As the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is seeking comments on a proposal for a new ISO technical committee on natural gas fueling stations for vehicles.

AFNOR, the ISO member for France, submitted the proposal, which includes the following scope statement:

“Standardization in the field of design, construction and operation of stations for fueling compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to vehicles. It includes equipment, safety devices and maintenance.”

According to the proposal, natural gas provides a quick and cost-effective way to decarbonize road transport and improve air quality in cities. An immediately available alternative to oil, natural gas use results in lower GHG emissions than any other hydrocarbon fuel, with emissions that have virtually none of the pollutants (particulate matter and nitrogen oxides or NOx) that increasingly contaminate the air in areas with dense traffic. To that end, natural gas as a transport fuel offers important benefits to consumers, the environment, and the economy, with the expectation that its continued use will increase in the coming years.

Standardization work will also focus on updates to the International standards, ISO 16923, Natural gas fuelling stations - CNG stations for fuelling vehicles, and ISO 16924, Natural gas fuelling stations - LNG stations for fuelling vehicles, published five years ago.

Review the proposal for additional information and submit comments to Steven Cornish, ANSI senior director of international policy and strategy, scornish@ansi.org, by close of business on Feb. 25, 2022. Based on input received from U.S. stakeholders, a recommended ANSI position and any comments will be developed and presented at the ANSI ISO Committee (AIC) for approval before ISO's voting deadline of April 6, 2022.

ANSI has published an explanatory information document outlining the process used to develop U.S. positions in issues and activities under consideration by ISO and IEC.