Increasing Demand for Autogas in the US
by Brian Feehan, Vice-President, Propane Educational and Research Council (PERC), USA
The propane industry’s vision for engine fuel markets is to expand autogas’ leading alternative fuel position through the retention, optimization and penetration of existing and new market segments. This is being achieved through a focus on four key market segments (forklift, off-road, fleet and agricultural engines). The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) has adopted a comprehensive approach that includes research & development with a focus on maximizing investments by developing platforms, engines and vehicles that share common engineering characteristics and serve multiple markets.
Over the past few years, the propane industry has invested millions of dollars in developing new off - road applications and vehicles to primarily serve the fleet markets including commercial mowing, on-road medium duty, light duty, passenger car and school bus markets. Accompanying the investments in research and development to build the next generation of off-road equipment and vehicles has been the development of safety & training materials as well as significant demonstration programs to introduce new products directly to the target customers.
Building on the economical and environmental benefits, autogas is well positioned to make an impact in the US markets. Transportation is responsible for releasing staggering levels of toxic emissions to the atmosphere. Worldwide, vehicle emissions contribute nearly 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and at the local level, the motor vehicle is the largest single source of toxic emissions -- in urban areas, accounting for about 50 percent of all air pollution. For these reasons, alternative fuels must not only compete with gasoline and diesel in terms of price, performance and infrastructure – they must also deliver improved emissions to meet ever-increasing clean air standards.
Autogas is one fuel that can provide an immediate, concrete solution to improve air quality especially in urban areas. In terms of air-borne emissions of the principal regulated noxious gases, autogas is among the lowest of all automotive fuels available today. In order to compete with the cumulative investments and established markets for gasoline, diesel fuel and associated engine and vehicle technologies, continued pre-commercial investments in advanced autogas engine research & development have been made by the US propane industry through PERC.
Our research shows that infrastructure remains a critical component of any alternative fuel program and target audiences require constant education on the availability of autogas refueling. In the US (as with most of the world), autogas has one of the most established refueling networks available, with over thousands of publicly accessible stations. In fact, autogas is the only alternative fuel with fueling stations in every state. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program is investing millions of dollars in the development of an additional 250 publicly accessible stations being deployed over the next 18 months. The portability of autogas makes it accessible to every community and the more than 3,500 U.S. propane companies are aggressively supporting the development of the vehicle markets across the country.
PERC’s research & development strategy has evolved throughout its existence to meet industry needs. Today, our innovation process focuses on developing new products and supporting those products through the entire commercialization process. Cost effective and environmentally friendly new products, supported by a robust maintenance regime are key components to autogas’ future growth. Only a few years ago, product availability was one of the biggest challenges facing the U.S. autogas market.
Today, Ford offers a number of gaseous prepped engines packages and partnered with Roush Performance to offer a full line of autogas products from the F-150 through F-350 light/medium duty trucks to the E-150 through E – 450 vans and shuttle buses. We now also have gaseous prepped engines from GM based on their 6.0L engine platforms and partnered with CleanFuel USA to offer a variety of fleet applications. Another target audience in the US has been the school bus markets and through propane industry investments. We now have OEM products offered by Blue Bird Corporation and Collins Bus. In addition, in the off-road segments we now have 12 OEMs offering autogas products for the commercial mowing markets as well as a full line of consumer hand-held lawn and garden products available on propane.
Government support and the extension of tax credits remain a key ingredient to the growth of the US autogas market. Many of federal and state incentives are in currently in place and our sister organization the National Propane Gas Association is actively engaged in the extension of the federal programs.
Building on current success, the propane industry will continue to expand relationships and partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), government agencies, and industry organizations. Through relationships with OEM and aftermarket equipment manufacturers, PERC will continue to develop new technologies, address technical issues and foster better service training programs targeted toward the fleet and off-road market segments.
For more information on the US market and for PERC activities, please go to the PERC website www.propanecouncil.org or contact Brian Feehan directly on brian.feehan@propanecouncil.org
