CNG vs. LNG: how to choose your natural gas fuel type

Which fuel works best for you—compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG)? It depends on a few things, like fuel availability in your area, the type and size of your vehicles and your required driving range.

	CNG	LNG
What it is:	natural gas that’s been piped to a compression facility	natural gas that’s been cooled to -162 °C to become a liquid
Best for:	medium-duty vehicles travelling a moderate distance between refuelling	the best choice when extended driving range is required because an LNG tank holds 2.5 times more fuel than a similar-sized CNG tank
Vehicle types:	Class 6, 7, 8 long-haul tractors waste haulers and dump trucks courier and delivery trucks transit and school buses passenger cars (e.g. Honda Civic) pickup trucks (e.g. Ford F-150) cargo vans and minivans (e.g. Chevrolet Express Van)	Class 6, 7, 8 long-haul tractors marine vessels such as coastal ferries heavy-duty mine haul trucks locomotives
How it’s delivered:	through our natural gas system to various dispensing stations across B.C.	From our LNG storage facilities by tank truck to: permanent LNG dispensing station mobile fuelling station on a customers’ property¹ commercial fuelling station along a regional corridor

Fuelling process

Both CNG and LNG come from our distribution system—which we continue to further decarbonize with the addition of low-carbon² Renewable Natural Gas³ (RNG)—but there are differences on how each fuel type is delivered and dispensed.

CNG fuelling

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LNG fuelling

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LNG facilities

We own and operate two LNG facilities on the Canadian West Coast—the Mt. Hayes storage facility on Vancouver Island and the Tilbury LNG plant in Delta. Learn more about our LNG facilities.

Building a fuelling station

CNG facilities are less expensive to build than permanent LNG facilities because the CNG supply typically comes directly from the utility’s existing infrastructure, while LNG has to be trucked from a storage facility to a permanent or mobile station on your site. Find out what kind of station works best for you.

Questions? We’re here to help.

Email us at [email protected]

¹LNG delivery is an optional service that FortisBC can provide to you at a regulated rate.

²When compared to the lifecycle carbon intensity of conventional natural gas. The burner tip emission factor of FortisBC’s current Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane) portfolio is 0.27 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of energy (gCO₂e/MJ). FortisBC’s current RNG portfolio lifecycle emissions for stationary combustion are -22 gCO₂e/MJ. This is below B.C.’s low carbon threshold for lifecycle carbon intensity of 30.8 gCO₂e/MJ as set out in the 2024 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation amendments.

³Renewable Natural Gas (also called RNG or biomethane) is produced in a different manner than conventional natural gas. It is derived from biogas, which is produced from decomposing organic waste from landfills, agricultural waste and wastewater from treatment facilities. The biogas is captured and cleaned to create RNG. When RNG is added to North America’s natural gas system, it mixes with conventional natural gas. This means we’re unable to direct RNG to a specific customer. But the more RNG is added to the gas system, the less conventional natural gas is needed, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels and overall greenhouse gas emissions.

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