NGVAmerica News Week in Review: August 28, 2017

• IGS Opens CNG Station in Ohio, to Add Two More Stations to Fueling Network
• DOE to Invest $13.4 Million in Community-Based Advanced Transportation Projects
• Clean Energy Awarded $2.8 Million Design and Build Contract in Ohio
• Study Provides Roadmap to Lower Methane Emissions with Heavy-Duty NGV Fleets
• CNGci Obtains Canadian CRN Approval for Its Cylinders in Alberta
• Keppel Secures $400 Million Order to Build Two LNG Containerships
• Ship-to-Ship LNG Bunkering Approved for TOTE Maritime

IGS Opens CNG Station in Ohio, to Add Two More Stations to Fueling Network

August 24, 2017

IGS CNG Services and Rumpke Waste & Recycling partnered to build a new CNG fueling station at Rumpke’s location in Columbus, Ohio, that began operating earlier this month. Rumpke enlisted IGS CNG Services to build, own and operate the private time-fill station for its fleet of 48 CNG waste and recycling trucks.

“Our trucks play a critical role in providing essential services for more than 300,000 residences and businesses in Central Ohio,” said Andrew Rumpke, area president at Rumpke. “As Rumpke continues adding CNG trucks to our fleet, we recognize the need for an on-site CNG station.”

IGS CNG Services is also planning to build a CNG station with support from National Fuel near Erie, Pennsylvania. The public station will be located off I-90 and will accommodate all fleets, including class 8 semi-trucks. This project was financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Financing Authority.

Additionally, the CNG services provider purchased an existing public station in Monona, Wisconsin, from NGV Fueling Services, LLC. IGS CNG Services plans to upgrade the Monona station beginning this fall, including the installation of an additional CNG dispenser.

The addition of these three locations will bring IGS CNG Services’ network to 15 stations located throughout Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, and represents a sustained commitment to building out CNG infrastructure.

DOE to Invest $13.4 Million in Community-Based Advanced Transportation Projects

August 23, 2017

The Energy Department (DOE) announced $13.4 million in support of five new cost-shared, community-based projects focused on energy efficient mobility systems including alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure, including natural gas, as well as connected and autonomous vehicles projects.

This Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) funding is an investment in highly-innovative, highly-leveraged, and scalable projects that will provide real-world experience and generate knowledge and lessons learned to help improve our nation’s energy security, support energy independence, improve transportation efficiency, and strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness.

The funding includes the following projects:

Center for Transportation and the Environment (Atlanta, Georgia) and its partners will receive $4.6 million to accelerate the deployment of alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure throughout the southeastern United States.

Metropolitan Energy Center, Inc. (Kansas City, Missouri) and its partners will receive $3.8 million to accelerate the deployment of alternative fuel vehicles, as well as supporting infrastructure, through community-based partnerships throughout Missouri, Kansas, and Colorado.

Two additional alternative fuel community partner projects across the Southeast and Midwest regions will bring together over 20 diverse partners including communities, businesses, fleets and Clean Cities coalitions.

To learn more about the Department’s work, visit the Vehicle Technologies Office website.

Study Provides Roadmap to Lower Methane Emissions with Heavy-Duty NGV Fleets

August 23, 2017

A new study published in the Journal of Air and Waste Management Association builds upon recent heavy duty natural gas vehicle methane emission measurements to model methane emissions from a future, much larger vehicle fleet. The predicted methane emissions rates from a 2035 natural gas fleet cover a wide range depending on technologies adopted and best management practices employed.

The study, conducted by researchers at West Virginia University’s Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions, comes as the price of natural gas has decreased, leading to interest in natural gas as a cleaner replacement for diesel in heavy-duty vehicles.

The paper titled, Future Methane Emissions from the Heavy-Duty Natural Gas Transportation Sector for Stasis, High, Medium, and Low Scenarios in 2035, used data from a prior study to project various scenarios in order to evaluate potential emissions reductions of technological advances and best management practices. The study did not look at the full suite of vehicles on the road today but rather focused on vehicles and engines currently under production as these represented those most likely to populate the fleet in 2035.

“We considered both liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas technologies employed in a future fleet and considered a range of engine applications including over-the-road and refuse trucks and buses,” said Nigel Clark, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and George Berry Chair at WVU. “Our first study served to highlight fuel losses meriting future attention and we assess the impacts of their potential reductions within this study.”

This study found that the biggest reduction in emissions would come from implementing closed crankcase ventilation systems on heavy duty natural gas spark ignition engines. Adherence to best practices during fueling and fuel station management could also have a significant impact on the amount of methane leaked through reduction in manual venting of LNG tanks and proper design of station and fleet combinations. In addition to current and new technologies, regulation and policy may lead to further developments that could reduce methane emissions.

