NGVAmerica Presents 2023 NGV Achievement Awards at Annual Meeting & Industry Summit

San Diego, CA – Ten organizations and individuals were honored at Natural Gas Vehicles for America’s (NGVAmerica) 2023 Industry Summit and Annual Meeting for their contributions toward the advancement of natural gas as a transportation fuel.

These annual awards are presented to nominees from all stakeholder segments, including but not limited to: NGV industry equipment and service suppliers, policymakers, customers and clean air/clean transportation advocates. Nominees’ disciplines include education, government relations/policy development, public relations/communications, marketing, technology and operations/applications, among others.

“We are genuinely proud to award these hardworking individuals and organizations for the work that they do and the communities they serve,” said NGVAmerica President Dan Gage. “Because of their contributions, we are moving to make communities healthier with fewer emissions through the increased use of readily available, carbon-negative renewable natural gas as a transportation fuel.”

The 2023 NGV Achievement Award Recipients are:

• ACE Recycling & Disposal  –  Natural Gas Fleet Program
• Detmar Logistics  –  Natural Gas Fleet Program
• Wegmans Food Markets  –  Natural Gas Fleet Program
• City of Long Beach, CA  –  Natural Gas Public Fleet Program
• Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts  –  Natural Gas Public Fleet Program
• Mitchell Pratt  –  Lifetime Achievement Award
• John Jordan  –  Lifetime Achievement Award
• Nuray Elci  –  NGV Horizon Award
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality  –  NGV Public Policy Champion
• State Rep. Randy Frye (IN)  –  NGV Public Policy Champion

NGV23 “Better Than Zero” – NGVAmerica’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Industry Summit – continues through October 25th at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, CA.

ABOUT OUR AWARDEES:

ACE Recycling & Disposal, Natural Gas Fleet Program
ACE Recycling & Disposal is a family-owned and operated business since 1980. The largest independent waste hauler in Utah, ACE services the greater Salt Lake City area along with Bridger Valley in Wyoming. ACE’s 440+ employees haul 6,000 tons of refuse daily. They began their NGV journey in 2007 with four OEM-fitted CNG Class 8 refuse trucks. Today, 186 of their 450+ fleet run on renewable CNG, deployed from seven facilities with four on-site CNG fueling stations, all dispensing RNG.

Detmar Logistics, LLC, Natural Gas Fleet Program
Detmar Logistics, LLC is a sustainability-forward oilfield and frac sand logistics company based in Midland, TX with a commitment to reducing its on-road emissions. Detmar will have deployed 60 CNG trucks by the end of this year. Its new on-site fuel station in Midland by fuel provider Chevron/Beyond6 will be open in December 2023. Operationalizing renewable natural gas is a mission-critical goal for Detmar Logistics. “We must be accountable to our clients and the environment. Partnering with Beyond6 allows us to do both,” says Matt Detmar, Detmar Logistics’ President and CEO.

Wegmans Food Markets, Natural Gas Fleet Program
Since its beginnings in 1916, Wegmans Food Markets has consistently demonstrated a remarkable commitment to environmental sustainability, innovation, and ethical business practices. Wegmans embarked on the journey to eliminate diesel fuel from its truck fleet in 2014, leading the charge in transitioning to cleaner alternatives. To date, Wegmans has successfully replaced 95 diesel trucks with compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks, with plans to add 46 additional CNG vehicles by the second quarter of 2024. This transition to 141 natural gas trucks will have a monumental impact, eliminating the use of over 2.3 million gallons of diesel fuel and reducing 12,482 metric tons of carbon dioxide (MTCO2) annually. Wegmans will soon be operating a total of 110 stores across nine states and the District of Columbia.

City of Long Beach, CA, Natural Gas Public Fleet Program
The City of Long Beach Fleet Services Bureau manages a fleet of 2,300 vehicles powered by gasoline, diesel, and electric and CNG assets. The City’s CNG fleet includes converted F-Series pickups and heavy-duty Cummins ISL G engines. In 2003, Long Beach became the first city in the United States to use liquid natural gas (LNG) for its street sweepers. In October 2015, street sweepers and refuse trucks transitioned to using RNG as a fuel source. Those Long Beach CNG assets are today fueled by renewable natural gas supplied by the City’s own utility service. The City of Long Beach Fleet regularly ranks among the top 25 government fleets in the nation.

Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, Natural Gas Public Fleet Program
The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (LACSD) have played a significant role in reducing air emissions by utilizing natural gas as a transportation fuel. Some of their past and active projects include processing landfill gas into renewable natural gas (RNG) for use as an alternative fuel, converting Districts-owned transfer trucks to natural gas, purchasing new RNG vehicles, and constructing RNG fueling facilities at various Sanitation Districts’ locations. LACSD has funded and owns two state-of-the-art compressed natural gas facilities: the Puente Hills compressed natural gas fueling facility and the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP) compressed natural gas fueling facility. The Puente Hills compressed natural gas fueling facility began operation in 2005. In 2020 it was upgraded to a CNG only facility. The station now supplies renewal natural gas to Districts-owned trucks and third-party waste haulers at a rate of over 1.3 million GGEs per year. The JWPCP compressed natural gas fueling facility supplies renewal natural gas derived from local food waste to municipal and commercial customers as well as the general public. In 2023 the station underwent an upgrade to increase capacity and improve accessibility. The station is expected to dispense over 1 MM GGEs annually by 2026.

