Researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel have found that considerable quantities of the greenhouse gas methane escape uncontrolled into the water from abandoned oil and gas wells in the North Sea. The work, published in the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, confirms earlier studies based... Read more →

The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) will receive $2.7 million from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop and validate technology that will reduce the cost of manufacturing high-performance carbon fiber by 25% to make composite natural gas or hydrogen fuel tanks to power cars and trucks.... Read more →

OptiFuel Systems, a system integrator of Cummins and BAE Systems hybrid power products for decarbonizing the rail, marine, and microgrid power market, is in the process of finalizing a $2.6 million US Department of Energy (DOE) grant to demonstrate a pre-production Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) hybrid 4,300 hp line-haul locomotive.... Read more →

Baker Hughes and Snam have successfully completed testing of the world’s first “hybrid” hydrogen turbine designed for a gas network. The test paves the way to implement adoption of hydrogen blended with natural gas in Snam’s current transmission network infrastructure. The test took place at Baker Hughes’ facility in Florence,... Read more →

Chevron is partnering with California natural gas retailer Clean Energy Fuels Corp. on Adopt-a-Port, an initiative that provides truck operators serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with cleaner, carbon-negative renewable natural gas (RNG) to reduce emissions. For its part, Chevron will provide funding for Adopt-a-Port and supply... Read more →

Dominion Energy and Duke Energy announced the cancelation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) due to ongoing delays and increasing cost uncertainty which threaten the economic viability of the project. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline as planned was a 600-mile underground natural gas transmission line meant to deliver new, lower-cost supplies... Read more →

NREL has issued a request for proposals for qualified partners to participate in cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) projects with the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) national laboratories in support of DOE’s H2@Scale initiative. Through this CRADA call, DOE's Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) seeks to accelerate... Read more →

Hyliion Inc., a developer of electrified powertrain solutions for Class 8 commercial vehicles, launched its Hypertruck Electric Range Extender (ERX), a long-haul, natural-gas series-hybrid electric powertrain. The launch of the Hypertruck ERX is anchored by Agility, one of the world’s leading logistics companies with $5.2 billion in revenue and offices... Read more →

Agility Fuel Solutions (Agility), a leading global provider of clean fuel solutions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, introduced the new fifth-generation ProRail CNG fuel system. ProRail systems are installed on one or both sides of the vehicle’s frame rail. Gen5 ProRail installed on a Peterbilt 567. Since the ProRail... Read more →

Ingevity and Ozinga Energy are partnering to begin a field demonstration of adsorbed natural gas (ANG) bi-fuel pickup trucks. Developed by Adsorbed Natural Gas Products, Inc. (ANGP) and Ingevity, the ANG system is made possible by the performance of Ingevity’s Nuchar activated carbon that significantly lowers the natural gas storage... Read more →

Berkeley Law’s Center for Law, Energy and the Environment (CLEE) released a new report “Legal Grounds: Law and Policy Options to Facilitate a Phase-Out of Fossil Fuel Production in California.” The report analyzes steps California leaders could pursue on state- and privately-owned lands to achieve this reduction. California is the... Read more →

A comprehensive three-year scientific study into the air, water and soil impacts of hydraulic fracturing (HF) in coal seam gas (CSG) in Queensland, Australia has found little to no impacts on air quality, soils, groundwater and waterways. The study also found current water treatment technology used for treating water produced... Read more →

A research team led by Northwestern University has designed and synthesized new metal-organic framework (MOF) materials with ultrahigh porosity and surface area for the storage of hydrogen and methane for fuel cell-powered vehicles. The designer materials can store significantly more hydrogen and methane than conventional adsorbent materials at much safer... Read more →

The trajectory of North American gas supply is set to change radically as a result of the fall in oil prices that has occurred due to COVID-19 and the breakdown in production cooperation between OPEC and Russia, according to IHS Markit. Prior to the global pandemic, languishing North America gas... Read more →

The all-new SEAT Leon offers five different powertrain technologies: gasoline (TSI); diesel (TDI); mild-hybrid (eTSI); plug-in hybrid (eHybrid); and compressed natural gas (TGI). SEAT is a member of the Volkswagen Group. In total, there are eleven different mechanical variants, with power outputs ranging from 90 PS with the 1.0 TSI... Read more →

The Intermountain Power Agency (IPA) has awarded Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) a contract for two M501JAC power trains for the Intermountain Power Plant (IPP) in Delta, Utah. (Earlier post.) This award marks the first Advanced Class Gas Turbines in the industry specifically designed and purchased as part of a... Read more →