Support for this paper was provided by the Environmental Defense Fund, Cummins, Cummins Westport, Royal Dutch Shell, the American Gas Association, Chart Industries, Clean Energy, the International Council on Clean Transportation, PepsiCo, Volvo Group, Waste Management and Westport Innovations. Support was also provided by West Virginia University’s George Berry Chair endowment and the WVU Transportable Chassis Testing Laboratory personnel.

A Scientific Advisory Panel comprised of academic experts in the fields relevant to the study served as independent advisors, reviewing the appropriateness of the methodologies, results and statistical methods.

Clean Energy Awarded $2.8 Million Design and Build Contract in Ohio

August 22, 2017

Clean Energy says Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA), which services communities in Portage County, Ohio, has awarded Clean Energy a $2.8 Million design and build contract for a station supporting the transit agency that will also be open to the general public.

“We’re excited about the addition of these buses and breaking ground on a new station,” said Claudia Amrhein, PARTA’s general manager. “We are excited to partner with Clean Energy and bring clean CNG buses to our riders.”

The agency will be purchasing eight new CNG buses with assistance from the Ohio Diesel Emissions Reduction Grant and the Ohio Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program, which are statewide programs to replace or refurbish aging diesel engines.

CNGci Obtains Canadian CRN Approval for Its Cylinders in Alberta

August 24, 2017

CNG cylinders international (CNGci) announced the receipt of Canadian CRN approval for the province of Alberta (CRN No. R2348.52). CNGci is a world leading producer of large diameter Type 3 cylinders, and already holds CRN approvals for the provinces of Ontario (CRN No. R2348.5) and British Columbia (CRN No. R2348.51).

CNGci says the company is pleased to be able to increase its market penetration to include another key Canadian province. The heat dissipation of the company’s aluminum liner allows for significantly more natural gas and thus more usable volume in the cylinder under fast-fill conditions.

Keppel Secures $400 Million Order to Build Two LNG Containerships

August 24, 2017

Keppel AmFELS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine in the US, has secured a contract worth more than $400 Million from Honolulu-based Pasha Hawaii for the construction of two LNG fueled containerships.

The dual fuel LNG vessels will be built to Keppel’s proprietary design with delivery of the vessels expected in the first and third quarters of 2020, respectively.

“This contract with Keppel allows Pasha Hawaii to continue to move forward in our commitment to providing the best resources possible for our customers and Hawaii’s shipping industry, while minimizing our environmental footprint,” said George Pasha, IV, President and CEO of The Pasha Group.

Customized to Pasha Hawaii’s requirements, the new, 774-foot Jones Act vessels will have a fully laden capacity of 500 45-foot containers, 400 refrigerated containers, and 300 40-foot dry containers, with a sailing speed of 23 knots. The containerships will be able to run completely on LNG fuel, dramatically reducing their environmental impact and increasing fuel efficiency. Energy savings will also be achieved with a state-of-the-art engine, an optimized hull form, and an underwater propulsion system with a high-efficiency rudder and propeller.

When compared to conventional fuels, LNG is a much cleaner alternative fuel for shipping and offers significant environmental benefits, including the reduction of up to 95 percent sulphur oxides, nearly 100 percent particulate matter, up to 90 percent nitrogen oxides, and up to 25 percent carbon dioxide emissions from engine exhaust emissions.

Located in Brownsville, Texas, Keppel AmFELS has a strong track record in the construction, refurbishment, conversion, life extension and repair of a variety of projects.

Ship-to-Ship LNG Bunkering Approved for TOTE Maritime

August 21, 2017

JAX LNG achieved a significant milestone by receiving a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for the operation of their waterfront LNG facility and the approval to conduct ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operations with TOTE Maritime’s Marlin Class ships and the LNG barge, Clean Jacksonville. The expectation is this ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation will begin in early 2018.

In August 2015, JAX LNG and its partner TOTE Maritime received their first LOA from the USCG establishing an industry first landside LNG bunkering facility in the Port of Jacksonville. Since then, JAX LNG has safely delivered LNG to TOTE Maritime’s LNG fueled container ships. In addition, Pivotal LNG has demonstrated the ability to safely conduct LNG bunkering operations while TOTE Maritime simultaneously loads and off-loads cargo at the port.

“The receipt of this second LOA demonstrates our commitment to our customers, the value of inclusive port stakeholder relationships and exhibits confidence in our rigorous operational risk analysis methodology,” said Tim Hermann, president of Pivotal LNG.

JAX LNG, LLC is a joint venture between Pivotal LNG and Northstar Midstream. Expected to be operational by end of 2017, JAX LNG’s waterfront LNG facility in Jacksonville will be outfitted with a marine dock and truck loading capability. Operated by Pivotal LNG, the facility’s initial daily liquefaction capacity will be 120,000 gallons of LNG per day and the facility will have 2 million gallons of storage capacity.