Mitchell Pratt, Lifetime Achievement Award
Mitchell Pratt is currently the Chief Technology Development Officer at Clean Energy, and outgoing board chairman of NGV America. Simply put, Mitch is a pioneer in the NGV industry. Over the past 30 years, he has made a significant contribution to our industry and our association. During the 1980’s and 1990’s, Mitch led SoCal Gas’ NGV team with a key focus on public policies which lead to the dramatic advancement of NGVs in Southern California, including working closely with South Coast AQMD on low emission vehicle deployment programs. In 2001, Mitch joined Clean Energy to oversee its public policy efforts, as well as expand the Company’s business across the U.S. and Canada. Several key partnerships and acquisitions took place along the way including Blue Energy, National Grid, Public Service of New Mexico, and Union Gas. In 2007, Mitch was instrumental in taking Clean Energy public. And in 2010, he was named its Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary. As COO, Mitch oversaw international sales, operations, and global manufacturing of Clean Energy Compression (now IMW jointly owned with SAFE), led the engineering and construction of over 800 CNG/LNG/RNG projects across North America, and formed the Clean Energy Del Peru joint venture to develop and operate NGV stations in South America. He has been a leading voice in the industry serving over two decades on the board of directors for California Renewable Transportation Alliance, formerly California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, and as two-time board chairman of NGVAmerica from 2017 to 2019, and again in 2023. The mark left on our industry by Mitch is robust and lasting.

John Jordan, Lifetime Achievement Award
John Jordan began his service to the NGV industry in 1996 as one of the founding members of FAB
Industries where he served as their Vice President of Finance and Purchasing. In 2010, FAB and Enviromech merged to create Agility Fuel Systems; John continued with the new company as its Codes and Standards Technical Expert. Since that time, John has been instrumental in the development of codes and standards for the NGV and hydrogen gas vehicle industry throughout his tenure at Hexagon Agility. He spearheaded harmonization efforts between regulatory bodies, promoted safety for the industry, and was critical in defining NGV fuel system safety parameters. He continuously strives to ensure development and growth of the NGV market, promoted clean air everywhere, and paved the way for adoption of alternative fuel technologies. John has served key roles in a multitude of code and standard development organizations including CSA Group, the International Standards Organization, NFPA, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. NGVAmerica members probably recognize him the most as our Codes & Standards Working Group leader, a position that he has been dedicated to for 13 years. Anyone who has worked with John can testify to his unwavering dedication and his wealth of knowledge, but it may be his longtime colleague, Ron Eickelman, who put it best, “John was born with codes and standards in his blood.” With this award, NGVAmerica recognizes and thanks John for all his contributions to our industry. His commitment to quality and safety will leave its mark for years to come.

Nuray Elci, Horizon Award
Nuray Elci is the General Manager of Renewables in Chevron’s Americans Products business, a position she has held since September 2022. Since then, Nuray has expanded its reach to commercialize low carbon products including renewable CNG, hydrogen, and sustainable aviation fuel for transportation, serving commercial and passenger customers. This includes infrastructure development of compressed natural gas and hydrogen stations, renewable natural gas projects, and all joint venture and partnership management in the lower carbon space including CalBio, Brightmark, Iwatani, and the recently acquired Beyond6. Nuray graduated from the University of Maryland in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and earned her MBA from California State University – Sacramento in 2004. She completed her Doctor of Management program in 2009 at the University of Maryland. Nuray also teaches Strategy and Marketing courses for the Dual MBA program at the University of Maryland as an adjunct faculty.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Air Grants Division, NGV Public Policy Champion
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP) has been a game changer for the NGV industry. Funding vehicles and infrastructure, TERP has dramatically increased the number of CNG and LNG stations constructed and vehicles deployed throughout the State of Texas. Just within the Texas Natural Gas Vehicle Grant Program alone, more than 100 CNG projects and 8 LNG projects have been funded. Since 2012, 834 CNG vehicles have been replaced resulting in $38.2 million of investment and 1,191 tons of NOx reduced. For LNG, 130 vehicles have been deployed for $6.7 million of investment and 260 tons of NOx reduced. Under the Alternative Fueling Facilities Program, $17 million has supported the buildout of 39 CNG and 4 LNG stations. TCEQ recognizes that an “all of the above” approach including natural gas can greatly improve air quality and positively impact climate change.

State Rep. Randy Frye (IN HD-67), NGV Public Policy Champion
Longtime NGV champion Rep. Randy Frye led a coalition of legislative leaders and industry stakeholders to successfully pass House Bill 23-1454, ensuring that state taxes on natural gas motor fuel will be calculated based on the diesel gallon equivalent actually sold at the fueling dispenser. Before this legislative fix correcting Indiana’s inequitable taxation of natural gas motor fuel, total overtax rate for CNG motor fuel sold in Indiana was 18.77 percent, or approximately $0.10 in additional tax over what diesel customers pay per gallon.

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NGVAmerica is a national trade association of sustainability solutionists and experts in the clean transportation field.  Our roughly 200 members are dedicated to the development of a growing, profitable, and sustainable market for vehicles, ships and carriers powered by natural gas and biomethane.  NGVAmerica member companies produce, distribute, and market natural gas and biomethane across North America, manufacture and service natural gas vehicles, engines, and equipment, and operate fleets powered by clean-burning gaseous fuels.  Find out more at: www.ngvamerica.org.