Heavy Duty Trucking, September 2018
Engines as game changers These engines are a game changer especially in California where the emissions standards are tightest says Tom Hodek general manager new product development for Cummins Westport The state also came out with three optional NOx reduction standards We took the challenge and meet the lowest Near Zero limit 02 grams Were actually at 01 grams but certifying at 02 provides us some buffer The optional limits were rolled out in 2013 by the California Air Resources Board with an eye to motivating the introduction of new technologies to reduce NOx emissions below the existing diesel engine emission standards for model years 2010 and later Speaking to the impact the pump price of diesel has on natural gas adoption Hodek notes that we came out with Near Zero engines just as diesel prices were coming up again He says when weighing price movement bear in mind that the big users of natural gas are the power plants So the price point on natural gas is dependent on power generation Still the pump price of natural gas prices is a lot more stable than diesel Hodek says the biggest hurdle for fleets interested in natural gas however is the higher upfront cost of the vehicle The truck price premium is still there But if a fleet can buy fuel at a reasonable cost difference vs diesel they can get the payback In May Kenworth became the first to launch the ISX12N into the market with a delivery to its customer AJR Trucking according to Marketing Director Kurt Swihart After the 2017 launch of the Cummins Westport 89 liter ISL G our customers requested a 12 liter CNG powered truck he explains This is a game changer in bringing to market a 400 hp engine for regional and vocational use HDT SEPTEMBER 2018 62 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM other vocational applications The ISX12N features a new engine control module with improved durability on board diagnostics an enhanced maintenance free three way catalyst and a closed crankcase ventilation system says Cummins Westport It entered full production in February NATURAL GAS Package giant UPS remains committed to natural gas Last year it invested over 90 million in the alternative fuel including building an additional six CNG stations and adding nearly 400 new CNG tractors and terminal trucks and 50 LNG vehicles to its alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet Clean Energy Fuels operates over 500 CNG and LNG stations in 43 states Chad Lindholm vice president of national accounts says the company has expanded its network exponentially to serve over the road trucks at or close to truckstops by offering a diesel like fueling service PHOTO CLEAN ENERGY FUELS PHOTO UPS A L T E R N A T I V E F U E L S
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