One Year Later - What's Changed Since the Pivotal NPC Study on America's Transportation Future

Last August, the National Petroleum Council (NPC) released Advancing Technology for America’s Transportation Future, the result of a two-year study compiled by more than 300 participants. The study began when then-U.S. Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu sought advice from the NPC on “accelerating U.S. alternative fuel-vehicle prospects through 2050 for passenger and freight transport.”

Westport’s CEO David Demers is a member of the NPC; Karen Hamberg, Vice President of Sustainable Energy futures and Senior Advisor Mike Gallagher all contributed to the report, particularly to Chapter 14: Natural Gas.

The report has five recommendations including advising the government to promote sustained resources to twelve Priority Technology areas, how to better evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and encouraging streamlining of permitting and regulatory processes to promote faster infrastructure growth.

In the year since its release, the report has invigorated public discussion around natural gas vehicles (NGVs).

“The NPC study itself has become the Bible for people interested in the future role of natural gas in the transportation sector,” said Mike Gallagher, who has been invited to present at over 20 different conferences and forums over the past year, from Mexico City to Israel.

“It’s been fascinating to see this broader interest from people who we didn’t consider as stakeholders – people interested in energy security and energy in general,” he said. “Often times after I speak, I’m literally swarmed by dozens of people who want to know more.”

He says a large part of the broader awareness, buy-in and realization of the potential for natural gas vehicles in the heavy duty truck segment is a result of the ISX12 G engine from Cummins Westport.

“Keep in mind, it’s only been five years since we put the first heavy duty natural-gas powered truck on the road,” he said.

The refuse sector is a big supporter of natural gas vehicles, comprising up to 50 per cent of the market share in North America. Other vehicles, such as school buses and cement trucks, are also starting to use natural gas as their primary fuel.

Globally, China has outpaced any other country. A recent report by Sanford C. Bernstein & Co estimates that the number of vehicles fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) in China will rise tenfold to 800,000 by 2020. Not surprisingly, China’s Policy 2012 (the 12th five year plan) outlines specific measures to encourage the development of natural gas and specifically LNG vehicles. It includes air quality considerations, incentive schemes, and priority deployment areas.

A North American “pump to wheels” study on the impacts of methane leakage from the well to end-uses along the fuel chain was initiated by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and is being conducted by the Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions (CAFEE) at West Virginia University.

The study is co-sponsored by fuel producers, providers, manufacturers and fleet operators ­– including Westport – and will measure methane leakage along the natural gas value chain for commercial and heavy duty on-road transportation (see our March post about the study).

“This is a newly emerging industry,” said Karen Hamberg. “The study should focus on and identify those areas where improvements to both technology and operating practices can be made. GHG emission reductions are needed in the transport sector but we must also look at other benefits like enhanced economic competitiveness and energy diversification.”

President Obama’s Blueprint for a Clean and Secure Energy Future, released in March, includes commitments to partner with the private sector to adopt natural gas and other alternative fuels in the trucking fleet.

The sustainability impacts of natural gas as a vehicle fuel are critical, Hamberg says, but the viability of the industry depends on other factors including: original equipment manufacturer vehicle offerings, increased refuelling infrastructure and policies to encourage adoption.

“We are witnessing a shift in each of these areas,” she said.

Natural gas organizations bring bi-fuel passenger vehicles closer to “Here and Now”

By Kate Kalnin

A campaign backed by America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) and the American Gas Association (AGA) has set out to offer more options to consumers looking for natural gas powered passenger vehicles.

The Drive Natural Gas initiative and its “Add Natural Gas” campaign promote just that - the concept of being able to choose to “add natural gas” when purchasing a new car.

From Left to Right: 2012 Honda CR-V EX 2WD, 2012, 2012 BMW X3 XDrive, 2012 GMC Acadia Denali
Photo Credit: Gladstein, Neandross & Associates

In partnership with brands such as Honda, GM, BMW, Ford and Hyundai, Add Natural Gas is showing people that this plentiful resource as a transportation fuel has potential for more than just fleets and heavy duty trucks.

