As the Nigerian govt and Nigerians move to alleviate the negative effects of fuel subsidy removal by looking towards CNG-powered vehicles as an alternative, an expert has called for a second thought on the move.
Dr Olugbenga Faleye, Chairman & C.E.O of SAGLEV INC, an electric vehicle company has warned about the inherent dangers associated with converting Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
Following the removal of fuel subsidies and the attendant increase in the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly called petrol, there has been a huge call for the adoption of CNG-powered vehicles.
Reacting to this, Faleye in an exclusive interview with Ripples Nigeria, disclosed that it is in fact dangerous to run a diesel or petrol engine converted to CNG while enumerating the dangers associated with the move.
“And let me point some things out. It is actually dangerous to run a CNG, to run a diesel or petrol engine converted to CNG. The engine will run at such a high temperature. The lubricants need to be different.
“And the life of the engine will be cut short. That is one area that people have completely ignored. So, it’s not necessarily the best idea to start running CNG on an engine that was designed to run petrol or diesel” he stated.
Continuing, he urged Nigeria not to make the same mistake made by China several years ago while attempting to make the transition from ICE to LPG-powered vehicles saying that failure lurks.
“I want to draw your attention to a report released probably two or three years ago of how the historians went back and revealed how the Chinese actually tried to use gas, natural gas and LPG to power their systems. It completely failed and they pivoted to electricity.
“If a country like China, a country that has been successful in implementing so many things, if they fail at something, then one needs to learn from it
“I believe in the country. There’s a chance that we are going to face that same failure. So, I have my fears and the people in the government should be seeing this report.
“That’s number one. Number two is that CNG requires a lot of investment, and a lot of distribution channels that need to be on the ground before you can implement CNG.
“Unfortunately, we do have an immature, incomplete pipeline system for natural gas.
“But that system cannot transport Compressed Natural Gas in that compressed fashion.
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“This means you have to convert it from natural gas to compressed gas by pressurization and liquefaction to some extent. When that gas arrives where it’s going to be used, you have to convert it back. So, that is an expensive infrastructure” he added.
He added that the government was forced to embrace CNG as a quick fix to the challenges at hand and in an attempt to provide mass transportation for the people.
“The subsidy had to go. Now, in the eyes of the normal, ordinary person, you might think, okay, some diesel buses can be converted quickly to CNG, right?
“So, it is for the ordinary person not involved in the power sector, you might think that, oh, that’s a natural thing. So, I cannot blame the government. There’s a problem on the ground. They are looking for the fastest way to solve it.
“Now, I don’t blame the government because they realise, look, the masses need mass transportation, right? It was not as obvious that electricity vehicles were this nearby” he added.
On the other hand, Faleye disclosed that Electric Vehicles, EVs are more viable options than CNG-powered cars and ICE as Electric Vehicles are cheaper, require less maintenance and contrary to misconception, do not require constant charging.
Each of these electric cars, with just one hour of charge can give you 70, 75, and 80 kilometers. People need to understand this. So, assuming I come back home from work and I don’t have power, but I only have one hour of power and I plug the car, I can get 80 kilometres, now, most people drive less than 50 to 60 kilometres a day. Right? Okay, so that means that you don’t even need more than one hour a day of power.
We are talking about high-capacity storage lithium batteries. The smallest vehicle has a 27-kilowatt-hour battery” he said.
This view was also recently highlighted by the Delta State governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, when a team from Jet Systems Automobile Industry Limited paid him a visit in Asaba, the state capital.
He said EVs should be the choice for mass mobility as against vehicles running on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and that while fuel combustion and CNG engines are costly to maintain, had the lowest maintenance cost and also release zero-emission to ensure a cleaner environment, unlike fuel engines that emit gases and pollute the ecosystem.
The concept of electric vehicles have over the years been pushed by Jet Systems Automobile Industryy Limited, an indigenous car company which has continuously highlighted the benefits of electric vehicles in Nigeria as a viable alternative to fossil-fuel powered vehicles.
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