A Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel system standard was included as a priority on the 2016 US Department of Energy and Natural Resources Canada’s Natural Gas Vehicle Work Plan, in support of the Regulatory Cooperation Council. To meet this need, CSA Group worked with the North American natural gas vehicle industry to transition the bi-national recommended practice, CSA/ANSI NGV 6.1 – Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Fuel Storage and Delivery Systems for Road Vehicles, to a bi-national standard recognized in the United States and Canada by ANSI and SCC, respectively.
The revised NGV 6.1 standard includes revisions to further harmonize coverage with current industry codes and standards, as well as added performance and verification test requirements for the vehicle fuel system.
CSA/ANSI NGV 6.1 complements CSA Group’s engagement over the past three decades with the industry on CNG vehicle component issues including: research and development support, standards development, certification and testing, container inspection, and container end of life. The document provides guidance for the system designer and integrator that includes design requirements and process recommendations.
John Jordan, Technical Representative – Standards of Agility Fuel Solutions and Co-chair of CSA Group’s CNG Fuel Storage and Delivery System for Road Vehicles Technical Subcommittee (NGV 6.1) notes that, “the release of CSA/ANSI NGV 6.1 demonstrates the maturity and sustainability of the CNG vehicle market, and the commitment to quality and safety throughout the natural gas vehicle industry. This standard was truly a collaborative effort from our industry, with participation from OEM manufacturers, component manufacturers, government regulators and other important stakeholders.”
Dan Bowerson, Director of Technology & Development, NGV America and Co-chair of NGV 6.1 reiterates, “NGV 6.1 fills a gap that the NGV industry has been missing for years. By using system engineering practices and starting with a system level FMEA, the NGV 6.1 Technical Subcommittee was able to focus on safety needs of the CNG fuel storage and handling systems. The Technical Subcommittee developed a standard that will be useful for companies or individuals involved in the design and installation of CNG systems and components.”
The industry will continue to work with other Code committees and Authorities Having Jurisdiction to obtain reference to this new standard. Future editions of the binational standard will expand coverage to address LNG fuel storage and delivery systems. In addition, content from this document will be considered for incorporation in learning products to assist in dissemination of the information and implementation of the best practices.
The CSA NGV 6.1 Recommended Practice was made available for purchase in English in PDF format on September 30, 2016. CSA Group also provides the CNG Fuel Inspector Resource Package – which includes NGV 6.1 as well as a collection of other relevant standards such as NGV 1, NGV 2, NGV 3.1, PRD 1, and EXP 2.1.
For information regarding participation on CSA Group’s NGV 6.1 Technical Subcommittee or other committees for natural gas vehicle components and systems, please contact Julie Cairns, julie.cairns@csagroup.org.
For testing and certification questions related to compressed natural gas, please contact Livio Gambone, livio.gambone@csagroup.org.
CSA Group also offers a CNG Cylinder and Fuel System Inspector Certification program that covers the inspection of containers, valves, pressure relief devices (PRDs) including vent system and other fuel system components of CNG-fueled vehicles. For more information about this program please contact Karin Fahey, karin.fahey@csagroup.org.
CSA Group acknowledges that the development of CSA/ANSI NGV 6.1, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fuel storage and delivery systems for road vehicles was made possible, in part, by the financial support of Natural Resources Canada.
Source: CSA Group
