Report Summary

The global compressed natural gas (CNG) market size is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% from 2018 to 2026. Growing importance of CNG as a vehicular fuel in several regional markets is the main factor to drive industry growth over the forecast period. CNG use has been increasing rapidly owing to the benefits it offers economically and environmentally. As it is a considered as one of the cleanest transportation fuel, several government initiatives and schemes have been formulated for further increasing its use. This has actually enhanced the air quality. In April 2016, several countries agreed to sign in the Paris agreement to which the 21st conference (COP 21) preceded at the end of 2015 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Paris Protocol has already been appended by one seventy five nations, including China, Great Britain, the USA, Russia, France, etc., which confirmed the significance of environmental issues and climate change around the world.

There are many properties of CNG that makes it a better alternative for IC engines. It diffuses quickly in air and fuel mix in low inlet temperatures compared to diesel or petrol, CNGs higher ignition temperature lead to reduced delay in auto ignition, higher octane number, maintenance cost is compatibly lower and the most important is the lower emission of carbon dioxide compared to other fossil fuels. These advantages have been the crucial factors in driving the overall Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) market over the past five to six years. Implementation of CNG fueled engines especially in public transport vehicles in many countries have been the major step towards a low carbon dioxide emission strategy for a greener environment. The increasing focus on production of natural gas compared to crude oil and recent discoveries of shale gas reserves are some of aspects for greater availability scenarios for CNG as transportation fuel along with other gas fuels. Supporting government regulations along with slowly developing infrastructure for CNG availability as transportation fuel will create greater demand globally for the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) market in the coming years.

Segment Analysis

The global Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) market is segmented based on type of its source and application segments. Source type is further bifurcated into associated gas, non associated gas and unconventional gas. The application segments are further segmented into light passenger vehicles, medium/heavy duty vehicles and three wheeler vehicles. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) production of non-associated reserves is expected to be the leading source segment by 2026. Exploration of unconventional reserves has increased in the recent past owing to sustainable development of the globally increasing energy needs. Hence, this segment is projected to be a potential source for CNG processing in the near future. Associated gas been already satisfying greatly to the present demand for CNG and is expected to experience moderate growth over the forecast period.

Medium/Heavy Duty Vehicles segment in the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) market that include the big engine trucks and busses was the largest end use segment in 2017. Public transport heavy and medium duty vehicles run with CNG as transportation fuels in almost every developed and developing nation globally. This has been made mandatory by the governments in most of the countries as a step towards contributing towards a clean atmosphere which helps in minimum release of CO2 compared to ignition of other fissile fuels. Passenger cars and other three wheeler vehicles using CNG has been increasing yearly from 2014; however the volume of CNG consumed compared to the heavy duty vehicles is significantly less. Rising demand for cleaner fuels and development of new CNG engines which offer similar efficiency as petrol/diesel ones are expected to be some of the reasons to drive product demand in these vehicle segments.

Regional Analysis

Asia Pacific was the leading region for the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) market in 2017. Pakistan, India, China and Thailand are the leading CNG vehicles market in the region with Pakistan and India ranked among the top five nations worldwide. Product demand in Pakistan is expected to increase further despite deregulations in the market and the parallel rise in diesel/petrol prices. Public transport and commercial use vehicles in many cities in India use CNG as a mandatory fuel, which has significantly helped in reducing the carbon footprint. China, Singapore, Thailand and even Malaysia are yet another potential markets for CNG consumption with stringent regulations for it use as a mandate for transportation fuel.

Competitive Analysis

Some of the leading industry participants in the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) market include China Natural Gas Inc., NeoGas Inc, ANGI Energy Systems Inc, GNVert, Trillium CNG, OAO GasProm, J-W Power Company, Mahanagar Gas Limited (MNGL), National Iranian Gas Company, and Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL).