NGV India Summit highlights opportunities for natural gas vehicle industry in India

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Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) India Summit India, which recently held in New Delhi, highlighted opportunities for natural gas vehicle industry in the country.

In the event conducted by Messe Frankfurt India Trade Fairs Pvt Ltd, delegates and speakers indulged in serious networking sessions leading to positive solutions for the development of natural gas vehicle industry in India.

With the increasing petrol and diesel prices concerning the citizens of India, the fifth edition of Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) India Summit was indeed scheduled at the right time.

As many as 125 industry experts and professionals attended the summit, which highlighted the importance of natural gas in the auto industry and the way forward in terms of challenges faced, opportunities and overall acceptance of the clean fuel.

AK Jana, MD, Indraprastha Gas Ltd, Amit Shah, MD, Ace Gas Conversions Pvt Ltd, SC Gupta, Joint Advisor, Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, Ashish Chutani, Chairman, SIAM Gas Based Mobility Group and Head – Government & Policy Affairs, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd and Ashim Sharma, Partner & Group Head, Nomura Research Institute (NRI) Consulting & Solutions India Pvt Ltd inaugurated the summit.

In his address Jana stated: “Now is the time for natural gas vehicles.” Congratulating Messe Frankfurt India, he added: “It was a fantastic opportunity to participate at NGV India Summit. It was a big relief to come out and have face-to-face discussions with my peers and other energy experts.”

“The event was held focussing on relevant topics with some very good sessions from the members of the government and the industry.”

A special report on the NGV sector by Nomura Research Institute (NRI) Consulting & Solutions India Pvt Ltd was also released.

Speaking about the current dynamic of the industry, Ashim Sharma, Partner & Group Head, Nomura Research Institute (NRI) Consulting & Solutions India Pvt Ltd, said, “There is high rate of penetration of NGVs in the country as it has grown at about 7 per cent from March 2016 to March 2020.”

He added: “Improvement of fuel infrastructure in the country has also witnessed a surge at about 20% CAGR during the same period. The city gas distribution is the prime consumer of natural gas with more than half being consumed by the transport sector. As per the honourable minister another 10,000 CNG stations would be set up in the next 10 years.

The government is also planning to invest about Rs 100 billion in LNG stations with the construction of the first 50 LNG stations recently launched.”

Sessions commenced on a positive note with speakers discussing crucial topics like increasing penetration of NGVs in India, natural gas mobility sector post COVID, LNG as a transportation fuel in India, the current status of natural gas mobility industry in India along with its challenges and opportunities along with among others.

The industry witnesses enhanced customer preference for CNG, mainly on account of lower total cost ownership. Increase in focus of Original Equipment Manufacturers in all vehicle segments for NGVs and upcoming alternatives sources of compressed natural gas supporting regulatory environment were some of the major factors supporting to the growth of natural gas vehicle industry.

Recent developments & future

Speaking about the recent developments and future trends emerging in the natural gas vehicle industry, Chiradeep Datta, Chief Operating Officer- Kerala and Karnataka, and Head, Operations & Maintenance, Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company said, “India’s energy sector and a large part of its economic development will be dominated by energy transition to natural gas.

NGVs are critical for having a clean energy future and therefore it is encouraging to see huge impetus being laid down by the government for the use of a cleaner and lower-cost natural gas as an alternative to traditional fuels ensuring availability of CNG across the
country.”

Delegates aired a unanimous opinion of the platform being a great way to interact with industry peers as they shared a common goal of encouraging the use of natural gas vehicles in the country.

It is to be noted that Delhi has switched almost all commercial vehicles on gas. In
future, the capital is also looking to adopt HCNG that is an improved version of CNG.

Even though electric vehicles will make an entrance, 70 per cent of the share is said to remain with vehicles running on gas.

(With inputs from Automotive Lead Research Team)

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