GreenMan Technologies Inc. announced that its American Power Group Inc. subsidiary has successfully completed heavy-duty truck test trials in Australia utilizing APG’s Dual Fuel System operating on diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas. Last October, APG signed an agreement to carry out a test trial with Wesfarmers LNG Pty. Ltd., a subsidiary of Kleenheat Gas, for the conversion of two 500-hp heavy-duty diesel trucks to APG’s system. Kleenheat Gas extracts, distributes and markets liquefied petroleum gas and is a provider of gas services to residential, commercial, industrial, rural and automotive markets across Australia.
APG says its dual fuel system seamlessly displaces 40 percent to 60 percent of the normal diesel fuel consumption with CNG, LNG, well-head gas or biomethane. APG says its system is noninvasive to the OEM engine and operates within all OEM performance controls with the flexibility to return to 100 percent diesel operation at any time. APG says the 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 through APG’s dual fuel system does not impact diesel engine power or pulling torque and will assist in extending the engine’s oil life as natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel compared to diesel.
“Passing the Australian test trials is a major performance milestone for APG,” says Lyle Jensen, president and chief executive officer of GreenMan, based in Lynnfield, Mass. “We are extremely pleased to report that all fuel displacement, reliability uptime and emission results met or exceeded EVOL LNG’s performance criteria established at the beginning of the trials. The Australian Outback superhighway is one of the world’s toughest driving environments, and the APG Dual Fuel System performed exceptionally well on high-horsepower diesel engines where natural gas solutions are not yet available from many dedicated alternative fuel system providers. In Australia, we have added ‘durability performance’ to the economic and environmental benefits of our dual fuel technology.”
Graham Smith, general manager of Kleenheat Gas, says the company was impressed with the reliability of APG’s system during the field tests. “We eagerly await APG finalizing its offering for the Australian heavy-duty market conditions,” Smith says. “EVOL 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.”
