NGVAmerica News Week in Review: October 24, 2016

 

• AmeriPride Services Adds 20 CNG Vehicles to Vancouver Fleet
• CSA Group Publishes CNG Fuel Storage and Delivery Systems Document
• Clean Energy Opens LNG Station in Washington State
• Pennsylvania Transit Authority Transitioning to Natural Gas Buses
• BC Transit Announces Upgrades to CNG Station in Whistler
• GAIN Clean Fuel and “O” Ring to Hold Grand Opening Celebration
• Omnitek Engineering Receives Contract to Develop Heavy Duty Natural Gas Engine
• APG Announces CARB Certifications for Turbocharged Natural Gas Dual Fuel System
• i-FAST Automotive Logistics Orders 10 LNG-Powered Stralis NP Trucks from Iveco

 

AmeriPride Services Adds 20 CNG Vehicles to Vancouver Fleet

October 17, 2016

AmeriPride Services has received the first of 20 CNG step vans at its Vancouver branch in British Columbia. The company will incorporate the additional CNG delivery trucks into its fleet over the upcoming weeks and months as a part of its ongoing effort to reduce its carbon footprint.

“AmeriPride is absolutely committed to the environment and expanding our alternative fuels program across the company,” said Bill Evans, President and CEO of AmeriPride. “We are setting a new standard for clean operations in our industry and continue to invest resources to leverage and help advance green technologies.”

The company’s new CNG vehicles are manufactured by Freightliner Custom Chassis and Morgan Olson with the conversion completed by Green Alternative Systems. The vehicles are powered by a General Motors 6L engine, and the tanks have a 52 GGE capacity.

AmeriPride chose the Vancouver market for this initiative based on incentive funding provided by FortisBC that assisted with the costs of CNG conversion for the vehicles. In addition, FortisBC made upgrades to their local CNG fueling infrastructure.

Once the new CNG trucks are incorporated into its fleet operations, AmeriPride will have a total of 36 CNG trucks, as well as 16 propane trucks and 2 electric vehicles, in operation across the company with more to come in the upcoming year. AmeriPride has received recognition for its efforts including TRSA’s ‘Clean Green’ Award, Heavy Duty Trucking’s ‘Top 50 Green Fleets’ Award and Fleet Technology Expo’s ‘Top Tier Light and Medium Duty Efficient Fleet’ Award. The alternative fuel vehicles program is a part of a larger companywide effort to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

 

CSA Group Publishes CNG Fuel Storage and Delivery Systems Document

October 21, 2016

At the 2014 Clean Vehicle Education Foundation Critical Issues workshop, participants indicated that industry is lacking an up to date “Best Practices Document” regarding the design, installation, testing, and maintenance for CNG fuel storage and delivery systems. Although the existing installation codes provide good minimum safety requirements, the industry representatives at the workshop felt a more comprehensive document would benefit industry. In 2016, a CNG fuel system standard was also included as a priority on the US Department of Energy and Natural Resources Canada’s Natural Gas Vehicle Work Plan in support of the Regulatory Cooperation Council.

To meet this need, CSA Group recently published a binational recommended practice, CSA NGV 6.1 CNG fuel storage and delivery systems for road vehicles, for the North American natural gas vehicle industry. NGV 6.1 provides a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) design approach with guidance and performance based design requirements for CNG fuel storage and delivery systems for road vehicles.

“By using system engineering practices and starting with a system level FMEA, the NGV 6.1 Technical Committee was able to focus on safety needs of the CNG fuel storage and handling systems,” said Dan Bowerson, Director, Technology & Development, NGV America and Co-chair of NGV 6.1. “The Technical Committee developed a recommended practice that will be useful for companies or individuals involved in the design and installation of CNG systems and components.”

CSA NGV 6.1 complements CSA Group’s engagement over the past three decades with industry on CNG vehicle component issues including: research and development support, standards development, certification and testing, container inspection, and container end of life. The document provides guidance for the system designer and integrator that includes design requirements and process recommendations.