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, and Masten Space Systems Inc. successfully tested a liquid methane rocket engine, the first of its kind tested at AFRL. The Masten 25k lbf thrust Broadsword rocket engine. (Masten Space Systems photo/Matthew Kuhns) The M10A Broadsword is a LOX/LCH4... Read more →

An international collaboration led by Cranfield University will examine the potential for the low-carbon production of hydrogen from natural gas. The HyPER project (Bulk Hydrogen Production by Sorbent Enhanced Steam Reforming) will construct a 1.5 MWth pilot plant at Cranfield University to test the innovative hydrogen production technology that substantially... Read more →

California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (South Coast AQMD) Clean Fuel Funds and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) have awarded a combined $600,000 ($300,000 each) to Landi Renzo USA for Landi Renzo’s 7.3L Near-Zero natural gas engine development program, which covers Class 4-7 vehicles. Landi Renzo USA is the... Read more →

UPS has entered into multi-year renewable natural gas (RNG) agreements with Kinetrex Energy and TruStar Energy. Together, these two contracts will supply UPS with up to 80 million gallon equivalents (GEs) of RNG over the terms of the agreements. The use of RNG is a very important part of UPS’... Read more →

SEAT presented at its Martorell facilities the all-new SEAT Leon compact. The company, a member of the Volkswagen Group, has invested more than €1.1 billion in fourth generation of the Leon to bring it to market with more efficient engines, next levels of connectivity and driving assistance, dynamism and eye-catching... Read more →

The results of a new analysis by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) show that, when combined with a trend toward higher methane leakage and combustion slip, there is no climate benefit from using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel—regardless of the engine technology. LNG is becoming... Read more →

Clean Energy Fuels Corp delivered 143 million gallons of Redeem Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) last year as robust sales of the carbon-neutral transportation fuel continued in 2019, closing out the year with significant deals throughout North America. Redeem was the first commercially available RNG vehicle fuel, derived from capturing biogenic... Read more →

Researchers at the University of Michigan, McGill University and McMaster University have developed a binary copper−iron catalyst for photoelectrochemical CO2 reduction toward methane. The work, presented in a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), offers a unique, highly efficient, and inexpensive route for solar fuels synthesis.... Read more →

India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, launched India’s first long distance compressed natural gas (CNG) bus under a strategic program led by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), the largest CNG distribution company in India. The launch ushers in CNG as the fuel of choice for long distance transportation... Read more →

Cummins Westport Inc. has received certifications from both the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (ARB) for its B6.7N natural gas engine. Like the Cummins Westport ISX12N and L9N engines, the B6.7N meets California ARB optional Low NOx standard of 0.02 g/bhp-hr, a 90% reduction from... Read more →

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is seeking expressions of interest from firms which wish to enter into a commercial licensing arrangement to bring to market its methane oxidation catalyst. This technology has applications to the automotive industry and other sectors covered by regulations that control methane emissions. NRCan said the ideal... Read more →

The US. Department of Energy (DOE) selected 16 projects to receive nearly $25 million in federal funding for cost-shared projects to advance natural gas infrastructure technology development. DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy will provide federal funding for these projects. These projects aim to develop tools, methods, and technologies to enhance... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has recently posted six Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Tier 2 pathways applications for the production of liquefied hydrogen from renewable and fossil gas. Shell Energy North America seeks certification of a renewable hydrogen pathway produced by steam methane reformation at Air Products &... Read more →

Primus Green Energy Inc., along with a global petrochemical company as a joint venture partner, has commissioned a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) study with IHI E&C International Corporation for a first of its kind natural gas-to-gasoline plant in Texas. The proposed joint venture plant will be a scaled-up... Read more →

Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and colleagues earlier developed an efficient process for methane pyrolysis. Methane pyrolysis separates methane (CH4) into gaseous hydrogen and solid carbon that is a valuable material for various industry branches and can also be stored safely. Now, KIT is partnering with industry... Read more →

by Michael Sivak. This analysis compares the costs of usable energy when we buy gasoline and electricity for driving and natural gas for keeping warm. The unifying approach in this comparison involves the use of Btu (British thermal units), coupled with the costs of gasoline, electricity, and natural gas, and... Read more →

UPS plans to purchase more than 6,000 natural gas-powered trucks beginning in 2020 and running through 2022. This three-year commitment represents a $450-million investment in expanding the company’s alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicle fleet as well as supporting infrastructure. The new vehicles will be equipped with compressed natural gas... Read more →

