Money for gas

29 October 2002

Cummins Westport, a joint venture of Cummins and Westport Innovations has won $477,000 in funding to improve heavy-duty vehicle fuel pump and storage technology for liquefied natural gas (LNG) systems.

The financial assistance award was provided by the US Department of Energy's Chicago Operations Office in co-operation with the DOE's Office of Transportation Technology and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

A goal of the one-year program is to develop and demonstrate an integrated fuel tank and pump system for vehicles fuelled with LNG, which must be maintained at temperatures as low as -160 C.

As part of the program, Cummins Westport will develop technology to enable refuelling with LNG at its maximum-density state, to provide the longest possible vehicle range for a given fuel tank size. In addition, new on-board storage technology will eliminate the need for pressurising equipment at LNG refuelling stations.