RMIT’s CLiMA team design a Bio-LNG answer for aviation

A team of Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) aerospace engineering students is headed to France after making it to the final five of an international Airbus competition. The Cryogenic Liquid Methane Aircraft (CLiMA) team is one of five finalists selected by experienced Airbus engineers from more than 618 submissions in the 2013 Fly Your Ideas global university challenge. The UNESCO-backed competition encourages students to develop ideas for a more sustainable aviation industry.

Team CLiMA will be flown to Toulouse to present their projects to a panel of Airbus and industry experts on 12 June, alongside the other finalists from Brazil, India, Italy and Malaysia.

The team of aerospace engineering students – Luke Spiteri, Mark Spiteri, Martin Burston, Katherine Grigoriou and James Herringer – delivered a proposal for the development of aircraft fuelled by a blend of sustainably-produced liquefied biomethane and liquefied natural gas. The Bio-LNG will be stored in wing-mounted tanks insulated to preserve the cryogenic-induced liquid state.

The approach addresses the high economic cost of current jet fuel, with LNG generally being about 20% of the cost, while also producing fewer emissions. According to a European Commission Climate Action report, direct emissions from aviation account for about 3% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions and about 13% of transport emissions globally. The large majority of these emissions comes from international flights.

The amount of CO2 emissions from aviation is expected to grow around 3-4 per cent per year. By 2020, global international aviation emissions are projected to be around 70% higher than in 2005 even if fuel efficiency improves by 2% per year. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) forecasts that by 2050 they could grow by a further 300-700% (source).

“This recognition is a testament to the great value of the project-based approach to engineering education of the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and the industry-ready students that we produce,” said Professor Aleksandar Subic, Dean of the School. “A special note of congratulations to Graham Dorrington, CLiMA’s academic supervisor, who was vital in helping develop their innovative project submission,” he added.

The team’s academic supervisor, Dr Graham Dorrington, said “Airbus can find no fault with the concept and technically we think it can be done.”

The first prize team will win $40,000 and the right to host an innovation week on their university campus run by Airbus experts. The runner-up will receive $20,000. Altogether, approximately $58,000 in prize money has been put up by Airbus.

Winners will be announced in Paris on 14 June, at a ceremony at UNESCO’s headquarters.

A second RMIT team, Affordable Liquid Methane Aircraft (ALMA), was selected for the final round of the Fly Your Ideas 2013 Video Competition. Members of the public can vote for their favourite video online until 3 June, with the winner picked from one of the final five video entries.

Luke Spiteri said the CLiMA and ALMA proposals could help catalyse a major aviation transformation in which conventional jet fuel would be replaced by much cheaper liquid methane.

(Primary source: RMIT)

Kenworth T800 short hood (left) & T660 are offered with the ISX12 G HD natural gas engine.

Dillon Transport, provider of temperature sensitive transportation services in the USA, will add 25 Kenworth T800 short hood day cabs powered by the new Cummins Westport ISX12 G heavy duty natural gas engine to its 450+ truck fleet starting this summer. “We’re excited to expand our leadership in natural gas trucks by becoming among the first Kenworth customers to select the Cummins Westport ISX12 G engine,” said Jeff Dillon, president and owner of Dillon Transport.

“The Kenworth T800 is a high quality, rugged and reliable truck that fits well into our green initiatives,” Dillon added.

Dillon Transport plans to operate the 25 T800 tractors from its Dallas, Texas, terminal to haul asphalt, sand and other raw bulk products. The trucks are specified with both a 72- and a 150-gallon LNG (liquefied natural gas) tank to provide a range of approximately 650 miles. The trucks are expected to make two 600-mile round trips per day in a driver slip-seat operation. LNG refueling will typically be done twice a day at the Clean Energy station located at Dillon Transport’s Dallas terminal.

“The new ISX12 G offers an excellent natural gas option for those regional, refuse and pickup and delivery applications that need a little more power and torque than the 8.9-liter Cummins Westport ISL G,” said Andy Douglas, Kenworth national sales manager for specialty markets.

The Cummins Westport ISX12 G engine requires a single fuel source and can run on either LNG or CNG (compressed natural gas), both of which are cost effective, low carbon, and low emissions fuels. The natural gas engine uses a maintenance-free, three-way catalyst and does not require a diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) tank, diesel particulate filter (DPF) or selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology. Kenworth offers the ISX12 G in ratings to 400-hp and 1,450 ft-lb. torque.

Kenworth, a PACCAR company, offers the ISX12 G for the Kenworth T660, T800 short hood (116.5-inch BBC) and W900S. Also available for heavier applications is Kenworth’s T800 standard hood (122.5-inch BBC) with the Westport™ 15L HPDI technology natural gas engine.

