Clean Air Power, developer of dual-fuel engine management software for heavy duty vehicles, is to provide its new Genesis EDGE Dual-Fuel™ for the Volvo D13 and MACK MP8 engines for in-use operation by United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS). UPS will provide 10 MACK MP8 tractor units which will be installed with the US version of the dual-fuel system, for demonstration and optimisation.
UPS has been operating 9 Caterpillar C12 tractor units with Clean Air Power’s Dual-Fuel system since 2002. They have each completed over 1 million miles.
The MACK MP8 trucks will operate out of the UPS facility in Ontario, California, which has an LNG/CNG fuelling station on site, and perform real-user operations. The 10 trucks will in aggregate travel over 100,000 miles per month, which will provide invaluable information and data on performance and reliability. The trucks are expected to be fully operational in October 2013.
Funding for this program has been provided by the Californian Energy Commission under an Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program specifically designed to accelerate the use of alternative fuels in California’s transportation market.
The use of natural gas trucks is projected to show rapid growth in the US where an abundance of cheap domestic gas is providing an alternative to imported oil. The natural gas is becoming increasingly accessible to operators due to on-going investment in gas refuelling infrastructure as
major international gas providers enter the market.
John Pettitt, Chief Executive of Clean Air Power said: “We are extremely pleased to be working with UPS on the testing and optimisation of a Genesis EDGE Dual-Fuel™ product for the important US market. UPS is one of the most innovative leaders in the development of natural gas vehicles in the United States. In April 2013, UPS announced that it will buy 700 liquefied natural gas-fuelled trucks and construct four refuelling stations by the end of 2014. This testing agreement with UPS confirms that our development programme for a US Genesis EDGE product has reached an advanced stage and I am now confident that we are on track to deliver a product capable of servicing the growing demand seen in the US for natural gas vehicles.”
(Source: Clean Air Power Ltd)
