Compressed natural gas (CNG) has several things going for it. It is cheaper than gasoline or diesel fuel, has lower emissions, and for a conventional piston-engined airplane, is the equivalent of over 130 octane, far more powerful than 100-octane low lead (100LL) and cleaner burning. CNG Fuels in England CNG filling stations are growing across the country as fleet owners take advantage of the economics of converting their vehicles, but are still few and far between in the west, with the exception of California. There are under 900 stations throughout America. Alluring as CNG might be for drivers, pilots used to paying $5.50 per gallon for avgas should be charmed by CNG’s price of $1.00 per gallon equivalent. That is with conventional, fossil-based CNG, basically a storable version of natural gas. That leads to its less-desirable characteristics. First, it pollutes, too, and is a source of greenhouse gases. Second, natural gas has a hard time overcoming its association with fracking, …
Audi Opens e-Gas Plant in Germany
Audi takes the environment seriously, and in a statement of corporate responsibility, shows that doing good for clean air can help the company do well in the competitive car market. “The Company is establishing a portfolio of sustainable sources of energy as part of its Audi e-gas project. Renewably generated electricity from wind or solar power, water and carbon dioxide are used to produce hydrogen and synthetic methane, the Audi e-gas. The plant that Audi has built in Werlte, Germany is now in the commissioning phase. It produces the fuel for the first CNG model from Audi, the new A3 Sportback g-tron, which will be launched before the end of the year.” Opening the Werlte e-gas plant will help Audi develop a chain of sustainable energy carriers, producing and distributing liquid fuels for which their cars will be specifically designed. According to Green Car Congress.com, the plant can convert six megawatts of input power, using renewable electricity for electrolysis to …