Clean Power Technologies Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding with trans-Canadian freight trucking firm East West Express Inc. Under the MOU’s terms, East West will provide Clean Power with a Road Load Data Collection Vehicle for research on its refrigerated trailer fleet.
Both companies are trying to make the East West truck fleet more energy-efficient by installing Clean Power’s Clean Energy Storage and Recovery (CESAR) system. This system takes otherwise wasted heat from a conventional combustion engine’s exhaust and modifies it via a heat recovery system to generate clean steam power for motive and auxiliary power.
Research using the vehicle is a key step toward understanding operational and environmental performance parameters of cooling units used in East West’s fleet. From this data, Clean Power will refine the design and packaging of its exhaust heat capture, accumulator, and steam engine.
The CESAR system requires no separate fuel source, no high-maintenance components, and no major scientific or infrastructural step-changes (such as hydrogen for fuel cells). Proposed for East West is a dual system unit that will operate when the truck is running with the refrigeration trailer attached, and when the trailer is in stand-alone mode.
Testing on the CESAR process began in October 2007, with initial results showing a 40% improvement in fuel efficiency.
The CESAR system can be used to power auxiliary truck systems, such as trailer refrigeration and cab cooling or heating, in regulatory "no idle" and "quiet" zones.
Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, East West Express mainly transports refrigerated food products across Canada. Established in 1997 with seven trucks, it now has a fleet of 45 highway trucks, 20 city trucks, and 100 refrigerated trailers.
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