Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on innovative solutions for the energy industry. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we want to share our insights with you. This time, you will discover 5 promising compressed natural gas solutions.
Heat Map: 5 Top Compressed Natural Gas Solutions
Using the StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 1.379.000+ startups & scaleups globally, we looked at innovation in the field of oil and gas (O&G). For this research, we identified 106 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & scaleups developing compressed natural gas solutions. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 106 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
Click to download
Noble Gas Systems – CNG Storage
CNG occupies less than 1% of the volume that natural gas actually occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. Therefore, special storage tanks and transportation solutions are necessary to handle the high pressure associated with the CNG. CNG is stored and distributed in hard cylindrical or spherical containers at a pressure of 20–25 MPa. CNG tanks are made of either steel or composite materials. Compressed natural gas fuel storage tanks are stronger and safer than gasoline or diesel tanks, reducing the likelihood of accidental release.
Noble Gas Systems is a US-based storage tank manufacturer. The startup builds tanks that store any type of compressed gases, like nitrogen, hydrogen, air, natural gas, and oxygen. The tank’s design incorporates thermoplastic elastomers for flexibility and for permeation. In addition, the design includes woven synthetic fiber for pressure containment of about 6000 psi and a shape that enables conformability without collapse. The startup’s storage tanks are safe, light-weight, and economically efficient.
Ward Energy – Vapor Recovery
In the vapor recovery process, the lighter hydrocarbons entrained in the crude storage tanks are collected and compressed to form CNG. Vapor recovery is particularly crucial as hydrocarbon storage containers are prone to leaks through hatches and safety valves. Various operators around the world are subject to multiple environmental regulations and vapor recovery is an essential compliance requisite. Startups develop vapor recovery techniques and solutions to enable operators to improve their bottom line.
Ward Energy is a US-based startup developing vapor recovery solutions for various industries, including oil and gas, chemicals, and petrochemicals. The startup also provides combuster, compressor products, panel systems, and maintenance services for the existing vapor recovery units. The startup’s vapor recovery equipment is modular and requires minimum onsite preparation. The solution reduces emissions, resulting in immediate regulatory savings, and opens up natural gas as a new revenue stream.
Think Gas – Distribution Systems
Compressed natural gas is difficult to handle and its transportation requires pipelines with pressure regulators. Also, on-site compression of the gas at distribution centers serves various purposes like domestic usage, industrial usage, and fuel vehicles. Startups are developing distribution systems that support the growing demand for CNG, especially near urban areas and on highways.
Think Gas is an Indian startup working on innovative distributor systems that reach every town, rural area, and state highway. To meet the growing need for CNG, Think Gas provides ample and timely distribution. Additionally, the startup partners with retrofitting centers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to provide CNG vehicles and CNG conversion kits.
Certarus – Decompression
The CNG decompression process eliminates high-pressure gas preheating as the temperature of the pressure regulated gas increases during decompression. Thus, it is an environmentally safe way to deliver clean fuels to fuel stations, while eliminating the cost of preheating operations. The technology is not limited by the CNG flow rate or the process initial and delivery pressures. Depressurization brings the CNG pressure down from 5.000-6.000 psi to 60-100 psi and efficiently achieves controllable and reliable outlet temperature for further downstream applications.
Canadian scaleup Certarus offers a range of solutions for compressed natural gas. Certarus’s CNG decompression station uses a Pressure Reduction System (PRS) specific for cold and hot weather mobile gas depressurization. The startup’s other solutions include permanent and portable hubs, transportation solutions, and compression and decompression solutions. Additionally, the startup offers tailored CNG solutions to various industries.
Carnot Compression – Compressors
Compressors are the key components in the CNG business, with various kinds available. There is still scope for innovation, such as adding sensors and alarms for remote monitoring. Startups are also working on solutions that enable zero gas leakage, heat reduction during compression, and heat capture, as well as smaller sizes for space optimization.
Carnot Compression is a US-based scaleup that designs customized compressors. Carnot’s patented compressor technology delivers low temperature, oil-free compressed gas. The startup’s compressor design minimizes the need for maintenance and lengthens operation life. The technology also finds applications in compressing other gases such as air, various industrial gases, and refrigerants.
What about the other 101 solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence and enable you to achieve your goals faster. The 5 compressed natural gas solutions showcased above are promising examples out of the 106 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
