All About Alternate Fuel Vehicles (AFV)

By Automotive World staff writer (ANK), 5 November, 2007
Source: Automotive World
http://www.automotiveworld.com/WVMA/content.asp?contentid=64604

Renault Trucks and its partner PVI (Ponticelli Vehicules Industriels) will provide most of the vehicles to operators working for an experimental logistics scheme in Paris for Monoprix, a major retailer.  The OEM is to supply four Midlum NGVs (GVW 16T) and ten Premium Distribution NGVs (GVW 28T) for Bourgey Montreuil-Geodis, along with four Premium Distribution NGVs for GT location. The arrangement is an experiment in delivering merchandise, mostly by rail, to Parisian shops. Monoprix and Fret SNCF will use the fleet of 20 natural gas-powered trucks to transport merchandise from warehouses located in the city’s suburbs. The partners are expected to begin the trial in December.
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By Cesar C. Villariba Jr., Inquirer,
Manila, Philippines, 12 Nov 2007

The first fleet of “Clean” buses is now rolling on the roads of Metro Manila. Marked “Hapi Bus,” the colorful vehicles have been plying the Manila/Cubao to Laguna/Batangas routes since Oct. 24 in a campaign to promote clean air in the heavily polluted metropolis.  Each capable of ferrying a maximum of 55 passengers, the buses run on compressed natural gas (CNG) supplied by the Philippines’ own gas fields off Palawan. Using energy from compressed natural gas results in zero toxic gas emissions and, thus, a clean air environment, says Nicky Hidalgo Jr., vice president for public relations of KL-CNG Bus Corp.
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October 31, 2007
Source: BluesCounty Magazine
http://www.bluescountry.com.au/article.cfm?Storyid=33242

A space-saving LPG tank that can be mounted underneath a vehicle to preserve interior space is now available in Australia. Propane Performance Industries (PPI) claims its rectangular-shaped conformable tank is half the height of a round tank with the same volume, allowing for easier under-chassis installation or petrol tank replacement. The conformable tanks are also claimed to provide additional driving range, reduced weight and increased crash safety compared with traditional cylindrical steel tanks. PPI director Guy Obren says the tank is designed by the same engineering firm that builds NASA rockets.
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By Meggie Lu, Staff Reporter, Taipei Times, Oct 30, 2007
Source: Taipei Times
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2007/10/30/2003385437

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Minister Winston Dang  yesterday encouraged automobile owners to convert their vehicles to a greener fuel alternative, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), saying it was a much cheaper option. Compared with petroleum, LPG costs less, offers comparable highway mileages (10km per liter), and is more environmentally friendly, Dang told reporters during the EPA’s budget review in the Legislative Yuan.  Flipping open the trunk of his government vehicle, he showed reporters how a modifier can be installed to make a vehicle run on a dual system of LPG and gasoline.
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Correspondant, Telegraph India,
New Delhi Sept 26, 2007
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070927/asp/business/story_8365957.asp

Piaggio Vehicles Private Limited, the local arm of the Italian automobile major, plans to introduce two mini trucks in India by 2010.  “One has to grow the platform (of four-wheelers). In the next two years we should be able to introduce variants of the sub-one-tonne truck … The vision is to create another platform beyond the sub-one-tonne but less than two tonnes by 2010,” said Ravi Chopra, chairman and managing director of Piaggio Vehicles.  “We are going to develop more four-wheeler products and plan to be a full-range light commercial vehicle player,” he said. (more…)

Express news service, Ahmedabad, September 27, 2007
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Piaggio-to-roll-out-Ape-LPG-next-month/221651/

In order to meet the growing demand for environment-friendly vehicles in the country, Piaggio Vehicles Pvt Ltd, the Indian arm of the Italian auto major and world’s pioneer of three-wheelers, said it planned to launch LPG version of three-wheeler in Bangalore next month, a top official of the company said here on Wednesday.  J.  Narayanan, General Manager (Customer Care & PI), who formally launched the CNG variant said : “The cargo version of ‘Ape CNG’ is priced at Rs 1.39 lakh and the passenger version priced at Rs 1.3 lakh both ex-showroom in Ahmedabad. Since CNG is available in Gujarat we have selected Ahmedabad for our national launch.”
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QINGDAO, China, Oct. 9, 2007
Source: PR Newswire / CNNMoney.com
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/CNTU01409102007-1.htm

Sinoenergy Corporation , (”Sinoenergy”), a manufacturer of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle and gas station equipment and a designer, developer and operator of CNG filling stations in China, is pleased to announce today that its first two CNG filling stations are now open and have begun distributing compressed natural gas to vehicles as of September 30, 2007. The two stations are located on Changfeng Street and on Baibuting Street of Wuhan City, Hubei Province. Each station has four filling outlets and both are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The company has staffed each station with 12 to 14 employees to handle daily operations.
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By John Dunlop, Oct. 23, 2007
Source: The Energy Tribune
http://www.energytribune.com/articles.cfm?aid=653

Compressed natural gas (CNG) is one of the oldest petroleum technologies, going back well over 100 years in pipeline applications. CNG has also been used for the bulk movement of gas, including a marine transport project in the late 1960s. Today, other CNG applications, such as natural gas vehicles and truck-based transportation systems, are commonly used worldwide.  In 2001, EnerSea introduced a major breakthrough in CNG marine transport technology: its VOTRANS (Volume Optimized Transport and Storage) system. The patented innovations advanced by VOTRANS include a 60 to 100 percent increase in the gas that can be stored per unit of containment steel, along with a 10 to 20 percent increase in the quantity of gas cargo that can be cost-effectively evacuated from the CNG storage system, compared with conventional CNG concepts. This performance is made possible with VOTRANS’s optimization of storage conditions and by employing its proprietary gas-loading and discharging processes.
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Calgary, Alberta October 19, 2007
Source: Dynatek.com / press release
http://www.dynetek.com/press_releases.php

Dynetek Industries Ltd. (“Dynetek”), a leader in developing,  producing and marketing lightweight compressed natural gas (CNG) and compressed hydrogen storage cylinders, announced today that it has completed the delivery of the previously announced 450 bar Hydrogen Tube Trailer System to the IWHUP project.  The delivery of the Dynetek “BT450” Tube Trailer System to the IWHUP project, is a further demonstration of how Dynetek’s “Instant InfrastructureTM” products, can enable customers to refuel Hydrogen powered vehicles easily and cost effectively.
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Also Launches Biodiesel Initiative At Worldport Air Hub
Atlanta GA, Oct. 8, 2007
Source. UPS press release
http://pressroom.ups.com/pressreleases/current/0,1088,4937,00.html

UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced it was adding 306 alternative fuel vehicles to its “green fleet” by placing an order for 167 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) delivery trucks while taking delivery of 139 new propane delivery trucks in North America. Additionally, the company has launched an initiative to use biodiesel fuel in its ground support vehicles at the UPS Worldport® air hub in Louisville.  The CNG trucks will be deployed early next year in Dallas, Atlanta and four California cities - Los Angeles, Ontario, San Ramon and Fresno. They will join more than 800 such vehicles already in use in the United States. The propane vehicles are joining nearly 600 propane trucks already operating in Canada and Mexico.
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