American Power Group Corporation (OTCQB: APGI) recently announced that domestic vehicular revenues for the three months ending March 31, 2014 increased $272,000 or 312% to $359,000. The company noted that this is an indication of “continued growth in the early-adopter customer phase” for dual-fuel natural gas conversion of diesel engines, adding that over 200 vehicular dual-fuel conversion systems have been shipped in North America since 2012.
Entering Q3, the company reported a backlog of more than $600,000 with nearly 80% relating to vehicular dual-fuel conversions.
American Power Group’s alternative energy subsidiary, American Power Group, Inc. (APG) provides a patented, turbocharged, natural gas conversion technology for vehicular, stationary and off-road mobile diesel engines. The company’s dual-fuel technology converts existing diesel engines into engines that have the flexibility to run on: (1) diesel fuel and liquefied natural gas; (2) diesel fuel and compressed natural gas; (3) diesel fuel and pipeline or well-head gas; and (4) diesel fuel and bio-methane, with the flexibility to return to 100% diesel fuel operation at any time. Installation on a wide variety of engine models and end-market applications require no engine modifications.
“APG has emerged as the dual-fuel market leader with the most EPA engine model approvals by a factor of 30X [some 453 engine family approvals for 2009 engines and older], an extensive and capable installation network, and flexible financing programs,” noted Lyle Jensen, APG’s CEO. “These attributes will allow fleets of all sizes to realize immediate fuel savings by converting their existing fleets to APG’s dual-fuel system or purchasing a new APG Dual Fuel Glider.
“Since January, our WheelTime Dealer/Installer Network members have been adding three to four new early-adopter, dual-fuel customers per month and several have begun to order or request quotes for follow-on production quantities of ten to fifty trucks,” Jensen said. “This acceleration in dual-fuel adoption is expected to lead to a long and steady growth opportunity as fleets find a growing number of accessible on-route CNG and LNG filling stations to make natural gas fuel fueling as hassle free as diesel fuel is today.”
APG recently displayed a 2014 Freightliner Columbia day cab APG Dual Fuel Glider with a rebuilt Detroit Diesel Series 60 12.7L engine at the Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo held in Long Beach, CA.
Jensen, who spoke during ACT Expo, noted that APG’s dual-fuel conversions can cost “much, much less” than purchasing a new, dedicated natural gas vehicle and remanufactured older diesel engines don’t require particulate filters or DEF dosing systems either. What is more, since the engine is not actually modified, it can be changed back to diesel-only operation, offering current or subsequent owners freedom of choice.
“As the heavy-duty trucking industry looks for every penny of fuel cost savings, the 2014 ACT Expo [provided] us a tremendous opportunity and platform to educate prospective fleets on the economic and environmental benefits of using APG’s dual-fuel solutions as an effective alternative to 100% diesel without any loss of power or torque,” Jensen observed.
“The North American shale gas boom has generated retail natural gas fuel prices that are 30 to 50 percent lower than the equivalent cost of diesel,” he added. “Switching to lower-cost, domestically produced natural gas will lower America’s dependence on imported foreign oil and provide fleet operators a better hedge against future [diesel] fuel price fluctuations.”
