Changes by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to its alternative fuel conversion regulations have opened the door for GreenMan Technologies’ American Power Group (APG) to being selling its dual-fuel vehicle system in the U.S. this year, the company said.
According to GreenMan, the EPA’s policy overview states that “it is appropriate to treat conversions differently based on the age of the vehicle or engine being converted. … All conversion manufacturers seeking exemption must demonstrate compliance, but the requirements differ among age categories. The new options will reduce some economical and procedural impediments to clean alternative fuel conversions while maintaining environmental safeguards to ensure that acceptable emission levels from converted vehicles and engines are being sustained. EPA expects the streamlined approach to result in cost savings for many converters.”
APG’s dual-fuel system displaces 40-70% of normal diesel fuel with compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, well-head gas, or bio-methane, to power a vehicle. The result is a 30-40% reduction in operating costs, APG said.
The company said the installation of the system extends vehicle life and is non-invasive to the OEM engine. The engine will continue to operate within all OEM performance standards and can return to 100% diesel-power at any time.
“During this past year, we have conducted successful vehicular test trial installations in Australia, India, Pakistan, and Africa,” said Lyle Jensen, GreenMan president & CEO. “We now have the ability to prove here in the United States the positive economic and environmental impact that our dual fuel system can have on aftermarket diesel vehicles operating on U.S. highways. With APG’s primary focus on aftermarket conversions of vehicular and stationary diesel engines, we believe that these new regulations will have a profound impact on our ability to commercialize fully our V-3000 vehicular dual-fuel system in the United States.”