With more natural gas fueling facilities opening across the United States and Canada, and more North American production coming on line in the months and years to come, Douglas expects natural gas to become an even more readily accessible fuel.

“With the right spec’ing choices, many operators have the potential to realize significant reductions in fuel costs and emissions, particularly if they’re replacing older diesel trucks with new Kenworth trucks powered by natural gas,” he said.

(Source: Kenworth)

A currently operating STQ ferry on the Tadoussec – Baie-Sainte-Catherine crossing.

The Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) — the Society of Quebec Ferries — had concluded an agreement to build two dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships with shipbuilder Chantier Davie Canada Inc. (Davie). The Ro-Pax ferries, built at a total cost of approx $125 million, will operate on the St. Lawrence River on the Tadoussac-Baie-Sainte-Catherine route and shall enter service in 2015.

At 92 m long, each vessel will have over 625 lane meters across two decks, allowing the transport of over 115 vehicles and 10 heavy goods vehicles. Construction is expected to begin in late 2013.

“This project has been a long time in the planning and we are very excited to now begin construction,” said Alan Bowen, CEO of Davie. “The dual-fuel LNG engines are a perfect fit with Davie’s specialization in advanced propulsion and vessel maneuvering systems. The ferries will provide an environmentally friendly solution for the province of Quebec for many years to come.”

Mr. Georges Farrah, President and CEO of the STQ, said: “We at STQ are happy to go ahead with the construction of the two ships incorporating avante-garde technological and environmental choices, thus positioning ourselves as the leader in green technologies operating ferry in North America.”

Québecian natural gas distribution company Gaz Métro Transport Solutions, LP (GMTS) recently updated it’s LNG development plan to include planning and implementation of initiatives designed to develop LNG-powered road and marine fleets.

(Sources: Chantier Davie Canada Inc., Société des traversiers du Québec)

NGVA Europe explains the publication is intended as a source of quick reference for decision makers and authorities from municipal to national level.

Methane gas is either fossil ‘natural gas’ or ‘biomethane’ produced from renewable resources. Both gases can be used in existing internal combustion engines with no limitation to blending thanks to the same molecular composition.

Biomethane is cleaned, upgraded and conditioned biogas derived from anaerobic digestion of organic waste, industrial waste as well as purposefully grown energy crops. The upgrading process includes gas pre-treatment (gas drying, removal of contaminants) and CO2 removal. For all steps proven technology is available.

NGVA Europe says that the full potential of biomethane has yet top be realised but it is becoming more important on the political agenda and as a business opportunity in various EU Member States due to its numerous advantages. NGVA Europe believes that biomethane could become one of the main pillars to reach the mandatory 2020 target of 10% renewable in transport due to its huge production potential, the non-existent blending limitation with fossil NG and its associated GHG emission benefits.

The GreenGasGrids publication can be found by clicking here (pdf file).

(Source: NGVA Europe

An event of NGVA Europe, NGV2013 Gothenburg will feature key issues-related workshops and an exhibition where NGV-related companies from all over the world will present and promote their latest products and services. The event is hosted by Energigas Sverige (Swedish Gas Association), under Volvo Gold Sponsorship and organized by NGV Communications Group. “L-CNG, Bio & Natural gas: The fuel alternative for all transport modes” is the theme of this 4th NGVA Europe International Show & Workshops.

“Sweden and Gothenburg is a green showcase for the transport sector’s future environmental solutions,” says Anders Mathiasson, CEO of Energigas Sweden. For three days, attendees will meet to discuss and raise questions about the transport sector’s environmental conversion, gas role in reducing climate and environment and how it can help to improve urban air quality.

There will be a program of five workshops dealing with issues key to the industry: Successful Policies, Vehicles and Vessels, Customer Experiences, Fuel Infrastructure, and European programmes – the latter including GreenGasGrids, LNG Blue Corridors, Green Cranes, Blue Change, BioWalk4Biofuels, etc., which are European Programs dealing with the introduction and development of natural gas as an automotive fuel in different types of use.

“There is a lot of interest around the world to take note of what is happening here in the region, ranging from investments in gas-powered vehicles to the new terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Gothenburg and GoBiGas leading biogas production on an industrial scale,” says Anders Mathiasson.

Currently only 0.4 percent of vehicles in Europe use natural gas. Energigas Sweden says that according to industry estimates it is estimated that this figure will increase to 5 percent in 2020, equivalent to 17 million cars.

