Friday, March 13, 2015
The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), meeting via conference call Feb. 19, approved $600,000 in funding to pursue emissions certification for a direct-injection engine. Approval of Docket 20016, JTGhp High Pressure Liquid Propane Direct Injection System, is aimed at moving Icom North America’s (New Hudson, Mich.) direct-injection, on-road vehicle fuel system replacement through Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board emissions certification processes. The vehicle models featuring the Ford 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine are the F-150 pickup truck and Taurus sedan.
“Vehicle OEMs are moving to direct-injection technology due to the improvements it provides for horsepower, emissions, and fuel economy,” explained Tucker Perkins, chief business development officer at PERC. “Direct-injection engines fueled by propane autogas offer all of those benefits for performance and emissions, while providing the operator with a lower operating cost. Engine designers will find that propane autogas enhances the benefits of direct-injection technology; users will see the financial benefits; and the technology will eventually migrate to a host of applications, both on-road and off-road. This is one more step forward in technology being applied to showcase the benefits of using a clean American energy like propane.”
In other business, the council heard a research report that showed consumer perceptions of propane improved in areas where the PERC Consumer Safety Preparedness Campaign ran last year. For details, visit propanecouncil.org to watch a video, view a PowerPoint presentation, and read a report by the research firm that carried out before and after surveys of users and prospective users of propane.
Finally, PERC approved the following funding requests: Docket 20360, $416,000, Professional and Support Services; Docket 20373, $198,200, Dispensing Propane Safely Program, Third Edition; Docket 20446, $50,000, Carbon Management Information Center Consortium 2015. Rebates approved included Docket 20315, $13,000, WPERC GREET Model and Low Carbon Fuel Standard Analysis; Docket 20326, $10,000, Vermont Hazmat Trailer; Docket 20491, $2506.46, Travel Reimbursement for PERC and Industry Meetings. The council will meet next in Atlanta April 10, the day before the National Propane Gas Association’s Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo opens.
“Vehicle OEMs are moving to direct-injection technology due to the improvements it provides for horsepower, emissions, and fuel economy,” explained Tucker Perkins, chief business development officer at PERC. “Direct-injection engines fueled by propane autogas offer all of those benefits for performance and emissions, while providing the operator with a lower operating cost. Engine designers will find that propane autogas enhances the benefits of direct-injection technology; users will see the financial benefits; and the technology will eventually migrate to a host of applications, both on-road and off-road. This is one more step forward in technology being applied to showcase the benefits of using a clean American energy like propane.”
In other business, the council heard a research report that showed consumer perceptions of propane improved in areas where the PERC Consumer Safety Preparedness Campaign ran last year. For details, visit propanecouncil.org to watch a video, view a PowerPoint presentation, and read a report by the research firm that carried out before and after surveys of users and prospective users of propane.
Finally, PERC approved the following funding requests: Docket 20360, $416,000, Professional and Support Services; Docket 20373, $198,200, Dispensing Propane Safely Program, Third Edition; Docket 20446, $50,000, Carbon Management Information Center Consortium 2015. Rebates approved included Docket 20315, $13,000, WPERC GREET Model and Low Carbon Fuel Standard Analysis; Docket 20326, $10,000, Vermont Hazmat Trailer; Docket 20491, $2506.46, Travel Reimbursement for PERC and Industry Meetings. The council will meet next in Atlanta April 10, the day before the National Propane Gas Association’s Southeastern Convention & International Propane Expo opens.
