UPS adds 48 more heavy-duty LNG tractor trucks to fleet; Westport HD System
22 February 2011
UPS has purchased another 48 heavy tractor trucks equipped to run on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Manufactured by Kenworth, the LNG tractors are powered by Westport HD Systems and initially will pull trailers on a transit lane linking Ontario, Calif., and Las Vegas, Nev., along with UPS’s 11 existing LNG tractors. UPS is the only private delivery company using this technology in its fleet and now has more than 1,100 natural gas-powered vehicles in service.
The vehicles, to be deployed this year, will replace older generation diesel vehicles. These LNGs are expected to produce 25% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to the older trucks and use 95% less diesel fuel than the vehicles they replace.
The Westport HD System consists of the GX 15-liter engine (based on the Cummins ISX diesel engine with cooled exhaust gas recirculation), proprietary Westport fuel injectors, LNG fuel tanks with integrated cryogenic fuel pumps, and associated electronic components to facilitate robust performance and reliable operation. The Westport HD GX engine is certified and compliant to 2010 US Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board emission standards in North America. The Westport technology uses natural gas as the main fuel with a small amount of diesel delivered at high pressure to the combustion chamber. The trucks have a 600-mile (966 km) range.
UPS currently bases its 11 LNG tractors in Ontario, from which they can make the round trip to Las Vegas on one tank of fuel. UPS is working closely with the DOE’s Clean Cities program to construct a LNG fueling station in Las Vegas. Once that facility is completed in 2011, UPS will base the 48 new tractors in Las Vegas and expand the number of long-haul routes in the West on which they’re used.
UPS has contracted with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to fuel the new fleet of 48 LNG trucks at the new Las Vegas station. The agreement has a seven-year initial term with three one-year renewal options. Clean Energy will design, build, own and operate the station.
According to Mike Britt, UPS’ director of vehicle engineering, there are multiple technologies and alternative fuels being explored or deployed today to provide propulsion for small- and mid-sized trucks. However, he notes that “at the moment, LNG is the only suitable alternative to diesel for the really heavy, long-haul tractor trailers you see on the highway. As a fuel, LNG is very dense, providing a large amount of energy for the amount of space it occupies. This makes LNG an excellent potential fuel for large trucks that need to travel a long distance before refueling.”
UPS operates one of the largest private fleets of alternative fuel vehicles in its industry: 1,914 in total. Since 2000, UPS’ “green fleet” has traveled more than 185 million miles. Besides LNG, UPS has deployed Compressed Natural Gas, propane, electric and hybrid electric vehicles in the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.
Hooray for UPS. While not the best alternative, natural gas is a far run better than gasoline or diesel. If more companies that depended on transportation to meet their business goals would put more effort into finding green alternatives I think they would find they could save money, and the environment.
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Posted by: Account Deleted | 22 February 2011 at 09:30 AM
Smart move by UPS. Cost of BTUs from nat gas is likely to stay well below oil for the foreseeable future, so operating costs should be quite favorable in comparison to diesel, once all their infrastructure is in place.
Of course, the reduction in NOx, particulates, etc is all to the good.
Posted by: Nick Lyons | 22 February 2011 at 05:40 PM
LH industries has their Stirling coolers that can produce liquid methane on a small scale or a large scale, but perhaps the the very old Linde(Tesla) process with the new liquid salt compressor would be cheaper to operate.
Methane can be produced from a variety of waste foods and materials and even good foods with low cost anaerobic fermentation, so UPS could even make their own fuel from corn and waste paper. The CO2 that is also produced in the process is liquified and rejected in the first cooling stages and can be sold to make carbonated beverages. Liquified CO2 is delivered as a liquid to fast food servers with drink machines.
Perhaps a way to ferment coal into methane can be invented. Some believe that organisms are already fermenting parts of coal to methane, Dakota Gasification makes methane and CO2 with oxygen and high heat and good catalysts. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 23 February 2011 at 12:37 AM
There is a railroad in the neighborhood of both cities, so put some trucks on the rail for the trip with express trains. The locomotives can also burn LNG.
It is too bad that the Artemis hydraulic hybrid technology is not being made available for large vehicles or small ones because the savings could be large. Rexroth pretends that it did not buy it.
..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 23 February 2011 at 12:46 AM