Hexagon Composites wholly owned subsidiary Hexagon Raufoss has been awarded a new order from a state-owned enterprise for the delivery of CNG high-pressure fuel cylinders to Indonesia.

The lightweight composite cylinders will be delivered to a NGV conversion company which is owned by a state-owned enterprise in Indonesia. The cylinders will serve as fuel tanks for a popular compact passenger car model running on natural gas.

Hexagon Raufoss was earlier awarded another similar order to the private-owned PT Autogas Indonesia for a NGV conversion project of about 500 vehicles in late 2012.

"These two orders have opened up the NGV market (Natural Gas Vehicle) in Indonesia and allow our customers to take advantage of the same operational cost savings we have seen demonstrated in other areas of the world," says Ragnar Holthe, Managing Director Automotive at Hexagon Raufoss.

Indonesia is fast adopting CNG (compressed natural gas) as the alternative fuel to traditional fuel such as gasoline and diesel. The government is actively promoting its oil-to-gas campaign to support the plan to limit the amount of subsidized fuel used by private cars. Currently, the government is aiming to increase the number of refilling CNG stations to over 30 stations across Indonesia by end of 2013 to support this campaign.

Hexagon Raufoss CNG system

With 70% lower weight compared to a steel cylinder the composite high-pressure cylinder allows the car manufacturer to compete with lower CO2 classification and higher fuel efficiency. Corrosion and fatigue become a thing of the past for fully composite type 4 cylinders. In consequence of avoiding the inconvenient and costly periodic retesting of the cylinder, the vehicle owner will achieve competitive life cycle cost as the major benefit.