Natural gas vehicles in heavy-duty transportation – A political-economic analysis for Brazil

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cstp.2020.06.009
• Publication Date: 2020-07-18T15:08:05Z
• Authors: Pedro Gerber Machado; Eduardo Naoki Aki...; Karina Ninni Ramos; Dominique Mouette
• Keywords: 0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering; 02 engineering and technology; 7. Clean energy

Abstract Diesel oil is the only fuel used in Brazil for freight transportation. Although natural gas is abundant in the country, political actions are scarce and do not sustain its use in the sector. Decreasing natural gas prices and the advent of new technologies for the transport sector raises some issues: Is it now economically feasible to switch from diesel to natural gas as a fleet vehicle fuel? What are the political and regulatory barriers to develop the market? Results show that, with an established market for natural gas trucks, there is economic viability. Political analysis show that the lack of market keeps the government from creating regulation for the use of natural gas in the transport sector; the lack of regulation imposes several barriers to use natural gas in the transport sector, keeping these types of trucks away from the Brazilian market.