Chrysler has looked to the human body as an inspiration for the next generation CNG fuel tanks to enable them to carry more fuel for a given space and for those fuel tanks to better shaped for capacity than traditional gas cylinders.
“Within the human lung are countless individual sacks called alveoli,” says Enrico Pisino, Chrysler group’s senior manager-innovation. “These sacks combine to expand the lung’s total air capacity. We are using this same approach to improve the packaging of CNG tanks.”
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While CNG has a per-gallon-equivalent cost-advantage of approximately US$1 compared with petrol, its energy density is less by volume. As a result, CNG-powered vehicles require larger fuel tanks to deliver range that is comparable to that of petrol- or diesel-powered vehicles.
Current CNG tank designs also are limited to cylindrical shapes to accommodate the pressure at which the gaseous fuel is stored.
Chrysler’s patent-pending technology addresses both issues by expanding tank capacity and enabling designs that conform to the vehicle, as do other fuel tanks. The result is a no-compromise solution that preserves space intended for passengers and/or cargo.
Chrysler already has a CNG vehicle on the US market. The Ram 2500 Compressed Natural Gas truck is the industry’s only factory-built CNG-powered pickup, rolling off the same assembly line as conventionally powered vehicles.
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By GlobalDataChrysler has a long history with CNG. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the company produced dedicated CNG-powered full-size vans, minivans and pickup trucks. Parent Fiat is a world leader in CNG-powered vehicle production.
