On July 23, 2019, the Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, suggested the government's intention to support the replacement of diesel-powered trucks with CNG-powered trucks. Automakers are already running tests with vehicles manufactured especially to use CNG.
There are several advantages that CNG has over Diesel, we can mention two main ones:
- The environmental advantage that a vehicle with an Otto cycle engine using CNG has in relation to one powered by Diesel oil. Scania, the first manufacturer to have a truck commercially available in Brazil powered by CNG, claims that compared to Diesel, this new model is capable of emitting 70% less;
- With the “cheap energy shock” plans proposed by the government, technicians estimate a reduction of up to 40% in the price of CNG for the consumer. Such a reduction would make CNG extremely advantageous from an economic point of view for transporters and truck drivers, especially on longer routes, where fuel has a greater weight in freight costs;
However, nothing is as simple as it seems, since the conversion of vehicles from Diesel to CNG is not simple (as it depends on significant changes in the engines, since they operate with different thermodynamic cycles, one with Otto and another with Diesel), and, therefore, the replacement of the fleet must be done gradually through the acquisition of new vehicles. In the short term, it is unreasonable to think that most carriers, which are highly indebted, would be willing to invest more capital in modernizing their fleets.
In addition to what has already been mentioned, government incentive plans may face other difficulties, namely:
1.Currently, in a good part of the national territory, the average price of CNG is very close to that of Diesel, and even higher in some places:
Figure 1 – Average prices by state consulted from the ANP price survey system in the months of May/19, Jun/19 and Jul/19. https://preco.anp.gov.br/include/Resumo_Ultimos_Meses_Index.asp
If the plans to reduce the price of CNG do not materialize, economic viability may be threatened in some states;
2. The autonomy of CNG vehicles is substantially less than that of their diesel-powered peers. A CNG vehicle has a range of about 500km, while a Diesel-powered vehicle needs to refuel, on average, every 800km (depending on the model).
3. The refueling time for a CNG vehicle is considerably high, manufacturers estimate around 40 minutes to complete the 217m² tank, enough for a trip of 500km.
4. The need to resize the entire CNG chain to expand the capillarity of CNG logistics, reflected in the number of stations where the fuel is offered, as well as the capacity of the stations that already offer it.
In this way, the minister's idea seems to be positive, without a doubt the category of truck drivers would benefit from a reduction in transport costs and perhaps we could overcome the discussion of the need for a freight table, however, it proves to be more challenging than if I would like it to be, and short-term excitement can turn to frustration.
Sources:
https://estradao.estadao.com.br/caminhoes/citrosuco-testara-caminhao-scania-movido-gas/
https://preco.anp.gov.br/include/Resumo_Ultimos_Meses_Index.asp
Rafael Illipronti
He has been working in the sector for 4 years, with experience in cost reduction and strategy projects. He carried out 3 Transport Planning and Management projects and 5 Logistics Network Design projects. He has extensive experience in the interface with fiscal aspects present in network design projects, having led this front in three projects. The first for a hygiene and beauty industry, the second for a large physical retailer and the third for a large e-commerce retailer. Additionally, he has worked in the Food and Beverage, Appliances, Telecommunications, Steel and Transport sectors.