The CSA NGV 6.1 Recommended Practice was made available for purchase in English in PDF format on September 30, 2016. CSA is also pleased to provide the CNG Fuel Inspector Resource Package, which includes NGV 6.1 as well as a collection of other relevant standards such as NGV 1, NGV 2, NGV 3.1, PRD 1, and EXP 2.1.

For information regarding participation on CSA Group’s NGV 6.1 Technical Subcommittee or other committees for natural gas vehicle components and systems, please contact Julie Cairns, julie.cairns@csagroup.org.

 

Clean Energy Opens LNG Station in Washington State

October 20, 2016

Clean Energy Fuels announced the opening of a new public LNG station along I-5 in Fife, a suburb of Tacoma, Washington. The station adds to Clean Energy’s “America’s Natural Gas Highway” and allows fleets to operate from state to state using LNG. Interstate Distributor Co., headquartered in Tacoma, will use the station for its fleet of LNG tractors operating throughout the Pacific Northwest.

“As the first national freight carrier in the Pacific Northwest to use natural gas vehicles for our fleet, we’re very happy to see another station become available that can support our regional distribution network,” said Interstate Distributor Co. CEO Marc Rogers. “We made the transition to natural gas early so we would be ahead of the game, and now that the infrastructure is here, we’re more and more confident each day that we made the right decision.”

Clean Energy also announced last month that it had completed a public natural gas station in Central Point, Oregon, linking California to Washington.

“We continue to focus on key transportation corridors like the I-5 to expand our natural gas infrastructure,” said Chad Lindholm, vice president of Sales at Clean Energy. “As our partners like Interstate make the transition to natural gas, we can offer the fueling stations they need to expand along with them.”

 

Pennsylvania Transit Authority Transitioning to Natural Gas Buses

October 19, 2016

Amtran, the transit authority the serves Altoona, Pennsylvania, is transitioning to natural gas with an order for six new CNG buses. The Amtran Board of Directors recently voted to purchase six new, CNG buses for a total cost of almost $3 million. The funding comes from PennDOT and the Federal Transit Administration. The six CNG buses will be delivered in the spring of 2018 from American bus manufacturer Gillig’s all-new plant in northern California.

“This is a great opportunity for Amtran to move toward CNG-fueled buses,” said Congressman Bill Shuster, Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. “I was happy to support their federal grant application to help purchase new buses as part of this statewide CNG project.”

In March, PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards announced that the Trillium CNG team was selected for the department’s statewide Compressed Natural Gas Public-Private Partnership (P3) project.

Through the $84.5 million project, Trillium will design, build, finance, operate, and maintain CNG fueling stations for 29 public transit agencies, which includes Amtran, through a 20-year P3 agreement. Stations will be constructed over the next five years and Trillium will also make CNG-related upgrades to existing transit maintenance facilities. The project in Altoona is scheduled to be completed by summer of 2017.

PennDOT expects transit agencies could save more than $10 million annually statewide. After 10 years, the department estimates that the project will pay for itself with the estimated $100 million in savings.

 

BC Transit Announces Upgrades to CNG Station in Whistler

October 21, 2016

BC Transit announced that its facility in Whistler, British Columbia, will receive a $3.2 million investment. This funding will allow BC Transit to install a new natural gas compressor and fueling station in Whistler to support buses that run on CNG. This investment will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and position Whistler to meet future demands for increased ridership and improve operational efficiency.

“This funding will enable Whistler to move into the future with cleaner burning CNG-fueled buses and technology upgrades that will help meet rising demand for service while lowering our carbon footprint,” said Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

This project will receive $1.6 million from the federal PTIF. The B.C. government will provide $1,056,000 towards the project, and Whistler will provide the remaining $544,000. In partnership with local governments, B.C. Transit provides access to public transit to more than 1.6 million British Columbians in 130 communities outside Metro Vancouver.

