Dive Brief:
- Honda Motor Co. has opened its first compressed natural gas (CNG) "fast-fill" refueling station in Marysville, OH, which was designed, constructed, and is being operated by Trillium CNG.
- The station was built to accommodate 2.5 million gallons of CNG per year, Honda spokesman Eric Mauk told Forbes. Currently, the station is fueling 75-80 vehicles a day.
- According to a report by Navigant Research, the number of CNG stations in North America is expected to grow to 1,800 in the next 10 years, a CAGR of 1.7%. Globally, the number of stations is projected to grow at 4% over the next 10 years.
Dive Insight:
The shift to CNG trucks is an enormous trend in the waste and recycling industry, as leading companies like Waste Management and Republic Services have quickly implemented the trucks into their fleets. The option to run fleets on CNG, which is cheaper than diesel, allows companies to save money while making a greener impact on the environment.
"Our customers want a greener solution and so it's absolutely a greener solution. And then what's good for the business? With the (price) difference between diesel and natural gas, it makes financial sense. And so when you do something that makes financial sense for the company and makes good sense for the environment, that's what we like to do," said Waste Management CEO David Steiner in an interview with Bloomberg last month.
Honda has always been a leading proponent of natural gas vehicles, with four generations of the compact Civic sedan available with a CNG-fueled powertrain. If other popular motor companies begin taking notice of CNG and open similar fueling stations, the trend may become more popular across the waste industry and beyond.
