(27b) Natural Gas as a Transportation Energy Resource: Life Cycle Considerations for Personal Mobility Options

Presently the U.S. is experiencing a significant boom in domestic natural gas production due to the application of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling to Marcellus and other formations with an abundance of shale gas.  The combination of decade-low natural gas prices and increased restrictions on coal utilization for electric power has led to a displacement of coal-fired generation with electricity from natural gas.

With the prospect of the United States undergoing a transition to being a net energy exporter within the next decade, it is timely to consider scenarios wherein a displacement of petroleum as the predominant domestic transportation energy resource occurs, with steadily increasing utilization of cheap abundant natural gas as the source fuel for personal mobility.  In this presentation, we consider three options for natural gas-derived personal mobility:  compressed natural gas automobiles, battery electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell cars.  The life cycle environmental impacts are compared for the operation of these three types of vehicles, including the fuel processing infrastructure required to deliver the respective fuel for each vehicle.  We consider the impact of potential future constraints on carbon emissions on the environmental footprint of each mode of natural gas-powered personal mobility, on a per mile driven basis.