At present, Sweden has the highest percentage of renewable energy in the EU (over 47 per cent). By 2020, at least half of the country’s energy should be renewable, a target the Government says is within reach. “Emissions from the heavy traffic and shipping increases. This conference is important to show what the industry does and how CNG and LNG can help reduce the climate and environmental impact. Sweden is a small gasland, but we are leading in the latest environmental technology,” says Anders Mathiasson.

The event will be held at the Swedish Exhibition Centre in Gothenburg on 11-13 June 2013 and the exhibition is free to visitors and the media. More information is available from www.ngv2013gothenburg.com.

Prime Minister Medvedev (right) meets with vice-premiers to discuss natural gas fuel implementation.

50% conversion planned for cities with population over 1 million

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev on 13th May signed a decree prepared by the Ministry of Energy of Russia that will change the face of transportation in his country. The decree includes an order to “develop a set of legal, economic and organizational measures of the state to support the production, release into circulation and trafficking in motor vehicles and agricultural equipment to natural gas, creating traffic fueling and service infrastructure, statistical systems and technical regulation for natural gas as a motor fuel”.

The Ministries of Industry, Regional Development, Transport and Energy of Russia are charged with the task of submitting to the Government by 1 January 2014 a set of measures aimed at creating the conditions in the Russian Federation to achieve the following targets for natural gas as a fuel for road transport, public transport and road utility:

• In cities with populations of more than 1 million people – up to 50% of the total number of pieces of equipment;
• In cities with a population of over 300 thousand people – up to 30%;
• In cities and towns with a population of over 100 thousand people – up to 10%.

Implementation to these levels is proposed for completion by 2020.

The document envisages harmonization of Russian legislation in the field of standardization with the relevant international instruments in the field of the use of natural gas as a motor fuel, as well as promoting the use of natural gas as a motor fuel due to tax benefits of customs and tariff regulation and subsidies.

Included in the decree is a recommendation to the Government to reduce the tax rates for vehicles that use natural gas as a motor fuel, from January 1, 2014 through to 2020. According to Government transcripts of the meeting, Medvedev also suggested there may be a need to reduce the rate of customs duty on the components that are necessary for the production of natural gas vehicles (NGVs).

Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich explained the decree includes compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquified petroleum gas (LPG) fuels.

On May 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin subsequently held a meeting devoted to the prospects of natural gas vehicles in Russia. The President discussed opportunities and bottlenecks on the way to successful implementation of this NGV strategy and instructed the government to speed up the preparation of the legal framework in this area.

Conversion of transport to natural gas will save Russia’s economy almost 90 billion rubles (USD 2.86 billion) per year, was the assessment was made by Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom Viktor Zubkov at the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The President’s Special Representative for Cooperation with Countries Forum – Gas Exporting Viktor Zubkov noted the cost of fuel gas is several times cheaper gasoline. Breaking down the fuel savings, Zubkov estimates the introduction of the natural gas to the passenger sector can save up to 49 billion rubles, the freight sector – 34 billion rubles, and agriculture – 6 billion.

NGVRUS, the National Gas Vehicle Association of Russia, describes the decision of the Russian leadership as revolutionary. A systematic, integrated approach to the implementation of the decision of the Government will not only improve the environmental situation in the cities and curb the rise in the price of public transport services, but also contribute to the restoration of Russian production of natural gas vehicles, compressor equipment, cryogenic technology, pressure vessels, gas engines and equipment. It will be a key success factor is the development of gas-filling network and stimulate domestic and foreign investment in the development of NGV market in Russia, which will create new industries and jobs, increase tax revenues, stimulate research and development, the Association says.

Alicia Milner (Canada), Chair of the Board of Directors and Diego Goldin (Argentina), Executive Director of NGV Global say “Congratulations!”

OJSC Rosneft and  LLC Volkswagen Group Russia

The agreement, signed by Rosneft President Igor Sechin and General Director of LLC Volkswagen Group Russia Markus Osegowitsch, envisages the development of CNG filling infrastructure, equipment of Rosneft filling stations with facilities to provide CNG sales, as well as bringing to the market CNG-powered vehicles of Volkswagen, Audi, ŠKODA and VW Commercial Vehicles.

The parties also intend to develop service infrastructure for CNG-powered vehicles, supply special equipment to service stations and train personnel.

Both companies are partners of the 2014 XXII Olympic and XI Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi and attach special importance to promoting CNG as economic and environmentally friendly fuel.

OJSC Rosneft and OJSC KAMAZ

These companies intend to conduct joint research and development in order to build wheeled vehicles with gas-powered engines and develop necessary infrastructure of filling stations and service centers. Besides, they plan to produce and put vehicles, special and farm machinery to CNG and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), which will be used as a new motor fuel.

