As trong case can be made for trucking companies operating on the northern Mozambican corridors in particular to convert from diesel to gas to power their vehicles, according to Marco Missoe, strategy and business design consultant at Deloitte Mozambique.“The case for the adoption of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) regionally is looking promising, specifically for high-mileage commercial trucking f leets, as barriers such as lack of incentivised policy, lack of infrastructure, limited model variants and high vehicle costs are being addressed to increase the penetration of NGVs,” he writes in a report titled “Mozambique Domgas. Gas in Road Transport: Driving us forward”.“The use of natural gas as a fuel (CNG/LNG) for transportation has been associated with several environmental benefits – including fewer emissions of air pollutants, fewer emissions of greenhouse gases, and lower noise pollution,” he says.“The regional gas supply situation is strong, with abundant supplies accessible now and into the future, together with low, stable prices. Natural gas is not as prone to the price f luctuations seen by crude oil products.”Government incentives are, however, needed to kickstart the conversion of f leets.“These include market-based (such as tax breaks) and regulatory-based (such as stringent emission control) policies,” he states.Rail can also benefit by switching to gas, he adds: “Natural gas-powered locomotives consume 30% less fuel, emit 20% less carbon dioxide (CO2), and 70% less sulphur dioxide (SO2), and will make it possible to reduce the environmental burden and to save energy resources by 24% a year.A more efficient rail system will have a positive regional knock-on effect. “Rail transport can accelerate and intensify trade and economic development in the SADC region. “As a result of its energy efficiency, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and lower cost per ton kilometre, it is expected to continue to play an increasingly important role in the conveyance of freight over long distances. “Studies show that transporting one ton of goods on railways for 100 kilometres consumes a quarter of the fuel that transporting it on roads would.”Mozambique currently has around 2 500 converted passenger cars, vans, city buses and freight transport vehicles that have been converted to run on compressed natural gas (CNG).There are currently six CNG refuelling stations in the southern region (Maputo and Matola), which are run by public-private partnership and which serve the full value chain, from the distribution and sale of natural gas for vehicles to the conversion of vehicles from conventional fuels to gas.One of the major suppliers of heavy truck tractors in the region announced earlier this year that it would offer natural gas dual fuel vehicles to take advantage of gas where it is available on the corridors running through the region.
