Three ways LPG autogas can help tackle urban air quality

Wednesday 27th July 2016

I was delighted to see urban air quality cited as a top policy priority for the London Mayor Sadiq Khan and UKLPG will be actively involved in the forthcoming consultation to address the issue of poor air quality in London. LPG autogas has an important and potentially transformational role to play in improving air quality in the capital and other urban areas.

On average, around 80% of NOx emissions in areas where the UK is exceeding NO2 limits are due to transport. LPG autogas is cleaner and produces less air pollutants (CO2, NOx & PM) than all other traditional transport fuels.

There are three key ways rapid deployment of LPG can significantly improve urban air quality:

Existing supply infrastructure - with approximately 14000 refuelling stations across the UK, including 70 in London, this network can be expanded easily and rapidly at no additional cost to the taxpayer.
Cab conversion - Black diesel taxis can easily and economically be converted to run on LPG autogas for £8,000, enabling taxi drivers to run cleaner vehicles which meet both their operational needs and emissions targets now and in the future. Black cabs recently converted from diesel to run on LPG which have been tested at Millbrook have recorded 80% reduction in NOx and 99% reduction in particulate matter.
Clean fleets - A dramatic improvement in air quality can also be achieved by reducing the large number of small, diesel vans operating in our cities and promoting a mix of cleaner reliable fleets which include LPG. There are a variety of small vans available in petrol ready for conversion to run on LPG and drivers can easily and cost-effectively convert their vehicles to run on LPG at numerous UKLPG Approved Autogas Installers throughout the UK.

Birmingham is one city leading the way in this area, pioneering the taxi conversion solution with the support of the DfT through its NOx Reduction Champion project. I hope to see other cities follow this lead, especially in London where the challenges are perhaps most acute and the successes more visible at a national and international level.

By Emily Wilson-Gavin, Public Affairs Manager, UKLPG