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Cummins Westport and NREL to Commercialize Next-Gen Natural Gas Engine 3 Years Before Deadline
9 February 2005
Cummins Westport (CWI), in partnership with the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), announced its intent to commercialize an advanced natural gas engine for medium-duty truck, refuse and urban transit markets that meets the stringent 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions standards and 2007 California Air Resources Board (ARB) urban bus standards. Scheduled for commercial launch in 2007, the engine will be introduced three years ahead of the EPA emissions deadline.
In 2007, when new standards for NOx and PM are introduced, Cummins Westport’s next-generation natural gas engine will meet the 2010 NOx standards (0.2 grams/brake-horsepower hour), which are 83% lower than the 2007 phase-in level.
PM emissions for the new engine will be at or below 2010 levels without a particulate trap. Greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be at least 17% lower than the cleanest diesel engine available. Carbon monoxide and NMHC emissions are anticipated to be at or below the 2010 standard.
The advanced engine is also expected to have improved thermal efficiency and power density relative to current natural gas engines.
Cummins Westport and NREL are funding the project under a cost-sharing contract, with NREL contributing an initial $600,000 for the first year of work that will commence immediately. NREL’s total funding for the project is estimated to be $2 million.
The project builds on a previous Next Generation Natural Gas Vehicle (NGNGV) award that Cummins (a partner in the Cummins Westport joint venture) received to develop and demonstrate advanced natural gas engine technologies. That project, co-funded by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, is making progress toward achieving EPA 2010 emissions levels in the laboratory using low-cost equipment.
February 9, 2005 in Fleets, Natural Gas | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
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Posted by: richard schumacher | February 10, 2005 at 05:53 AM
Diesel engines have not become as clean as natural gas engines. A recent Department of Energy study tested the "best available technology" for both diesel and CNG at Washington DC Metorpolitan Transit Authority and the CNG engines produced 49% less NOx and 83% less particulates. Heavy-duty diesel engines are slated to meet EPA standards for particulate matter (PM) in 2007 & 2010 but will not be able to meet the 0.2 gr/NOx standard until 2010. All indications suggest that vehicles will have to incorporate a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) which would require an additional tank of UREA. This is costly and inconvenient. Projected life cycle costs for natural gas powered vehicles will be less than diesel after 2010. Dependency on foreign oil from unfriendly regions of the world is just another sound reason for more fleets (public & private) to move to a varied portfolio of fuels in the future.
Posted by: Alex Bell | February 10, 2005 at 12:14 PM
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Mmm, no, I 've come to think that compressed natural gas is only a niche market for vehicles. Liquid fuel engines have become as clean as CNG engines, liquid fuel is more convenient, and CNG is better reserved for displacing oil in stationary applications such as building and process heat and peak demand power generation.