Environmental Defense Fund study says methane stands in way of true natural gas momentum

In recent years, the subject of natural gas-powered vehicles has gained traction as an alternative to gasoline and other energy sources and for good reason.

Among those reasons are how switching to natural gas as a transportation fuel, as well as power generation, can replace more than one-third of foreign oil imports in ten years. Making that more notable, explained T. Boone Pickens just a few years back is that the one-third figure is no small sum, considering that the U.S. imports oil from OPEC at a cost of roughly $1 billion per day or about $1 trillion per year. And of that $1 trillion annual tally, the U.S. is on the hook for 25 percent of that bill on a daily basis.

Impressive numbers to be sure, but when the onion is peeled a little more, one finds that while there are apparent benefits to switching from diesel fuel to natural gas in terms of promised climate benefits, but that these comes with a catch according to a research paper recently researched by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

In its research, EDF says that the benefits of switching to natural gas can only come to fruition “only if widespread emissions of heat-trapping methane gas across the gas value chain are reduced.”

What’s more, EDF observes that methane is the main ingredient in natural gas, with 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year period while being released to the atmosphere, with EDF explaining that the net warming effect of natural gas is negative for 50-to-90 years after the fuel is burned, something that is germane to various freight transportation stakeholders, including truck and engine manufacturers, shippers, carriers, and policy makers.

“There is no more serious challenge than climate change,” said Jason Mathers, EDF Senior Manager, Supply Chain Logistics. “Natural gas has been talked about regularly as a fuel source that can help us reduce our impact, relative to kind of the baseline of diesel, when it comes to transportation. We recognize that natural gas has this potential as a core fossil fuel to have a relatively lower impact on the climate than coal or diesel, but we have a fundamental concern that natural gas might not be living up to its potential, because of its methane [component].”

And while CO2 emissions get a fair amount of attention when the topic of global warming arises, Mathers explained that there are other gases also having a warming effect on the climate, with methane one of them, with some gases being much more impactful than others like CO2.

With a goal of achieving lower global warming emissions that have a lower impact on the climate and natural gas being put forward as a way to help build a lower-impact economy, Mathers said EDF has “serious concerns” about the ability of natural gas to contribute. And in its gaseous form he said natural gas is subject to leak from pipes and other infrastructure and, due to the high amount of methane it has, even a small amount of methane escaping along the gas value chain can overwhelm the benefits of making a switch to natural gas from diesel or electricity for powering heavy trucks.

Some other key findings of the EDF research paper include:
-how further research and improved data are needed to estimate with confidence the current climate footprint of natural gas trucks, with a better understanding methane loss along the natural gas to wheels cycle;
-using current and publicly available data, the study shows that a switch to natural gas would not produce climate benefits for several decades, but the range of results indicates that climate benefits could be realized if steps are taken to reduce methane emissions and improve engine efficiency;
-burning natural gas as compared to diesel results in an approximate 30 percent climate benefit at combustion due to a reduction in CO2 emissions, with that advantage closer to 20 percent when the fact that natural gas engines are less efficient is taken into account and before accounting for emissions across the value chain; and
-policy mechanisms being drafted and considered to augment prospects for natural gas trucks producing climate benefits compared to diesel, including federal upstream methane regulations and upcoming federal fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for heavy trucks

“As we reduce methane emissions, natural gas is able to move forward a bit compared to conventional fuels it is replacing, which is why we care about this issue,” said Mathers.

From a freight transportation and supply chain operations perspective, Mathers said that industry stakeholders need to be aware that the fact that natural gas powered vehicles are less efficient than diesel, is a problem that needs to be dealt with, coupled with how the research calls for taking action to reduce vehicle emissions and increase natural gas efficiency, relative to diesel engine productivity, with natural gas vehicles eventually getting to a point where they provide an immediate client benefit compared to diesel.

And for shippers, carriers, and manufacturers, he said it is important for them in the early stages this is in to ask themselves what can they do to help move closer to the day when natural gas starts to live up to its large potential.

This research comes at a time when various carriers are involved and invested in natural gas-powered transportation, including UPS, Ryder, and Penske, among others.

Mathers said that the onus at the moment is how to get solutions in place now that enable natural gas-powered vehicles to live up to their environmental potential in 2020 and 2025.

“We are seeing continued development of natural gas engines and advancements in fuel tank technology and we want to continue to see those things refined and further improved, and as fleets are using natural gas vehicles, we are starting to see fleets think about the environmental impact of fuel, too,” he said.

Natural Gas Vehicles for America President Matthew Godlewski’s comments about the study in a statement were mixed.

“This study clearly demonstrates that there is a role for natural gas in addressing climate change. We welcome all credible insight into paths for improving emissions, yet it’s confusing that the Environmental Defense Fund has chosen to conduct and release another study, outside of the cooperative work already underway,” he said. “Many NGVAmerica members have worked in close collaboration with the EDF and its academic partners on a soon-to-be published ‘Pump to Wheels Methane Leakage’ study.  This report is based on extensive research and provides a critical baseline to end speculation about actual in-use methane leaks from natural gas stations and vehicles.”

He added that the NGV industry has consistently been a leader in developing new technologies and using innovation to further reduce emissions and improve air quality. He cited renewable natural gas and near zero emission engines are two examples that will play significant roles in future NGV transportation solutions, adding that natural gas is the cleanest, most economical, and abundant domestic transportation fuel, delivering immediate benefits on the road to sustainable mobility.