Equinor and the Johan Sverdrup partnership consisting of Lundin Norway, Petoro, Aker BP and Total, have started production from the giant field in the North Sea, more than two months ahead of and NOK 40 billion (US4.4 billion) below the original estimates in the Plan for development and operation. Johan... Read more →

Conventional oil and gas discoveries during the past three years are at the lowest levels in seven decades and a significant rebound is not expected, according to a new report by global business information provider IHS Markit. The low levels in discoveries come as a result of a pullback during... Read more →

Total Transportation Services Inc. (TTSI) is replacing its entire diesel trucking fleet with near-zero emission natural gas trucks, which it plans to fuel with carbon-negative renewable natural gas (RNG). The announcement was made in conjunction with the non-profit Coalition for Clean Air (CCA) to raise awareness of the importance of... Read more →

Solaris has signed a contract for the supply of 50 zero-emission and low emission buses to bus operator Vy Buss AB: eight electric buses and 42 natural-gas-fueled units. Ultimately, the bulk of the ordered buses (48 vehicles) will be in operation in Gävle. This Swedish town located at the Gulf... Read more →

From the end of August the EBS public transport company will be operating 93 Mercedes-Benz Citaro NGT hybrid low-floor urban buses in the Rotterdam - The Hague metropolitan area. The fleet is made up of 83 Citaro NGT hybrid solo buses and ten Citaro G NGT hybrid articulated buses. Their... Read more →

Crude oil and gas naturally escape from the seabed in many places known as seeps. There, these hydrocarbons move up from source rocks through fractures and sediments towards the surface, where they leak out of the ground and sustain a diversity of densely populated habitats in the dark ocean. A... Read more →

The US Department of Energy announced $50 million for new and innovative research of technologies for trucks, off-road vehicles, and the fuels that power them. Funded through the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), these selections highlight the DOE’s priorities in gaseous fuels research, including natural gas,... Read more →

Researchers at Hunan University have investigated the effects of compression ratio (CR), EGR and spark timing strategies on performance, combustion and NOx emissions of a heavy-duty natural gas engine fueled with 99% methane content. A paper on their work is published in the journal Fuel. … natural gas … is... Read more →

Tests have demonstrated that a residential combined heat and power (CHP) engine developed as an Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)-backed venture through the Generators for Small Electrical and Thermal Systems (GENSETS) program (earlier post) offers at least a 20% improvement in efficiency over the current leading alternatives. The... Read more →

In parallel with the advancing electrification of its fleet, Volkswagen Group and its brands continue to rely on CNG (compressed natural gas) as an alternative drive technology for decarbonizing road transport; Volkswagen Group[ has revised and expanded its product range again with this in mind. Volkswagen Group currently offers the... Read more →

Methanotrophic bacteria remove methane from the environment and convert it into methanol. An interdisciplinary team at Northwestern University has found that the enzyme responsible for the methane-methanol conversion catalyzes this reaction at a site that contains just one copper ion. The study is published in the journal Science. Bacteria that... Read more →

A study by a team of researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory has found that methane emissions from oil and natural gas production in the United States may not be rising as quickly as had been feared. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas... Read more →

School districts and transportation contractors can now purchase buses fueled by compressed natural gas that are 90% cleaner than the national emissions standard, opening more opportunities for funding that supports reduced emissions. ROUSH CleanTech developed the technology using Ford’s 6.8L V10 engine. It’s the first high-volume production CNG Type-C school... Read more →

Researchers from Hebei University of Technology, CATARC (China Automotive Technology & Research Center) qnd Shandong University report that soot and CO emissions could be substantially reduced in direct-injected natural gas engines without penalties in NOx and thermal efficiency via the coordination of PNPI (proportion of natural gas pre-injection), NPSOI (injection... Read more →

Shell Offshore Inc., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, announced a significant discovery at the Blacktip prospect in the deep water US Gulf of Mexico. Evaluation is ongoing and appraisal planning is underway to further delineate the discovery and define development options. Blacktip is Shell’s second material discovery in... Read more →

According to a new study published by the ifo Institue Center for Economic Studies (CESifo) in Germany, EVs will barely help cut CO2 emissions in the country over the coming years, as the introduction of electric vehicles does not necessarily lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions from road traffic... Read more →

Chevron Corporation entered into a definitive agreement with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Anadarko in a stock and cash transaction valued at $33 billion, or $65 per share. Chevron said that its acquisition of Anadarko will significantly enhance its upstream portfolio and further strengthen... Read more →