 

GAIN Clean Fuel and “O” Ring to Hold Grand Opening Celebration

October 24, 2016

GAIN Clean Fuel and “O” Ring will be joined by community leaders and CNG experts at a grand opening ceremony of a new CNG station in Somerset, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, October 25. The opening event will include a fueling demonstration, insight into the benefits of CNG, and a complimentary lunch provided by the fuel retailers.

Presenters will include Mack Godfrey, major accounts manager at Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania; Dan Weaver, president of the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association; and Rick Price, director of Pittsburg Region Clean Cities.

 

Omnitek Engineering Receives Contract to Develop Heavy Duty Natural Gas Engine

October 20, 2016

Omnitek Engineering announced it has signed a contract with a European customer to develop a heavy-duty 13L natural gas engine for Class 8 trucks and certify the engine to EURO 6 emissions standards, utilizing its patented technology.

The new 13L 450 horsepower natural gas engine being developed will initially be used to power a fleet of approximately 1,000 new Class 8 trucks, scheduled to commence service in 2017. The development contract includes a multi-year supply agreement for Omnitek’s proprietary components.

“The ability of Omnitek’s technology to achieve EURO 6 emissions certification standards, which is a competitive advantage and not easily achieved, has not gone unnoticed in Europe,” said Werner Funk, president and chief executive officer of Omnitek Engineering Corp. “In addition, the availability of a 13-liter 450 hp EURO 6 heavy-duty natural gas engine, coupled with the build-out of natural gas fueling infrastructure, should further accelerate deployment of natural gas heavy-duty trucks in Europe, as well as other world regions that require Euro 6 certification.”

 

APG Announces CARB Certifications for Turbocharged Natural Gas Dual Fuel System

October 20, 2016

American Power Group has received additional State of California Air Resources Board (CARB) Executive Order (EO) Certifications for its Turbocharged Natural Gas Dual Fuel System. The additional CARB EO Certifications include the Cummins ISX 14.9L and the Detroit Diesel DD15 14.8L within the 2010–2012 engine years.

These latest certifications are in addition to APG’s existing CARB EO Certifications for the 2010–2013 Volvo 12.8L engine families as well as APG’s 497 EPA posted approvals covering CAT, Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Daimler, Mack and Volvo engine families ranging in model years from 1991–2014.

“APG’s dual fuel has the ability to play an important role in the reduction of diesel related criteria pollutants in California,” Lyle Jensen, American Power Group Corporation’s CEO. “Our recent dual fuel emission test results from the Center for Alternative Fuel Engines and Emissions at West Virginia University on SCR emission technology has shown greater than a 50 percent reduction in NOx emissions compared to the federal standard.”

 

i-FAST Automotive Logistics Orders 10 LNG-Powered Stralis NP Trucks from Iveco

​October 20, 2016

Iveco has signed an agreement to supply ten LNG-powered Stralis AS440S40T/P trucks to i-FAST-Automotive Logistics. This will be the first delivery in Europe of vehicles for LNG-powered car transport. The New Stralis NP is the first natural gas truck designed for long-haul missions, it features the 400 horsepower Iveco Cursor 9 engine, Eurotronic gearbox and two LNG tanks, providing a range of up to 930 miles.

The clean fuel used on these vehicles means that they can freely access urban areas where increasingly stringent noise and pollution restrictions are being introduced. In recent months, i-FAST-Automotive Logistics has tested the AT440S33T/P C-LNG model, which is equipped with tanks for both LNG and CNG. They submitted the vehicle to a series of precise and prolonged trials across different routes of increasing length and difficulty. i-FAST Automotive Logistics then decided to become the first carrier in the industry to operate on LNG.

This decision was also based on the expected short term developments in the Italian distribution network: there are currently six LNG stations in Italy, but new liquid natural gas distribution units are planned for later this year, bringing the total number to ten.