Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 16 December 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications

Additional Uses of Natural Gas: Gas Networks Ireland

9:30 am

Mr. Denis O'Sullivan:

Yes, there is a compression tank. In developing this, we are far more focused on the dedicated CNG vehicles that come out of the factories. They are original equipment manufacturers, OEMs, that produce these. There are kits which can be procured to retrofit vehicles as well and they have proven very successful. The composition of the fuel is key. It is a different fuel so it does not create the same problems as LPG potentially created and certainly the technology has moved on substantially. That can be seen. There are approximately 19 million CNG vehicles operating in the world. It is a popular fuel source for transport in Asia, in particular, but also in some European countries, particularly in Italy and Germany. There is a map on the screen which shows some of the locations where CNG utilisation is high. The Senator will see the level of uptake in Italy where there are approximately 970 filling stations. I do not have the number of vehicles off the top of my head but it is a substantial number. We have no concern whatsoever with regard to technology.

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