G-Volution: Why two fuels are better than one
As fuel tanker drivers in the UK prepare to again highlight the economy’s reliance on oil by taking strike action, a British firm is preparing to demonstrate to US investors how an innovative new “multi-fuel technology” promises to curb demand for diesel, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and accelerate the transition towards greener fuels.
Newport-based G-Volution is this week taking part in the Clean and Cool trade mission to San Francisco with a view to demonstrating the advantages of a system that allows heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) to operate a diesel engine using a mixture of two different fuels that are combusted simultaneously.
“We are a transitional technology that helps to enable the introduction of greener fuels into the supply chain,” company managing director Chris Smith told BusinessGreen. “Our current system uses diesel as the primary fuel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as the secondary fuel, but there is the potential to mix more green fuels, such as liquefied natural gas, bio-ethanol, bio-butanol, methanol or hydrogen.”
The technology, known as the G-Volution Optimiser, uses a patented electronic control unit to work out how much diesel to release at any point in time, allowing the optimum mix with the secondary fuel released from a separate tank.
According to Smith, the current diesel-LPG system delivers fuel savings for a typical HGV of between 10 and 15 per cent and carbon savings of between six to eight per cent. “With fuel prices as they are retrofitting the system to an HGV can deliver a payback period within 12 to 18 months,” he added.
The technology can be retrofitted to existing vehicles, but significantly Smith is in talks with two unnamed HGV manufacturers about installing the technology in some of their models.
In 2008 the company won funding through the Shell Springboard competition, and with pressure mounting on hauliers to reduce their fuel costs and carbon emissions Smith is confident the company can complete a new funding round of around $2m by the end of the year.
He added that $1m of funding had already been identified and the company planned to use the latest investment round to fund expansion and the further development of dual fuel systems that use a different mix of fuels.
In particular, the company is keen to attract investors and potential partners from the US, which represents both the world’s largest haulage market and an extensive investor in alternative fuels such as bio-ethanol and natural gas vehicles.
Newport-based G-Volution is this week taking part in the Clean and Cool trade mission to San Francisco with a view to demonstrating the advantages of a system that allows heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) to operate a diesel engine using a mixture of two different fuels that are combusted simultaneously.
“We are a transitional technology that helps to enable the introduction of greener fuels into the supply chain,” company managing director Chris Smith told BusinessGreen. “Our current system uses diesel as the primary fuel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as the secondary fuel, but there is the potential to mix more green fuels, such as liquefied natural gas, bio-ethanol, bio-butanol, methanol or hydrogen.”
The technology, known as the G-Volution Optimiser, uses a patented electronic control unit to work out how much diesel to release at any point in time, allowing the optimum mix with the secondary fuel released from a separate tank.
According to Smith, the current diesel-LPG system delivers fuel savings for a typical HGV of between 10 and 15 per cent and carbon savings of between six to eight per cent. “With fuel prices as they are retrofitting the system to an HGV can deliver a payback period within 12 to 18 months,” he added.
The technology can be retrofitted to existing vehicles, but significantly Smith is in talks with two unnamed HGV manufacturers about installing the technology in some of their models.
In 2008 the company won funding through the Shell Springboard competition, and with pressure mounting on hauliers to reduce their fuel costs and carbon emissions Smith is confident the company can complete a new funding round of around $2m by the end of the year.
He added that $1m of funding had already been identified and the company planned to use the latest investment round to fund expansion and the further development of dual fuel systems that use a different mix of fuels.
In particular, the company is keen to attract investors and potential partners from the US, which represents both the world’s largest haulage market and an extensive investor in alternative fuels such as bio-ethanol and natural gas vehicles.
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