

Natural gas trucks have become a new development trend worldwide. Compared to traditional diesel trucks, natural gas trucks are more environmentally friendly, have lower greenhouse gas emissions, and lower operating noise. Although their prices may be higher than diesel trucks, in the long run, the advantages of natural gas trucks will become increasingly apparent in today's rising oil prices.

In addition to the United States and Germany, the development of natural gas vehicles in countries such as France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal is mainly focused on commercial vehicles, including buses, logistics transport vehicles, and garbage transport vehicles.

Policy guarantees the promotion of LNG vehicles

Similar to China, promoting natural gas vehicles through policy support is also one of the means used by some countries. For example, promoting LNG vehicles can be achieved by reducing taxes and providing subsidies. In Sweden, the road tax paid by natural gas vehicles is about 3000 kronor (approximately RMB 2862) lower than that of diesel vehicles. In Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, from 6:30 to 18:30 from Monday to Friday, every vehicle entering or leaving the city is required to pay traffic congestion fees. However, energy-saving and environmentally friendly vehicles such as natural gas vehicles are exempt from traffic congestion fees, and each environmentally friendly vehicle can save up to approximately 14400 kroner per year. In Pakistan, customs exempt imported natural gas equipment, vehicles, and modified parts from taxes, and the tax department also exempts natural gas vehicles from sales tax. In Bangladesh, the introduction of gas station equipment, modified parts, and natural gas vehicles all enjoy tax exemption policies, and banks and leasing companies can provide loan support for the modification of natural gas vehicles. The Asian Development Bank once helped Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, purchase 10000 sets of natural gas vehicle modification parts and vehicle gas cylinders at once. There is also Thailand, which not only implements preferential tax policies for natural gas original vehicles, engines, and modified parts, with the tax rate first reduced from 40% to 20% and finally reduced to 0%, but also provides a subsidy of 10000 Thai baht (approximately 2122 yuan) for each individual who modifies a natural gas vehicle.

In the process of developing natural gas vehicles, Croatia has made new explorations in organizational form, providing reference for other countries. In 2009, Croatia established the "Environmental Protection and Energy Efficiency Fund Financing Institution". After its establishment, the organization mainly promoted the development of the clean energy vehicle industry through two measures. One is to improve the application of alternative fuels and fuel cells in the passenger and freight transportation system by managing bridge tolls, traffic congestion fees, controlling the transportation of goods and the construction of urban transportation facilities within the city, and promoting the development of clean vehicle projects; LNG and CNG vehicles are prioritized for use in commercial, public transportation services, taxis, driving schools, and public service companies; Support the construction of new LNG and CNG refueling stations through financial means. Another approach is to collaborate with the Ministry of Ocean, Transport and Infrastructure, as well as the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Enterprise, to carry out a "Transport Plan to Reduce Environmental Quality Impact". The main task of this plan is to replace buses, trucks, and school buses that do not meet environmental standards, and provide a subsidy of 50000 kunas (approximately 6750 euros) for each vehicle through financing institutions.

The limited number of gas stations restricts the application of LNG vehicles

Like in our country, the insufficient construction of gas stations is an important factor restricting the development of LNG vehicles. The United States is the world's second-largest natural gas producer, and the research and development of LNG technology began in the 1930s. But according to the US Energy Information Administration, as of 2009, there were only 110000 natural gas vehicles in operation in the United States. The United States has abundant resources and advanced technology, but LNG vehicles are not widely used, which is related to the only 66 LNG refueling stations distributed in 10 states throughout the United States.

A spokesperson for a foreign engine company stated that the petroleum fuel in use has a network of gas stations spanning continents, and natural gas is also available, but it enters people's homes and the power industry through pipelines. The challenge now is to establish a ubiquitous network form similar to diesel stations. UPS spokesperson Kara? Jehart? Ross has also stated that converting 1000 of UPS's approximately 17000 heavy-duty trucks into LNG trucks is their long-term goal, and the current inability to achieve this goal is only due to "gas station restrictions".

It is reported that one of the largest private energy enterprises in China, New Energy Group, is vigorously promoting the infrastructure construction of heavy trucks powered by natural gas in the United States. The background is that the abundant natural gas resources in the area will help the US transportation industry to break away from the dependence on imported crude oil for refining diesel. The relevant person in charge of Xinao Group recently stated that the group has indeed started building LNG refueling stations in the United States, but there will be various variables in its development process in a new market and field. So this year's goal is to build 50 LNG refueling stations.

It is worth noting that Clean Energy, the largest transportation natural gas provider in the United States, is also building a "US Natural Gas Highway" project, which will construct 150 LNG truck refueling stations on major transportation arteries in the United States, and plans to enter the downstream full industry chain of natural gas vehicles, including refueling stations, transportation, taxis, airport transportation, and municipal vehicle markets.

In fact, most natural gas vehicles on the roads in the United States belong to government or corporate fleets with centralized refueling stations. In a report released in July 2010, an investment analysis firm in the United States mentioned a decision by American car manufacturers such as General Motors to provide vehicles that can use natural gas in their domestic market. American natural gas suppliers will also provide support to help companies convert their fleet of vehicles to natural gas vehicles and build natural gas refueling stations.

Although natural gas prices are cheap, the total cost of building LNG refueling stations in the United States is not low, or comparable to that in China. According to market insiders, the cost of each gas station in the United States is about 1 million US dollars (approximately 6.22 million yuan), while the cost of building a station in China is about several million yuan. Jiang Yu, the head of international business at Xinao Group, pointed out that there are significant price differences in building gas stations in different parts of the United States. Overall, the cost is still higher than in China, such as purchasing local equipment, hiring local personnel, hiring local companies for design, and so on, all of which are more expensive than in China.

On the premise of utilizing abundant natural gas resources and advanced natural gas technology, Germany has promoted the application of LNG vehicles in its domestic market by accelerating the construction of LNG refueling stations. It can be said that the development of natural gas vehicles in Germany is mainly due to the highly close cooperation among stakeholders such as natural gas companies, governments, and automobile manufacturers. As of the end of 2010, data shows that Germany has become the country with the largest number of natural gas refueling stations in Europe, reaching 900, and about 91500 natural gas vehicles, mainly concentrated in urban heavy vehicles, including buses and garbage transport vehicles.