How cool would it be to own and drive a car in Johannesburg which is emission free?
One of the reasons South Africa is a disproportionately large contributor on a per capita basis to the build-up of greenhouse gases is the fact that the country has an under-developed public transport system.
Liquid fuels, which, according to one expert, contribute 35% of greenhouse gases produced in South Africa, make a large and growing contribution to carbon build-up.
The electric car has many attractions from a low or no-emission point of view if you consider that it does not have an exhaust, but, depending on the source of its electricity, it is still likely to be contributing to carbon build-up.
Ethanol has its attractions as a renewable, non-fossil source of fuel, but can be relatively energy intensive both in the growing and manufacture process. It is also more costly than fossil-derived fuels, given that it requires significant energy inputs to produce.
Most of the liquid fuel we consume in Gauteng comes from Sasol’s Secunda plants, where coal is transformed through a high-energy process into gas and then fuel. This is known as CTL, coal-to-liquid, a smart process, but one which, at present, is about twice as unfriendly to the environment as conventional fossil-fuel refining.
Sasol also has proprietary GTL or gas to liquid technology that scores relatively well environmentally, but none of its South African plants uses this technology at present.
Its Secunda operations source a sizeable stake of their inputs as natural gas from the Pande gas fields in Mozambique, but eco-friendly consumers cannot source this gas stream as a separately branded fuel. The natural gas that is understood to contribute 6% of Secunda’s total usage is not kept separate, but flows into its general gas stream.
Fortune has recently surveyed a set of cars that are sold as environmentally friendly vehicles. The survey includes some that are already on the market and others that are in development. Top of the list is a Honda Civic, which runs on natural gas.
This car will give you more or less the same performance as a conventional Honda and is cheaper to run by one-half to two-thirds in terms of its fuel cost.
Cars that run on natural gas require very little maintenance and owners can expect the engine to last up to 800 000km.
This is a car that you can include as a separate line item when you draw up your will. Emissions are so low, both at source and in consumption, that the car is practically emission free.
I am coincidentally having a natural gas supply installed at my home. How cool would it be to own a car that you could fill up in your own garage?
For Jo’burg motorists it would mean that you could run your car on natural gas from Mozambique rather than petrol or diesel, some of which has been converted at some energy cost from natural gas.
I asked a few people if they knew of any gas-powered cars in Joeys. One did. His friend, who is employed in the security industry, had opened the boot of his car to show him the bottle which provides gas for the car.
The security company, which is based in the south of Johannesburg, has 49 of these gas-converted cars. They are standard cars, Toyota sedans, for instance, converted by a company in Randburg at a cost of R5 000 each.
But, this particular fleet of cars runs on liquid petroleum gas or LPG, which is produced as part of the conventional fuel refining process.
A source at the company grumbled that LPG prices had sky-rocketed last year during shortages starting last winter and, as a result, the cost of the conversion is no longer justified.
Relief may be at hand. Nhlanhla Gumede, chief director of hydroÂcarbons at the department of minerals and energy, told journalists last week that refinery prices for LPG were about R5,60 per kilogram with distribution adding about R1,50, but that the retail price was often about R20. This suggests that the regulated price may be as little as one-third of the present price.
LPG does not have as agreeable a carbon profile as natural gas, but is understood to have lower costs of car conversion, with the natural gas-driven car using compressed gas that requires a heavier-duty gas tank.
The householder requires a compression unit. I have not been able to establish whether these are available in Johannesburg, but a Canadian company sells such a unit for $4 000.
Web reviews for the Honda Civic GX are very positive. Although you lose about half the boot space, the GX, depending on the model, can drive 300km to 480km between refills.
Some natural gas cars are hybrid in the sense that if you run out of gas you can switch back to conventional fuel, but this may come at the cost of less performance as the car is tuned for both options.
Natural gas does indeed appear to be an attractive option for Gauteng. The gas is already here and an extensive network covers a big chunk of Johannesburg. It is easy to see many corporates, as well as the city and provincial authorities, switching their fleets to natural gas, significantly reducing their fuel and maintenance bills while giving us cleaner air to breathe.
Egoli Gas gets its natural gas by pipeline from Pande. GM Trevor Patton said that the price of liquid fuels goes up every month and a breakdown due to engine failure is an extremely costly exercise.
“In addition, we read every day about the worldwide drive to prevent global warming by reducing carbon emissions. Hence the prospect of owning a car that is cheaper to run, lasts longer and is a lower contributor to carbon emissions than a conventional car, is particularly attractive.”
He said the company had identified several market segments for growth, one of which is the use of natural gas to power vehicles.
Three vehicles from Egoli Gas’s own fleet have been converted to run on natural gas as part of a pilot project to determine the operating efficiencies of these vehicles.
“Those aspects relating to fuel consumption, engine life using a cleaner burning fuel and exhaust emissions are being monitored,” said Patton.
Egoli Gas has erected a small filling unit at its premises, where the vehicles are filled with natural gas.
The converted vehicles include a car, a single-cab bakkie and a truck. They previously used petrol for fuel, but have been converted to incorporate a gas bottle and alternative engine components to inject the gas.
Patton said the pilot project using natural gas should not be confused with LPG-powered vehicles that have been operating around Johannesburg for some time.
“The project is purely experimental, with the commercialisation phase planned for a future date when there will be a formal launch that will be announced in the press.”