In a bid to mitigate against the soaring petrol and diesel prices, reduce its carbon footprint and still remain competitive, facilities management company Servest has invested R2 million to converting a fleet of 70 vehicles to be fuelled by compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel.
The 70 vehicles that have been converted are the first batch of the company’s 769 vehicle-strong fleet that is earmarked for CNG conversion in the future. The company, which celebrates 25 years in business this year, expects to see the return on investment within nine months.
Servest’s Input
According to Servest co-founder and CEO, Dennis Zietsman, the group’s offering is founded on innovative solutions thinking.
“Despite the abundance of natural gas in the sub-Saharan region, the use of compressed natural gas in motor vehicles is still very low compared to the global average,” Zietsman says. “Our aim is to explore best solutions to minimise our carbon impact and, in turn, save on the high cost of fuel.”
According to the latest research, Asia-Pacific has 19 841 688 natural gas vehicles (NGV), followed by Europe with 2 013 693, North America with 224 500, and Latin America with 5 417 146. Africa has only 268 349 NGVs.
In addition, a report by industry analysis and consulting firm, Mordor Intelligence, shows that the Africa CNG vehicle market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 3% between 2022 – 2027, driven mainly by the decreasing air quality and increasing air pollution in the region.
According to the report, Egypt is expected to dominate the market over other African countries. The conversion rate of old conventional fuel-based vehicles in the country is rising because of the lower operational costs.
Ambesikhaya Ngobo, Servest’s Technical Category Manager, explains that the limited footprint of CNG refuelling stations across the country has led the company to opt for a hybrid conversion which provides the converted vehicles with the flexibility to utilise mainly CNG, but to automatically default to fossil fuel when the CNG runs out.
Cost-Effective Compressed Natural Gas Better For The Planet
In addition to the pricing stability of CNG which is not influenced by volatile geo-political events outside of the region, Ngobo says cost savings for using CNG are very compelling. Natural gas prices have only increased two times over the past 12 months compared to petrol and diesel which has seen prices soar to record highs during the comparable period.
Ngobo says, “This technology has several other benefits – CNG is a clean fuel that produces significantly less hydrocarbon emissions than petrol, so it is environmentally friendly.” “The fuel is also good for the vehicle’s engine as it requires less lubrication and keeps spark plugs and convertors in good condition. It produces less carbon when running, and this in turn, extends the life of the engine’s lubricating oil and decreases the frequency of service required. In conventionally fuelled vehicles, engine oil degrades as a result of carbon produced during the combustion process. We believe that adopting this technology will yield great savings to the business units, giving us a competitive edge and make the business more profitable.”
The company opted to trial the technology with the initial fleet of 70 highly utilised vehicles to maximise the return on investment. These vehicles had to meet a strict benchmark operating within a radius of existing CNG filling stations situated in Pretoria and Johannesburg CBDs. The company opted to prioritise the conversion of petrol vehicles over diesel-powered vehicles because of projected savings of approximately 55% compared to 30%.
Based on the outcome and realisation of expected returns, Ngobo says Servest will in the future consider investing in CNG fuel stations in areas where it has high vehicle utilisation.
