Raffele Brustia (Fiat) and Alfonso del Río (Naturgy)
International energy company Naturgy and auto manufacturer Fiat have signed a strategic agreement to promote natural gas as a fuel for light commercial vehicles in Spain. Through innovative projects they will develop new infrastructure for refueling and expand the use of vehicles that use this energy.
The objective of this alliance, signed by the director of Mobility Projects of Naturgy, Alfonso del Rio, and the Brand Country Manager of Fiat Professional, Raffele Brustia, is to strengthen the fight against climate change, as well as to improve the air quality of cities.
This alliance will allow the energy company and the automotive company to lead the growth and positioning of compressed natural gas (CNG) as an efficient and alternative fuel in transportation.
Through this collaboration, Naturgy and Fiat Professional will work in different areas for the introduction and commercialization of light commercial gas vehicles.
On the one hand, through official Fiat Professional dealers the two companies will create a joint commercial offer for sale to companies with fleets of vehicles, with which they will offer benefits in cars and fuel for renting vehicles and the guarantee of energy supply through filling stations. In addition, training will be offered to its salespersons and the development of natural gas loading infrastructure in its facilities will be analyzed.
On the other hand, Naturgy and Fiat Professional will jointly promote the knowledge of both the advantages of compressed natural gas as fuel and the range of commercial vehicles powered by gas that Fiat markets.
“This agreement is a good example of Naturgy’s concern for promoting sustainable mobility, both in the private and professional spheres. Natural gas as a fuel has proven to be very competitive and with a key role in improving the air quality of cities”, said Alfonso del Río.
For his part, Raffele Brustia, said that “during the last years, FCA has been a pioneer in the development and application of natural gas as a clean, efficient and economical mobility solution. Now, with the signing of this agreement with Naturgy, we are confident that we can give a new impetus to our bet and close the circle with a strong infrastructure at the national level and ranges of models ranging from passenger transport to freight.”
Advantages of this alternative fuel
Natural gas as energy for the propulsion of vehicles offers environmental and economic advantages, and is an alternative to traditional fuels. First of all, it improves the air quality of the cities, since it reduces up to 85% the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and more than 95% particulate matter, which are highly polluting. In addition, it avoids 30% of carbon dioxide emissions and does not emit sulfur dioxide, helping to mitigate the greenhouse effect. Regarding noise pollution, vehicles that run on natural gas produce 50% less noise and vibration than a diesel.
The vehicles that use this fuel get the ECO label from the General Directorate of Traffic, which allows them to benefit from free accessibility to the center of the cities in periods of high pollution and tax incentives and bonuses in regulated parking areas, among other advantages.
Beyond the environmental advantages, from the economic point of view, natural gas is a very competitive fuel, since it allows to save between 25% and 50% of fuel compared to a conventional vehicle with fuels such as gasoline and diesel or other gases such as LPG (liquefied petroleum gas).
