A Green Choice for Transportation

Go With Natural Gas

Go with Natural Gas began as a collaborative industry-government initiative, supported with funding from Natural Resources Canada. Canada’s natural gas vehicle industry continues to champion this initiative, encouraging greater use of natural gas in the country’s transportation sector. The Go with Natural Gas initiative provides comprehensive information on transitioning to natural gas, highlighting its benefits in lowering emissions and reducing fleet operating costs, making it a go-to resource for Canadian fleets.

As part of a broader education and outreach program, Go with Natural Gas aims to build capacity for the transition to natural gas vehicles across Canada.
Go with Natural Gas – a smart choice for transportation!

Why Natural Gas?

Cost-effective emissions reduction

Natural gas offers the most accessible and cost-effective emissions reduction opportunity for medium- and heavy-duty transportation. It's a practical choice for both on-road and marine vehicles.

Proven technology

Building on existing internal combustion technologies, natural gas has been used successfully as a transportation fuel for over 30 years, proving its reliability and effectiveness.

Abundant & efficient energy source

Natural gas is an abundant energy source in Canada, efficiently transported via an extensive delivery system, making it a readily available fuel for transportation needs.

Environmental advantage

Compared to petroleum-based fuels, natural gas has a lower emissions profile. It produces fewer trace constituents, little or no Sox, minimal particulate matter, and significantly less NOx, along with 25% lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Regulatory Approval

Natural gas is recognized as an end-use fuel switching option under the Federal Government’s Clean Fuel Regulation, supporting Canada's transition to cleaner energy.

Success Stories

Our members Success with Go With Natural Gas

ABC Environmental

ABC Environmental

Based in the Lanaudière region of Quebec, ABC Environmental has been cleaning, draining, and decontaminating waste water treatment facilities in several Quebec regions since 1967. In 2017, EBI bought ABC Environmental. As a leading environmental and recycling company in the province ABC Environmental has a longstanding interest in using low emission technologies such as natural gas vehicles. Of their fleet of more than 40 trucks, close to 15 are natural gas powered. Working with Énergir, they have built an onsite refuelling station to support its fleet in Crabtree, QC.
Central Okanagan School District No. 23, British Columbia
Central Okanagan School District No. 23, British Columbia

Central Okanagan School District No. 23, British Columbia

The Central Okanagan School District, located in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley serves the communities of Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country, and Peachland. District No. 23 is the first school bus fleet in Canada to operate factory-built natural gas school buses with fourth generation ISL G engines from Cummins Westport. The fleet includes 13 CNG school buses that refuel at a private fast fill station located in Kelowna. The fleet, which has been in operation since 2011, has resulted in improved air quality for students and lower greenhouse gases.
City of Surrey, British Columbia

City of Surrey, British Columbia

Surrey, British Columbia, is the first municipality in Canada to require the use of natural gas refuse trucks in its contract refuse tendering process. Surrey took this step based on its own analysis showing that the economic and environmental benefits of natural gas vehicle use are significant. The Surrey residential collection business was awarded to BFI Canada in early 2012. As of October 2012, 55 natural gas trucks were operating. The City of Surrey also intends to transition the fuel supply from natural gas to renewable natural gas produced from local bin waste when supply is available from a proposed municipal facility.
Class 8 Trucks - Robert Transportation
Class 8 Trucks - Robert Transportation

Class 8 Trucks - Robert Transportation

One of Canada’s largest for-hire trucking fleets, Robert Transport, has added natural gas trucks to the growing list of green technologies in use in its fleet. Robert Transport had 160 Peterbilt 386 liquefied natural gas (LNG) highway tractors traveling between Boucherville, Quebec, and Mississauga, Ontario. The fleet has warehouses with in-yard, private refueling stations in both communities. The lower emission trucks travel along the Highway 401 and Autoroute 20 corridor. Since decommissioning its LNG fleet, Robert has embarked on a new chapter with the use of CNG vehicles, and the latest Cummins 15 litre engine.
Enbridge Gas Distribution
Enbridge Gas Distribution

Enbridge Gas Distribution

Canada’s largest natural gas distribution company operates one of North America’s largest natural gas vehicle fleets. With more than 675 natural gas vehicles, Enbridge is able to reduce its fuel costs and contribute to corporate social responsibility objectives. Most of the utility’s fleet consists of aftermarket, converted light duty vehicles. About three years ago, Enbridge invested in its first factory-built dump truck from Freightliner. The company now has six factory-built trucks in its fleet and additional trucks are on order.
Refuse Fleets - Waste Management

