As a vehicle fuel, LNG (liquefied natural gas) has the advantages of high Octane rating, good antiknock performance, low engine consumption, low fuel cost, and good environmental protection performance compared with traditional fuel. Therefore, the research and application of LNG commercial vehicles have been vigorously promoted abroad for a long time.

Widely used in the field of commercial vehicles

Taking the United States and Germany as examples, the promotion of LNG vehicles has been ongoing for many years. It is understood that currently operating LNG vehicles are mainly commercial vehicles, such as urban public transportation, urban engineering vehicles, environmental sanitation vehicles, and logistics transportation companies. This is firstly because commercial vehicles have a large transportation volume, high utilization rate, and natural gas prices are cheaper compared to fuel. Secondly, LNG vehicles have smaller pollution emissions. Compared to the large amount of particulate matter emitted by diesel engines and the noise pollution caused, LNG vehicles have less pollution.

In the United States, logistics vehicles are currently the most commonly used LNG vehicles. In the promotion of the use of medium and short distance heavy trucks, LNG vehicles mainly use a single gas cylinder vertically placed on both sides of the frame, which can choose either a positive ignition combustion method or a hybrid compression ignition method of HPDI (similar to diesel engines). For example, most of the medium and short distance vehicles used by UPS Logistics Group adopt the HPDI type. This type of diesel is gradually recognized by developed countries as the control type of pre combustion compression ignition and ignition of natural gas. As early as 2011, UPS purchased 48 LNG trucks and put them into companies in Lake Ontario, California. At the same time, the New York City Transportation Department also operates natural gas buses. Telecommunications companies Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. are also using trucks powered by natural gas.

In Germany, a large logistics company, Hellmann Logistics, began testing LNG fueled heavy-duty trucks in the autumn of 2012 and conducted a 4-week road transportation. From then on, LNG trucks also opened up the market for German LNG logistics suppliers.

Road tests have shown that LNG trucks can complete tasks well. Ren é Stocker, the head of Hanhong Logistics, said that trials have shown that compared to diesel vehicles, LNG trucks can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while the emissions of other harmful substances such as carbon particles and nitric oxide can be almost ignored.

Natural gas trucks have become a new development trend globally. Compared to traditional diesel trucks, natural gas trucks are more environmentally friendly, have lower greenhouse gas emissions, and operate with lower noise. Although their prices may be higher than diesel trucks, in the long run, the advantages of natural gas trucks will become increasingly apparent in today's increasingly rising oil prices.

In addition to the United States and Germany, the development of natural gas vehicles in countries such as France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal is mainly focused on commercial vehicles, including buses, logistics transport vehicles, and garbage transport vehicles.

Policy guarantee for the promotion of LNG vehicles

Similar to China, promoting natural gas vehicles through policy support is also one of the means used by some countries. For example, by reducing taxes and providing subsidies