CNG: Petrol's nicer twin?

The Ecofuel World Tour team is attempting to set a Guinness World Record for being the first team to travel 45,000km, over five continents, in as many countries, running solely on natural gas.

Driving a standard CNG Volkswagen Caddy, they have retrofitted the vehicle with nine additional carbon tanks that give the vehicle a whopping range of 3,000km. Having travelled from Europe through to the Middle East, South Asia and South-East Asia, they still have two remaining legs in Australia and the Americas to go, and are expected to spend at least three more months on the road.

The team is currently carrying out a scheduled pitstop in Singapore for repairs and maintenance after setting off from Germany last October.

AsiaOne caught up with Mr Rainer Zietlow, leader of the Ecofuel World Tour team, at Singapore's pioneer Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) conversion workshop, C. Melchers-Galileo.

How is the Volkswager Caddy performing so far?

It's performing quite well actually. It has a heavy duty chassis which means we can put all of our fully-filled tanks weighing about 600 kg on the car boot, and so far the car is going very well. Consumptions runs about six to seven kg of gas to 100 km, and the engine runs great. No problems so far.

What's the team dynamics like?

I've got a very professional four person team. I do the organising and driving, and I have a mechanic with me who does all the repairs and CNG fillings. We also have a photographer and one video cameraman.

Has it been an eventful three months crossing so many countries?

The Iran border was quite interesting, because when I opened my car boot and they see the tanks, they asked me, "Hey are you tourist or terrorist?"

Anyhow, the tour is on schedule, so far no problems other than one tyre puncture. India is quite a tricky country for CNG because there is only CNG in the west coast, but apart from that, things have been quite good so far.

Do you think CNG will ever over-take petrol?

Probably not overtake, but CNG will play a major role. For example, in Germany we have a 5% market share, and I'm pretty sure it will go up to 20%. CNG is very reliable, it is almost 50% cheaper than fuel and you know it will last much longer. If fuel runs out in 2030 or 2040, we will still have CNG available. Of course, another big factor is that the environment will be better protected.
CNG the way to go for Singapore

AsiaOne also spoke to C. Melchers-Galileo's Business Development Executive, Mr Marc Dass.

On the future of CNG in Singapore, he said: "I think that CNG is moving in the right direction, and it is the way to go for Singapore. We are a country that promotes green living, and CNG improves your lifestyle overall because it is a cleaner fuel, and makes for a cleaner environment, with cleaner air."

So, what can Singaporeans look forward to?

"The first thing they can look forward to is higher cost savings on fuel consumption on the fuel they use because CNG is cheaper than petrol. Also, there is no carbon build up with CNG, so the engine's lifespan is actually extended as a result. So, cleaner car, cleaner environment and fuel cost savings in the future," said Mr Dass.

At the moment, the price for a basic CNG conversion kit starts from $2,000 for a mixer system and goes up two-fold for a sequential version. The sequential kit works the same way as traditional engines, which use a direct-injection system, and will only cause a power loss of roughly five percent. The mixer kit, on the other hand, results in a 15 to 20 per cent loss.

The most obvious perks of converting to CNG are reduced fuel consumption, cheaper fuel and a 40 per cent discount on the Open Market Value (OMV) of the car. It is expected that a car which does 25,000km to 30,000km in mileage annually will break even after 12 months.

A major problem though is that the only filling station is located on Jurong Island. However, plans are in the pipeline for a mainland station to be built, and possibly more to follow.

3 more CNG stations to open by end of 2008

SINGAPORE: Soaring petrol prices have prompted drivers to look for cheaper fuel alternatives.

One alternative is to go for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cars. A company selling CNG cars sold 80 of them at a road show on Sunday. It usually sells about 100 cars a week.

To cater to more CNG cars – which are cleaner, greener and cheaper than normal cars – three more CNG stations are due to open by the end of the year.

Bi-fuel petrol-CNG cars are a major draw for motorists. It costs more than S$3,000 to retrofit the car before it can use CNG, but S$10 of CNG can allow one to travel up to 220 kilometres.

New cars fitted with CNG technology benefit from the Green Tax Rebate, which is 40 percent off the car's open market value (OMV).

Valerie Tan, managing director of Pinnacle International, said: "For example, you have bought a car with an OMV of S$30,000, so you have a straight rebate from the government – 40 percent off S$30,000, which is S$12,000 off."

But many motorists still want to know how the CNG fuel would affect the cars' performance.

Melvin Toh, potential petrol-CNG car owner, said: "Before I tested, I thought, 'Would there be any difference in acceleration? Would the ride be smooth? Would there be any loading?'. But after I test drove the car, honestly, I couldn't feel any difference."

"I tested two cars. I found the drive quite smooth, even when you change from petrol to CNG and back again. The car didn't have any jerky movement," said Patrick Wong, another potential petrol-CNG car owner.

But owning a petrol-CNG car in Singapore is not all smooth driving. Besides the fact that the gas tank takes up a large amount of space in the boot of the car, those who own bi-fuel cars and live in the eastern parts of Singapore find it harder to refuel.

At present, there is only one refuelling station on Jurong Island.

Three more stations are due to open this year – one in Mandai by mid-February, another in Jalan Buroh in Jurong by end-February and the third in Serangoon North Avenue 5 by year's end.

There are currently no plans to build a refuelling station in the east because most of the gas pipelines are situated in the west of Singapore.

CNG is listed as a hazardous material, so strict controls are in place and transportation is only allowed on certain roads.