In our country, the use of vehicular natural gas (GNV) is increasing. The results are clear: Colombia is in the top 10 globally and, in Latin America, it ranks second.
The fact is, when analyzing the emissions produced by a diesel-operated vehicle, compressed natural gas offers reductions close to 100% of particulate matter of 2.5, nitrogen oxide reductions exceeding 75%, and a 20%-30% of carbon dioxide decrease.
“For many years, companies in the natural gas sector have supported end users to install conversion kits through the different shops, and this is how more than 600,000 license plates were converted. Furthermore, as of 2018, new transport technologies that receive cleaner energy began to arrive in Colombia, and they have been positioning themselves very well. Today there are more than 3,000 vehicles on our roads with exclusive natural gas technologes, with proven brands such as Sinotruk, Scania, Faw, Kenworth, Fiat, among others”, highlights Silvia Fernanda Ordóñez, leader of Urbes y Movilidad at TGI.
The executive indicated that between 2018 and 2019, these advances began to be an important part of the Bogotá TransMilenio massive passenger transport system, and today more than 50% of its fleet is NGV-powered.
And the companies that offer heavy cargo transport services are also at the forefront to offer efficient services, which include NGV-dedicated vehicles, as industries in various sectors also seek to be more efficient with transport solutions that do not pollute, thus becoming more competitive.
One of these companies, pioneer and committed to making the transition from diesel vehicles to automobiles dedicated to natural gas, is OPL Carga. “By mid-2018, we did a controlled test with two Faw tractors we acquired: we tested the technology, the performance of the trucks, and observed how they behaved in the Colombian geography, routes, customers and products. The commitment was that if they met the minimum requirements that we proposed, we would buy three more on the same year, and that's what we actually did”, says Edgardo Espinosa Martínez, Commercial Vice President of Bids and Contracts at OPL Carga.
Today this 14-year of experience company has a fleet of approximately 50 NGV-dedicated trucks, and will soon receive 15 more. They only have five diesel units left, which will be replaced in a maximum of one year.
The manager explains that before deciding to make the transition, they spent almost a year and a half reviewing technologies available globally and the gas supply in Colombia. “It was a complex process, because we were the first to take on this technology, obviously supported by the gas distributors in Colombia, including Vanti, Gases de Occidente, Gases del Caribe and Surtigas, which facilitated the review of the supply, the prices, the stations’ ability to supply the vehicles quickly and the trucks’ capacity to access them easily because they are approximately 17 meters long”, he said.
OPL Carga's fleet includes mini trucks and tractors. The first ones are designed to transport containers with imported products and other products, such as paper and cardboard, from the domestic market. The second ones, dedicated to transporting dry cargo, such as steel, coal, construction materials, packed cement, among others. “We also move liquid cargo, even refrigerated cargo. So, we cover more than 80% of the economic sectors of the country”, explained the Commercial Vice President of Bids and Contracts.
The executive highlights that by acquiring the NGV technology, they have obtained several benefits. To begin with, when buying these vehicles, because they are dedicated to vehicular natural gas, they are VAT exempt. In addition - and this is an added value that they pass on to their customers - their vehicles are not subject to license plate mobility restrictions or environmental restriction, as they are not polluting the environment.
“In addition, the natural gas chain agents grant bonuses, resources that seek to replace diesel with low-emission energy, such as NGV. We presented projections and received contributions per vehicle,” affirmed Espinosa.
Teca Transportes provides its services to the hydrocarbon, food, construction materials and raw materials industries. Since the end of 2019, this company began acquiring natural gas-operated vehicles that began to circulate in January 2020.
“We have Scania gas trucks, dedicated to two transport operations: beer between Cundinamarca and Boyacá, and cement between Antioquia and Bucaramanga,” explains the Administrative Manager Henry Cárdenas.
When asked about the advantages offered by NGV, the Teca Transportes executive mentions that it has saved them 7.5% when comparing the price of gas with that of diesel; although with the latter, they must refuel every 700 kilometers and NGV vehicles require it every 450 kilometers, there is economy.
“The administrative issue is much less because we no longer have to control drivers in gas consumption, as we did with diesel. Gas cannot be marketed like ACPM. That has helped us a lot, administratively. Another advantage is avoiding mobility restrictions in Bogotá, and that is an added value for the client”, explained Henry Cárdenas, also President of Fedetranscarga, and adds that Teca has planned new investments to continue in this line of economy and efficiency.
With all this, the good results and the contribution of Colombians to reduce pollution rates are evident, and for them to continue to stand out, “TGI and the other agents of the gas chain in Colombia - that is, the producer and the Gas distributors - have come together to promote the use of NGV in transportation through economic incentives that facilitate this decision for the end user. These incentives are available to end users, both for conversions, through certified workshops, and in the incorporation of vehicles from gas-powered fleets,” concludes Silvia Fernanda Ordóñez, leader of Urbes and Mobility at TGI.