Kathryn Clay, Executive Director of the Drive Natural Gas campaign explains some of the “driving” motives behind the push. “Europeans currently have many options when it comes to natural gas vehicle choices and we think American consumers deserve more choices too when it comes to the fuels that power their vehicles.” Add Natural Gas is designed to show a vision to American consumers of what natural gas can be.

The campaign features bi-fuel converted vehicles from six different manufacturers. Specifically, six types of passenger vehicles ranging from a sports car to a full-size SUV. The purpose, Kathryn says, is to show the potential in both the manufacturing category and vehicle type category. 

The first three cars from left to right: 2012 Ford Mustang GT, 2012 Hyundai Sonata Limited, 2012 Chrysler 300C AWD
Photo Credit: Gladstein, Neandross & Associates

With each vehicle conversion, the engineering team focused on maintaining its stock performance specs to make it a fair comparison with the demo vehicles’ original counterparts. Something Kathryn says is of utmost importance when considering taking on this campaign.

“We made it so consumers wouldn’t have to make compromises in performance, handling, look and feel and of course storage space," she said. "We designed these vehicles so that the actual tank does not impede on the trunk space.” By maintaining the original particulars of each prototype’s gasoline-fueled equivalent, Add Natural Gas aims to dispel any suggestions of NGVs not being able to “match up.”

Aside from creating a buzz around four-wheel passenger vehicles adopting natural gas technology, the venture also supports the development of infrastructure, both on the road and at home. 

“We are seeing exciting announcements from companies like GE and Whirlpool pertaining to at-home fueling appliances,” says Kathryn. “Our vision is that those types of companies will compete and bring those prices down, making the appliances available at big box stores where people buy their TV’s and other home appliances.” At-home fueling equipment allows NGV owners to fill up using their home’s own gas line, an attractive quality while the roadside infrastructure is being expanded.

While these vehicles are only prototypes at the moment, the Add Natural Gas team says that they have high expectations for natural gas as a key transportation fuel, along with the advent of more passenger cars with corresponding bi-fuel technology.

Check out the campaign: http://www.addnaturalgas.com.

Sharing Knowledge and Experience with the Next Generation

Simon Fraser University students got a taste of what it takes to make it in the world of technology start-up companies when Westport’s Chief Technology Officer, Patric Ouellette, was a guest lecturer at the Mechatronic Systems Engineering on July 16. A class of about 80 students in this engineering entrepreneurship course learned about the early success factors in the founding of Westport, a Canadian University spin-off.

Lecturer Maureen Hnidy said having experts who can provide real-life examples of how a company moves from a start-up to a commercial entity is invaluable to the students.

“The insights and expertise Patric shared were particularly relevant and helped to illustrate and ‘make real’ abstract concepts from course material,” she said. “The students clearly responded to his relaxed and approachable style.”

The course covers a variety of topics relating to entrepreneurship for engineers such as protecting proprietary interests, marketing and operating strategies. Students are completing senior-level projects, some of which have commercialization potential.

During his lecture, Patric talked about the experience of writing Westport’s first business plan.

“I wish I could tell you that it’s not important to write a business plan,” he said to a few cheers in the room. “But in reality, it’s an extremely important part of the business strategy.” He discussed how valuable it was to to look back after almost ten years at Westport’s first business plan and see how much the company has grown.

He asked the students to estimate how many natural gas vehicles are in the world today. Guesses ranged from 100,000 to ten million. The correct answer of more than 16 million garnered some surprise reactions in the room.

In addition to talking about the history of Westport and the company’s business planning and strategy, Patric discussed: people and culture, patents and papers, financing and partnerships and technical integrity. He said attracting and maintaining great talent and global partnerships have been a key ingredient in Westport’s success.

Students asked about everything from why Wesport decided to focus on natural gas, to how much a patent costs, to how a business acquires financing. One of the most interesting questions was what advice Patric would give to students about the type of career he’d choose given the knowledge he has now.

“Starting a spin-off is challenging, all-consuming, stressful and full of unknowns,” he said. “Working in a start-up can also be the most rewarding and satisfying experience you can have in business.”

The Early Days of Westport: Patric Ouellette (farthest back on the right), Dr. Phil Hill (centre), Alain Touchette, Brad Douville and Mike Baker.