Refuse Fleets - Waste Management

Waste Management is the largest operator of natural gas refuse collection trucks in North America with 1,400 natural gas trucks in its fleet. Based on the economic and environmental benefits for Waste Management, the company has made a commitment to purchase 80 per cent of all of its new vehicles as factory-built natural gas trucks. Here in Canada, Waste Management has two natural gas collection truck projects each of which involves more than 20 CNG trucks. One of the projects is operating in Coquitlam, British Columbia, and the other one is for Ottawa, Ontario.
Vedder Transportation Group
Vedder Transportation Group

Vedder Transportation Group

Vedder Transport is the largest hauler of raw milk in Canada. This for-hire fleet based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, had 65 Peterbilt 386 LNG highway tractors representing about 15 per cent of its fleet. The trucks refuel at 3 private LNG fuelling terminal (Abbotsford, Delta and Kamloops in British Columbia) in the Vedder yards. Each truck emits about 70 tonnes less carbon per year compared to a diesel truck. Fuel savings exceed $0.30 per diesel litre equivalent. Vedder marketed its LNG trucks as a green service for its customers as these are the lowest emission highway tractors on the road.
EBI, Québec
EBI, Québec

EBI, Québec

EBI is a family-owned business with a mission to integrate waste management. They collect, transport and recycle material from the municipal, industrial, commercial and institutional sectors. They also produce natural gas and electricity using biogas and are considered a cutting-edge organization in the renewable energy sector. Being a producer of renewable natural gas, EBI’s objective was to switch their entire fleet from diesel to CNG and utilize the natural gas they produce. They started with a pilot trial in 2011 in Berthierville, Quebec, where they tested the technology for one year. 
Emterra Environmental, Manitoba
Emterra Environmental, Manitoba

Emterra Environmental, Manitoba

With CNG stations and CNG fleets in Winnipeg, Manitoba as well as British Columbia’s Capital Regional District and Chilliwack, Emterra Environmental has established itself as a leader in the use of alternative green fleet technologies. Through its initial investment in Winnipeg, Emterra developed the largest fleet of CNG collection trucks in the world operating in an extreme cold weather climate.

Refuelling Options

Refueling at an existing public CNG station may be a viable option at the early stages of switching to natural gas. If a public station is to be used, fill time and site access are important considerations.

Private onsite CNG or LNG refueling stations may be suitable if the fleet’s total natural gas fuel volume is sufficient. A general rule of thumb is that typically 20 medium or heavy vehicles are needed in order to consider a private onsite station.

Another refueling option may involve accessing a nearby private station owned by another fleet.

Visit Natural Resources Canada’s interactive map of public natural gas fueling locations across Canada: NRCan Station Locator

Compressed Natural Gas – CNG

CNG is natural gas that is:

  • Compressed at a high pressure to reduce its volume by up to 300 times compared with natural gas at a normal pressure.
  • CNG is ideal for passenger cars, pick-up trucks, cube vans, buses, shuttles, short-haul tractor-trailers, dump trucks, medium and long haul trucks, and refuse trucks.

Stations and Bunkering

Fleets that choose natural gas have a range of refueling station options and a choice of service providers for vehicle refueling. Stations dispensing CNG can be designed as fast fill stations capable of matching the filling times of liquid fuels or time fill stations that refuel all vehicles simultaneously with refueling typically taking place overnight in the fleet yard.

CNG Fast Fill Station

CNG Time Fill Station

LNG stations refuel vehicles in times similar to diesel station refueling. An LNG refueling station must have a local supply of fuel. Given that LNG is delivered by tanker truck, delivery cost and proximity of the LNG production facility are important considerations. At present, there are five LNG production facilities in Canada that can supply LNG for fleets.

These facilities are located in Montréal (QC), Calgary (AB), Delta (BC), Ladysmith (BC), and Hagar (ON).

Liquefied Natural Gas – LNG

LNG is a natural gas that is:

  • Cooled to a liquid state at -162 degrees Celsius to reduce its volume by 620 times compared with natural gas at normal pressure.
  • LNG is ideal for ferries, ships, rail, long-haul trucks, mining applications and industrial uses.

LNG Station

On Road

Public transit and refuse fleets have led the deployment of natural gas-powered vehicles in Canada with heavy-duty truck applications poised to follow suit as new engine/vehicle configurations hit the market.

The Federal Clean Fuel Standard outlines default values for greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reductions resulting from the use of natural gas. These show the potential for a reduction of at least 20 percent of GHG emissions, with additional reductions possible through the use of various lower carbon intensity natural gas and renewable natural gas options.

Payback and Performance

Natural gas vehicles have performance characteristics (power and torque) similar to diesel and gasoline vehicles.

In North America, Cummins is the leader in producing engines that operate 100 per cent on natural gas – compressed (CNG), liquefied (LNG) or renewable (RNG). At present, Cummins has over X0,000 natural gas engines in service worldwide. These include 6 to 15 litre applications in school bus, transit and truck markets. Cummins has developed these engines to meet the performance and durability requirements of the transport industry.