Similar to the VW agreement, there is provision for training and professional development of engineer and technical staff, mechanics and drivers in operation, maintenance and repairs of gas-powered vehicles and machinery.

The parties will create a steering group to develop coordinated approaches toward implementation of top priority pilot and prospective projects.

(Source: Rosneft)

The document defines the key areas of cooperation in the specified sector within Vietnam. In particular, the Memorandum stipulates that efforts will be taken to convert Ho Chi Minh public transport to natural gas. A joint Russian-Vietnamese venture will be established as part of the project.

“Gazprom and Petrovietnam have a history of long-lasting successful cooperation in natural gas prospecting and exploration. By signing the Memorandum of Cooperation in natural gas use as a motor fuel our companies expand the energy cooperation between Russia and Vietnam. We see a high potential of the business expansion both domestically and internationally, and we believe Vietnam to be a promising market for stepping up NGV projects,” said Vitaly Markelov.

(Source: Gazprom)

The Ford C-Max CNG follows the launch of the Ford Focus CNG in November last year. The C-Max with CNG technology (Compressed Natural Gas) is based on the Ford C-Max; it has a 1.6L engine producing 78 kW/107 hk at 6655 rpm (120hp) and 126 Nm@4270 rpm. After conversion, the bi-fuel engine can run on both petrol and gas, providing refueling flexibility in areas where natural gas infrastructure has yet to reach.

“With C-Max CNG, we can now offer a green car for customers who value convenience, high-mounted seats, versatility and a compact format,” says Anna Müller, CEO of Ford Sweden.

Conversion to gas means technically that the gas is stored in three 26 litre specially designed tanks made of composite material under the floor of the luggage compartment. This composite material is lightweight and very high security. The standard fuel tank is left completely untouched. Thus, the total range of petrol and gas very long, averaging (urban/rural) 6.9 m3 per 100 kms.

Development and conversion to gas is a Swedish project, implemented by BRC in Trollhättan Sweden AB. “That Ford allowed us to develop and convert another model in its portfolio is again a good proof of the quality we offer when Ford has very high standards of both installation and components,” says Dennis Staaf, CEO of BRC Sweden AB. (BRC Sweden is an independent supplier of Italian-based BRC’s products.)

Available now, the price of the C-Max Trend 1.6 CNG starts at SEK 245,771 (USD 36850).

(Source: Ford Sweden)

Ron Finemore Transport refuelling at the Wodonga LNG station

Kleenheat Gas’ EVOL LNG and the Government of the Australian State of Victoria have opened the first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) refuelling station in Wodonga, 300 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, as part of a joint commitment to increasing LNG availability in regional Victoria. Speaking at the Caltex Truck Stop in Wodonga, Minister for Regional and Rural Development Peter Ryan said the USD/AUD 8.3 million project would include construction of five LNG refuelling sites across Victoria, and the purchase of two LNG fuelled heavy-duty vehicles and tankers for distribution to refuelling sites.

“Increasing the availability of LNG in Victoria with the necessary refuelling infrastructure, means there is now certainty for future users of this emerging alternative transport fuel,” Ryan said. EVOL LNG concurs, saying increased demand will lead to increased access to LNG for the heavy-duty transport sector, and support further investment in LNG vehicles and refuelling infrastructure.

Speaking at the official opening of the station on May 13th, EVOL LNG Business Manager, Nick Rea said that the completion of the Wodonga refuelling station, was only possible thanks to an agreement between EVOL LNG and the Victorian Government, including a grant from Regional Development Victoria (RDV) towards the project.

“We’re delighted to be working with the Victorian Government to provide a reliable network of LNG refuelling stations to support the growing use of LNG as a diesel-fuel alternative,” Mr Rea said.

“Over time, the use of LNG as a transport fuel has become a more attractive option due to reduced particulate, CO2 and nitrogen oxide emissions compared with traditional transport fuels. LNG is also a lower cost fuel in comparison to diesel.”

“The introduction of our after-market V5000HD dual-fuel conversion technology in July last year has also increased the viability of LNG as a fuel of choice for the heavy-vehicle industry by providing a flexible, reliable and affordable engine conversion technology that allows heavy-vehicles to operate on both diesel and LNG, with no loss of power.”

EVOL LNG provides liquefied natural gas to the heavy-duty vehicle, industrial heating and remote power generation markets in Australia, and is part of Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers, one of eight divisions of Wesfarmers Limited.

(Source: Government of Victoria and EVOL LNG)