Natural Gas: Greener and Cheaper Transport for Europe

This is the second installment in our guest blog series: A Wider Lens.

This series features first-hand accounts from people driving natural gas vehicles, industry leaders and decision-makers in the natural gas transportation industry.

By Guest Contributor, Alexander I. Medvedev

Director General of OOO Gazprom Export and Deputy Chairman of OAO Gazprom’s Management Committee

Alexander I. Medvedev:
"I can't  ignore this significant market in the making."

Energy connects. It fuels cars, trucks and ships to travel thousands of kilometres, transporting goods and people via ever-evolving networks. Modes of transport have always been drivers of innovation. Over the past decades, there have been technological breakthroughs in the design, speed, or size of vehicles. Today, the most urgent challenges are environmental and economic, and natural gas is a perfect solution for greener and cheaper mobility.

The use of natural gas in transport already grew by 220 per cent between 2008 and 2012 worldwide, from 13.6bcm to 30.1bcm.[i] The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently predicted that by 2018 alone, gas use in transport could increase by nearly 10 per cent to 50bcm worldwide. Other forecasts say that in Europe this market segment could represent no less than 40bcm of additional gas by 2030, while reaching between 200 and 400bcm worldwide.[ii]

As the Director General of Gazprom Export, I can’t ignore this significant market in the making. We at Gazprom aim to take gas as fuel to a whole new level. We recently acquired 12 compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations in South Germany, with a target of reaching 23 stations by the end of 2013. We plan to further expand the gas filling network in the coming years. Thanks to natural gas, low-emission transport is not a vision of the future. Natural gas is readily available today: reliable, safe, affordable, and environmentally friendly.

Westport Rallies for Natural Gas Vehicle Adoption in Europe

Westport will be hitting the road this week as a participant in the Blue Corridor Natural Gas Vehicle Rally, happening from October 3 to 19. Organized by fuel suppliers Gazprom and E.ON, the rally stars in St. Petersburg, Russia, and travels a 3,900 kilometre route around the Baltic Sea, with stops in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. It even includes a ride on a ferry that operates on liquefied natural gas.

Westport’s Mats Christensson will be driving a bi-fuel Volvo V70, powered by Westport’s natural gas system, from our facility in Gothenborg, Sweden to Hamburg, Germany.

“The rally is organized by major natural gas suppliers in Europe, and we believe it’s a good way to promote the use of natural gas vehicles,” says Mats.

Westport's Mats Christensson hits the road Oct. 8 - 10, driving the bi-fuel Volvo V70 starting in Gothenborg. 

This is the seventh Blue Corridor rally, and since the first one was held the number of natural gas vehicles worldwide has almost doubled from 9.5 million to more than 17 million today.

Natural gas vehicles offer economic and environmental benefits, and part of the purpose of the rally is to educate fleets, public authorities and the public about the advantages of considering NGVs over vehicles that operate on petroleum-based fuels.

Westport will be on hand for a round table discussion with industry, policy makers, and auto enthusiasts, and to display the Volvo V70 while in Hamburg on October 10.

“We’ll be exhibiting the vehicle to anyone who’s interested in learning more,” says Mats.

And people who happen to miss the rally stop and exhibition in Hamburg can still have a chance to see the Volvo V70, as it will be on loan to the Auto Nova Volvo dealership in Hamburg through to December.

Follow Mats’s journey during the Rally on Twitter @WestportDotCom from October 8 through 10.

The route Mats will drive for the Blue Corridor rally beginning in Gothenborg, Sweden.