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Natural gas? Fill 'er up at home©Associated PressOctober 9, 2002 WASHINGTON -- Trips to the gas station could become obsolete for owners of an at-home fueling appliance for natural gas vehicles demonstrated for the first time Tuesday. FuelMaker Corp. of Toronto said it will be the first company to mass-market a system that connects to a home's natural gas supply line to allow motorists to fuel up at home. American Honda Motor Co., which owns a 20 percent stake in FuelMaker, hopes it will help expand the retail market of its Civic GX natural gas car beyond government fleet sales. Natural gas vehicles have very low pollutant emissions and can help reduce global warming because the fuel burns less carbon. But their specialized tanks are more expensive and have shorter range than traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. They also lack a nationwide network of refueling stations. "All alternative fuel vehicles struggle with the chicken and egg problem," said Robert Bienenfeld, American Honda's senior manager of product planning. "If you don't have vehicles, you can't sell infrastructure; if you don't have infrastructure, you can't sell vehicles." FuelMaker's pump, called Phill, is about the size of a pay phone and can be connected in a garage or outdoors to a home's natural gas supply line. Drivers would leave the pump in the car overnight and have a full tank that could take them up to 220 miles in the morning. FuelMaker president John Lyon said the system will go on sale next October for up to $2,000. The company hopes eventually to mass-produce 20,000 to 40,000 units, which would lower the cost to $1,000 each. Honda and FuelMaker, along with other automakers and environmentalists, are pushing a bill in Congress that would give tax credits for alternative fuel vehicles and refueling systems. Honda says sales of the Civic GX will depend on government incentives to bring down the $20,510 price. Natural gas vehicles are becoming increasingly popular for government buyers and public transportation because of their low emissions. A quarter of all transit bus orders last year were for natural gas buses, said the American Public Transportation Association. Those vehicles are refilled at high-pressure natural gas pumps in about the same time it would take to refill a traditional gas tank. FuelMaker's low-pressure tank would take longer: five to 10 hours, depending on the amount of fuel. Bienenfeld said 80 to 85 percent of U.S. homes and businesses have natural gas. Refueling a vehicle with Phill would cost 60 cents to 80 cents for the equivalent of a gallon of gas, he said. Electric cars also were marketed as a convenience because they could be recharged at home, but they have been a commercial flop because they cannot go much farther than 100 miles before needing to be plugged back in.
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