Home refuelling unit for CNG cars and vans

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The use of CNG (compressed natural gas) as a road fuel is a well established technology andthere are now over 12 million vehicles worldwide using CNG as a road fuel.The use of CNG results in lower vehicle emissions, less CO2 impact, reduced fuel costs andis seen as a way of diversifying away from oil. Biomethane, a ‘non fossil’ source of methanecan also be used as the source for the CNG.As with all alternative fuels, the growth of the CNG market can be constrained by the rate atwhich the refuelling infrastructure is created leading to potential users of CNG becomingfrustrated.To help overcome this, gasfill Limited’s vision is to develop and bring to market a low cost,easy to install, low maintenance slow fill CNG refuelling unit that can be used anywhere inthe world. The target market is seen as the domestic market.gasfill have developed an innovative 3 stage oil less compressor that allows natural gas to becompressed from the domestic supply line pressure of 21mbar up to the on vehicle storagepressure of 200bar using a normal single phase electrical supply. This compressor has beenpatented in the UK and patent applications in the USA and Europe are .well advanced.The compressor has been used in a proof of concept technology demonstrator CNG refuellingunit to obtain lifetime performance data and to obtain feedback from potential users. Based onthis feedback a cost and performance specification for a refuelling unit suitable for thedomestic market has been developed.The aim of this project is to develop a ‘near market’ prototype which meets the specificationand which will be used to facilitate exhaustive testing, manufacturability and robustnessassessment required of a pre production unit prior to market launch.It is anticipated that the project will result in a slow fill home refuelling unit for CNG vehiclesthat will have the potential for high volume sales worldwide.