Westport, Clean Energy Venture Bundles LNG System, Fuel Contract
This story appears in the March 25 print edition of Transport Topics.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Westport Innovations and Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced a new joint program aimed at further accelerating the adoption of liquefied natural gas vehicles among trucking companies.
The companies said they plan to bundle the Westport LNG Tank System with a fuel contract from Clean Energy in an effort to provide a two-year payback to customers who purchase these vehicles.
Efforts such as this program aid to transition the conversation “from asking why natural gas, to how and when,” Westport CEO David Demers told Transport Topics during an event here March 19 prior to the Mid-America Trucking Show. “We are moving beyond early demonstration projects.”
Westport said its cold LNG system is customized for spark-ignited engines such as the Cummins Westport ISL G or upcoming ISX12 G. Conventional diesel engines and some LNG models use compression ignition to get energy from the fuel.
Jim Arthurs, president of Cummins Westport, confirmed the 12-liter ISX engine will go into limited production in April, with full production scheduled to commence in the third quarter of the year.
James Harger, Clean Energy’s chief marketing officer, told TT a target customer for this agreement is generally a fleet interested in running at least 20 LNG trucks. He suggested a mix of incentives, rebates and pricing discounts could be offered, depending on fuel-usage rate and other factors.
He said Clean Energy has 13 active natural gas fueling stations, with more than 60 ready to open, but is waiting for LNG demand in particular areas to reach at least 30,000 gallons a month before moving forward.
Deals such as this partnership should help speed the process, Harger said, adding that his company is dependent on equipment manufacturers’ ability to deliver natural gas tanks and engines to customers.
“We have customers in these areas who have already committed to buy trucks,” he said.
He said Clean Energy’s station in Latta, S.C., will open next month, due in part to an order of LNG tractors by Modern Transportation.
He also spoke of the growing role of shippers, who need to help fleets “mitigate risks” associated with natural-gas vehicles.
“Shippers are working with contract carriers to develop long-term contracts to encourage the use of natural gas within the supply chain to maintain costs . . . and meet sustainability targets,” he said.
The companies made the announcement at the Westport Kentucky Integration Center, about 25 miles from downtown Louisville. Westport took over the facility, adjacent to a Ford Motor Co. assembly plant, about a year ago and installs its compressed natural-gas bi-fuel system into F-Series Super Duty trucks.
Known as the WiNG Power System, it uses CNG first before automatically kicking over to the gasoline backup. It started with the F-250 and F-350 models, and the companies announced earlier this year it would expand to the F-450 and F-550 vehicles in coming months.
Westport employees were actively installing the system into vehicles on-site during the event for journalists and fleet customers.
“These [lighter vehicles] are starting to sell in volume and starting to use more of the compressed natural-gas tanks,” Arthurs said. “The heavy-duty industry will benefit from that higher volume.”
Westport’s Demers said the facility’s success “has left Ford scrambling to keep up with the demand.”
As a result, Westport announced last week it will soon open a similar integrated facility in Ontario, with deliveries of the bi-fuel system expected to be ready for customers in June.
And with more entrants such as Shell joining the natural-gas fueling market, as well as growing interest from other transport modes, interest in the fuel is growing sharply, Demers said.
Lynn Lyon, director of fuel market development for Pioneer Natural Resources, said her company utilizes more than 200 of the Ford pickups, as well as 17 heavy-duty Peterbilt trucks for dedicated runs.
She said the energy company, based in Irving, Texas, helped champion the development of the Texas Clean Transportation Triangle, a series of natural-gas stations linking Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Austin.
“It is not going to look like a triangle much longer,” said Lynn, noting there are expansion plans for the region, as well as other areas of the state.
She also said her company has plans to order 10 more Peterbilts and has seen CNG utilization in 87% of miles traveled, with gasoline power providing the remaining 13%.
In its earnings release earlier in March, Westport announced it was working with two new global manufacturers to develop natural-gas engines that feature its proprietary high-pressure direct-injection technology.
Demers said he could not provide additional details yet but noted it is separate from its previously announced heavy-duty agreement with Volvo Group.
