THE BLUE CORRIDOR - ECONOMIC AND ENVIROMENTAL MODEL
Eugene Pronin, Stanislav Podenok
The joint team of Gazprom, Russian National Gas Vehicle Association (NGVRUS) and Avtogaz has completed preliminary analysis of the economic and environmental assessment of the Blue Corridor Project (BCP).
The Blue Corridor Project calls for the wide use of natural gas as a transportation fuel for long distance international buses and trucks.
The project looks effective in every aspect. The Blue Corridor Project could no only help preserve nature and lower fuel expenses. It will create new jobs, encourage R&D, promote further cooperation and integration in Europe, stimulate social and economic development of the adjacent areas.
Three pilot routes approved by the UNECE BCP Task Force were financially and environmentally assessed:
Helsinki - Saint-Petersburg - Moscow (1050 km long),
Moscow - Minsk - Warsaw - Berlin (1800 km long) and
Berlin - Rome (1800 km long).
Three types of gas management systems were evaluated: dual fuel (CNG + diesel), dedicated CNG and dedicated LNG.
The model fleet accounts for the total of 10,500 NGVs, including:
1,600 dual fuel vehicles,
6,400 dedicated CNG vehicles and
2,500 dedicated LNG vehicles.
The following classes of vehicles were selected for the model:
Berlin - Rome: 4,000 vehicles (800 dual fuel + 3,200 dedicated CNG vehicles).
The annual distance traveled by the vehicles was calculated according to the following assumption: each vehicle makes 24 round trips along the Helsinki - Saint-Petersburg - Moscow corridor and 16 round trips along the two remaining corridors.
Following are some of the results of the study performed by the Russian team. These results were contributed to the Non-Governmental Vernadsky Foundation, Russia - originator and coordinator of the BCP.
It is note worthy that it was very difficult to get accurate baseline data. For this very reason some of the conclusions and findings may lack precision. More comprehensive international effort is needed in order to develop a sound business plan.
Automobile is a unique means of transportation. In modern society only an automobile (car, bus, truck) will take people and goods from door to door. The importance of the road vehicles (both passenger and freight) will continue increasing both in the domestic and international transportation sectors.
Fuel consumption in the transportation sector will keep growing likewise. World transportation sector consumes about 26% of all primary energy. The world fleet of almost 700 million road vehicles keeps growing some 2% to 3% per year/ It is 99% dependant on oil.
Fuel cost makes up about 20% in the cost of any retailed product or service and up to 50% in the operating cost of the vehicle.
Natural gas can be used in both compressed (CNG) and liquefied (LNG) form.
Natural gas is a perfect commercially available alternative to oil-based fuels in many European countries. There are more than 1100 CNG filling stations in Europe that supply gas to almost 500 thousand vehicles.
However, location of natural gas filling stations does not necessarily follow the highways used by international trucks and buses. Some of the stations along the model corridors are 3 to 10 km off the highway. That is why additional (new) refueling units/stations (mother or daughter; fixed or mobile) will be required. These will include
Helsinki - Saint-Petersburg - Moscow: 4 LNG production and 16 LNG/LCNG filling units;
A new station may have 2 - 4 refueling units capable of 2.0 - 2.2 Mcm of NG per year each.
Natural gas is the cheapest motor fuel. The price of natural gas for vehicles is cheaper than that of diesel oil and gasoline.
Country
Price of NG, % of gasoline
Price of NG, % of diesel
Norway
30%
32%
Poland
32%
41%
Russia
31%
44%
Byelorussia
34%
49%
Italy
41%
50%
Ukraine
50%
Moldova
50%
Austria
53%
63%
Germany
60%
65%
Such price differentials provide a sound economic platform for the implementation of the BCP.
The following fuel cost savings are expected:
Blue Corridor
Euro per 1 round trip of a vehicle
Mln Euro per model fleet/year
Helsinki - Saint-Petersburg - Moscow (LNGVs)
82.7
4.96
Moscow - Minsk - Warsaw - Berlin
dual fuel vehicles
231.2
2.96
dedicated CNG vehicles
273.2
13.99
Berlin - Rome
dual fuel vehicles
194.5
2.49
dedicated CNG vehicles
248.1
12.70
TOTAL
37.10
The following amounts of diesel fuel are expected to be replaced by natural gas:
Blue Corridor
Thousand tons per model fleet/year
Helsinki - Saint-Petersburg - Moscow (LNGVs)
34.3
Moscow - Minsk - Warsaw - Berlin
dual fuel vehicles
10.7
dedicated CNG vehicles
50.3
Berlin - Rome
dual fuel vehicles
10.9
dedicated CNG vehicles
51.6
TOTAL
157.8
Natural gas is the cleanest hydrocarbon fuel, particularly in the liquefied form. The following amounts of harmful emissions (CO equivalent) are expected to be reduced:
Blue Corridor
Thousand tons per model fleet/year
Helsinki - Saint-Petersburg - Moscow (LNGVs)
88.3
Moscow - Minsk - Warsaw - Berlin
dual fuel vehicles
21.8
dedicated CNG vehicles
129.6
Berlin - Rome
dual fuel vehicles
22.4
dedicated CNG vehicles
133.0
TOTAL
395.1
Natural gas is the safest (in terms of fire/explosion probability) hydrocarbon fuel that customers may buy and use today. Since 1980 there were no reported explosions of the CNG cylinders.
Implementation of the BCP will require additional funds for the R&D of high performance NG buses and trucks as well as development of refueling infrastructure. These additional funds were calculated for the model fleet in each corridor. "On-board equipment" column includes R&D costs. No R&D is required for the refueling infrastructure.
