Hardstaff Dual-Fuel Mercedes, compliant to Euro IV
The Hardstaff Group’s Oil-Ignition-Gas-Injection (OIGI®) system, enhanced through collaboration with Loughborough University in Leicestershire, has been shortlisted in the Innovation for Sustainability category at the 2010 Lord Stafford Awards in the UK after demonstrating its ability to cut engine CO2 emissions for Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) by up to 20%. Winners will be announced at an event on September 9th.
Reduced emission levels are achieved by substituting around 70% of the diesel fuel with natural gas which burns more cleanly within the engine. CO2 savings are effectively doubled when fossil based gas is replaced by sustainable (renewable) biomethane.
Through association with the Hardstaff Group, the university has built a reputation for excellence in dual-fuel research that has led to it being commissioned by the Technology Strategy Board to work on a two-litre engine design.
Issues surrounding power output, fuel economy and overall durability have all been solved during development as OIGI does not require access to the manufacturer’s Engine Control Unit (ECU), thereby ensuring the integrity of built in onboard systems.
Already three years in development at that stage, the OIGI® system was unveiled in mid-2006. Reflecting on the long development period, Trevor Fletcher, Managing Director of the company said, “We have proved that the 20% reduction in emissions is possible by running the system on our own fleet of vehicles over the last 7 years and through continued collaboration with the university it has been developed to the point where it can be retro-fitted to existing vehicles made by other manufacturers. This has increased the potential market for OIGI® massively.”
This widened field of application has led to the company being appointed as a specialist dealer by Mercedes-Benz, who is supplying new vehicles to be converted to the system. Many existing vehicles are being adapted to OIGI® by leading UK and European fleet operators. The technology has also been distributed as far afield as South America, giving the company genuine hopes of a worldwide impact.
“The system has been very successful up to this point and the support of Mercedes-Benz is a major fillip for us. With OIGI proven across a large number of diesel HGV engines we are pushing on with plans to bring this technology to road cars,” said Trevor.
To this end the company has recently purchased a site in Wales complete with 21,000 tonne liquid natural gas storage with a view to it becoming a centre of excellence in the field of biomethane research.
Established in 1861, the Hardstaff Group has an annual turnover of £20m and provides solutions across a broad spectrum of applications in the industrial transport field. Operating from its Kingston-on-Soar Headquarters it employs around 230 people in the four business arms that make up the group.
In addition to the solid support from Mercedes-Benz, OIGI technology is under development in industrial vehicles from such manufacturers as Volvo, Iveco and DAF.
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