Natural gas and diesel blending technologies are also available for light-, medium- and heavy-duty truck applications, historically using low-pressure, spark-ignited systems.

An advanced fuel system from Vancouver-based Cespira employs compression ignition in what the company calls High Pressure Direct Injection or HPDI.  The HPDI fuel system allows a natural gas engine to fully match both diesel efficiency and torque. HPDI systems have been successfully deployed in Europe since 2018. Similar European LNG trucks have been running in Alberta since the summer of 2024.

Payback

Generating a return is usually about spending less that it costs to get something from point A to Point B – resulting in profits. Finding ways to reduce emissions shouldn’t stray far from this basic principle; in other words, emissions reductions shouldn’t negatively impact the bottom line.

Determining the potential payback is often a very specific and complex calculation. Members of The Transport Project Canada (TTPC) include a number of companies and consulting firms that can help to figure this out.

These three factors will drive any up-front costs and will need to be offset to generate a payback.

On-Board Fuel Storage

  • When compressed natural gas is used, it will require roughly four times as much space to store the fuel; and
  • When LNG is used, it will require roughly two times as much space to store the fuel.

Vehicle Engineering

  • Accommodating a new or modified engine;
  • Finding usable space for fuel tanks; and
  • Retaining payload and other functional elements.

Engine

  • Using a purpose-built natural gas engine; or
  • Using a conversion kit.

Fuel Cost

There are four components that are tracked for retail fuel prices in Canada: Commodity margin; refining margin; retail margin; and taxes. Typically, commodity price fluctuations have the largest impact on the costs of petroleum fuels, though lately increased taxes are also contributing to higher prices. A similar breakdown can be applied to natural gas – compressed natural gas predominantly – retail fuel prices: delivered commodity margin; compression margin; retail margin; and taxes. The graphic illustrating prices takes average monthly cost across Canada, using data retrieved from Natural Resources Canada and Statistics Canada.

The opportunity to have fuel cost savings is substantial with the use of natural gas. This can form a strong basis for accomplishing emissions reductions with no net costs, or in many cases with significant savings over time.

Marine

Provincial ferry services such as BCFerries and Societe du traversiers du Quebec have deployed natural gas-powered vessels that use liquefied natural gas. These organizations have been at the leading edge of marine LNG usage with track records of significant success.

Bulk carriers operated by Groupes Desganes and roll-on, roll-off vessels operated by SeaSpan marine are two leading private sector marine operators that use natural gas powered vessels.

Domestic marine is also an emissions intensive transport sector. By switching to natural gas significant GHG emissions reductions have been achieved.

Two emissions initiatives are impacting the Canadian marine industry. The first is the implementation of the North American Environmental Control Area which has specific provisions under MARPOL Annex VI. These regulations limit a variety of emissions, including NOx, SOx, particulate matter, and GHG emissions. More broadly MARPOL outlines a basis for reducing GHG emissions for marine vessels, through both vessel design changes and energy improvements. Natural gas as a marine fuel offers a distinct advantage as a lower emitting fuel, in terms of NOx, SOx, particulate matter, and life-cycle GHG emissions reductions.

Payback and Performance

Natural gas is currently used in Canada’s marine sector.

Vessels operating in a number of regions around the world need to have flexibility in the kind of fuel that can be used by their vessels. As a result, dual and multi fuel technologies are frequently used. Adding natural gas to the list of useable marine fuels has resulted in significant development of both dedicated natural gas and dual fuel engines. The addition of lower carbon intensity and renewable gases will significantly add to the emissions reductions opportunities for natural gas-powered vehicle used in the marine sector.

Learn More

A Marine Fuel for Canada’s West Coast

A Marine Fuel for Canada’s Great Lakes and East Coast

Investigating Liquified Natural Gas as a Marine Fuel for Canada’s Arctic

Rail

Use of natural gas in the rail sector has reached the pilot project stage.

Current generation locomotives can be converted to use natural gas as a fuel, using diesel as a pilot or ignition source as seen with the Cespira fuel system. Similar performance characteristics, as were noticed with on-road vehicles, have been observed with both high- and low-pressure injection technologies.

In North America two original equipment manufacturers provide all new and repowered locomotive engines

Learn More:

Off-Road

Natural gas in the off-road sector has reached the pilot stage.

Given the high levels of fuel usage in large mine haul trucks, these have generated the most interest. Similar technologies and approaches used with rail locomotives have been used, including low- and high-pressure injection systems. Natural gas conversions for off road applications have been limited to a small number of applications. At the largest end of the spectrum, mine haul trucks have attracted a great deal of attention. Similarly, new emissions regulations for off-road vehicles – United States Environmental Protection Agency Tier 4 requirements – make natural gas an appealing compliance option.

Learn More:

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