Action Aimed to Increase Supply of Light-Duty Vehicles to Meet Increasing Demand for Natural Gas Vehicles in U.S.
With growing demand for natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in the United States, Clean Energy Fuels Corp., the leading provider of natural gas (CNG and LNG) for transportation in North America, has signed a purchase and sale agreement to acquire BAF Technologies, Inc. of Dallas, Texas, provider of natural gas vehicle systems and conversions in the United States. The BAF-issued press release states the acquisition will close upon each party meeting certain closing conditions. The purchase price payable at the closing of the acquisition of BAF is approximately $8.3 million.“BAF is a well-known company within the alternative fuel vehicle business providing product for several of our target markets,” said Andrew J. Littlefair, Clean Energy’s President and CEO. “This action will give confidence to potential fleet customers in the light-duty arena who are considering transitioning their fleets to natural gas fuel. BAF will provide a significant resource for light-duty vehicle conversions as well as the ability to work with the automakers to develop additional U.S. products.”
“Domestic auto manufacturers have been remiss in not making NGVs available in the United States, even though the same companies produce numerous makes and models overseas where the NGV market is also growing,” noted Littlefair. “We believe that automakers will ultimately produce natural gas vehicles for the U.S. market. When they do, BAF’s technology may aid the automakers for future NGVs that are produced on a factory line. And today, BAF’s after-market systems ensure that current NGVs are available for domestic light-duty fleets. We believe that the acquisition of BAF will support the needs of fleet customers today and will help us take advantage of the accelerating growth in the domestic NGV market in the future.”
Founded in 1992, BAF provides natural gas vehicle conversions, alternative fuel systems, application engineering, service and warranty support and research and development. Its vehicle conversions include taxis, limousines, vans, pick-up trucks and shuttle buses. BAF utilizes advanced natural gas system integration technology and has certified NGVs under both EPA and CARB standards achieving Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) emissions.
Following AT&T’s announcement in March 2009 of its intent to deploy more than 15,000 alternative-fuel vehicles over the next five years, approximately 8,000 of which are expected to be NGVs, BAF was awarded a purchase order to provide AT&T with the initial 600 Ford E-Series converted CNG vans.
Additionally, the recent action by the Texas legislature mandating the conversion of 13,500 fleet vehicles to alternative fuels with lowest fuel cost is another indicator of the potential increased demand for NGVs. Natural gas fuel is lower in cost than any other commercially available alternative fuel.
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