GreenMan Technologies, Inc. announced that its American Power Group, Inc. subsidiary has signed an agreement to carry out a 90-day trial with Wesfarmers LNG, a subsidiary of Kleenheat Gas, a leading provider of gas services in Australia, for a conversion demonstration of heavy-duty trucks to trial APG’s patented Dual Fuel System utilizing diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas (“LNG”).
Subject to successful completion of the trial, APG and Wesfarmers LNG wish to enter into a Strategic Alliance for the exclusive distribution and installation of APG Dual Fuel Systems in Australia by Wesfarmers LNG. For LNG applications, APG’s Dual Fuel System converts existing diesel engines to operate on a blend of diesel and natural gas to provide lower operating costs to the operator.
The system displaces up to 50 percent of the normal diesel fuel consumption with LNG that is converted to compressed natural gas for vehicular operation. APG’s dual fuel conversion and emissions reduction systems can help users achieve their sustainability goals through lower carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulate matter emissions.
In addition, the introduction of natural gas will assist in extending the engine’s operating life as natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel compared to diesel. APG technicians will arrive in Perth, Western Australia in October to install the APG Dual Fuel System on two Wesfarmers LNG customers’ vehicles.
Following on-dynamometer tuning, the APG Dual Fuel System will run on the customers’ vehicles until January 2011, traveling an estimated 40,000 miles (65,000km) during their normal business duty cycle. Lyle Jensen, GreenMan’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are extremely pleased that an industry leader such as Wesfarmers LNG is prepared to test our non-invasive dual fuel system in the challenging Western Australian environment to be evaluated against other dual fuel and dedicated alternative fuel systems presently available.
LNG has six hundred times the density of natural gas vapor and three times the density of compressed natural gas (CNG), so it is easier and less expensive to transport over longer distances. This also allows for the storage of large quantities of LNG where there are no natural gas pipelines. In this application, we are using LNG that has been converted to CNG through a heat exchanger system just prior to entering APG’s digital dual fuel system.”
Commenting on the trials, Kleenheat Gas General Manager Graham Smith said: “During our field visits earlier this year, we were extremely impressed with APG’s Dual Fuel System and we welcome this technology into Australia.” Mr. Smith added, “Wesfarmers LNG is leading the development of LNG as a viable long term alternative fuel to diesel in the Australian heavy-duty vehicle, industrial, and remote power generation markets.
We are proud to be at the forefront of how LNG is changing the direction of road transport in Australia.” Mr. Jensen concluded, “The testing is scheduled to last 90 days, commencing this month and we believe that a significant number of Australian trucks and power generators could benefit from our combined technologies and infrastructure. Should the trial between Wesfarmers LNG and APG be successful, both parties would look forward to strengthening their relationship in the long term.”
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Source: GreenMan Technologies, October 7, 2010