Tecogen Inc. (Waltham, Mass.) has been awarded a research grant from the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) to aid in its development of Ultera ultra-clean emissions control technology for the propane-powered fork truck market. Although Tecogen has granted rights to Ultera emissions control technology for vehicles to a joint venture affiliate, that agreement specifically excludes fork trucks, which remain the exclusive purview of Tecogen.

Electric fork trucks have been making significant inroads in the industry, in part because of their green image and indoor air-quality benefit. The primary benefit of the Ultera-equipped, ultra-clean propane fork truck will be fuel cell-like emissions and a propane-green brand that offers a robust indoor air-quality advantage without compromising vehicle performance. The project funded by PERC will assess the adaption of Tecogen’s near-zero emissions technology for the fork truck category and demonstrate the technical performance on popular propane fork truck models. Select industry-leading fork truck manufacturers are also participating in the research initiative.

“This grant award is yet another demonstration of Tecogen pushing Ultera into new applications,” said Robert Panora, president and COO and one of the inventors of the Ultera system. “Fork trucks are often used inside large warehouses where indoor air quality is a serious concern. Eliminating pollutants from vehicles operating indoors is important to the fork truck industry and their customers. Ultera has proven incredibly effective at nearly eliminating emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and non-methane hydrocarbons for a variety of engines. We are optimistic about the potential to produce similarly compelling results for propane fork trucks.”

A provider of cost-efficient, clean, and reliable products for power production, heating, and cooling which, through patented technology, nearly eliminate criteria pollutants and significantly reduce a customer’s carbon footprint, Tecogen’s Ultera emissions control technology was first developed for the gas-powered stationary engine market. More recently, the technology has been adapted for other applications, including biogas-powered engines. It is being studied for other mobile engine categories, including the gasoline automotive market. The company continues to actively pursue development of Ultera emissions control technology in other engine categories such as fork trucks and standby generators for the benefit of its shareholders.