 Tecogen's LPG treatment system |
Clean energy company Tecogen is anticipating strong demand for its LPG treatment system after releasing test results at the 2018 World LPG Forum in Houston, Texas.
Robert Panora, Tecogen's president and COO, shared the results of his company's tests conducted using an LPG forklift supplied by Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift America.
He noted that Ultera Technology can virtually eliminate NOx emissions and improve air quality with low CO2 exposure.
"We anticipate strong interest in our work from the LPG industry given the increasing market attention to air quality, which includes, in this case, indoor spaces. We believe retrofitting LPG forklifts to achieve near-zero emissions is essential for reversing market loss to the battery-powered forklifts, largely because of the air quality issue."
The next phase of the project will consist of testing with modified tuning of the Mitsubishi engine to enhance Tecogen's Ultera process. This final development step is required to achieve the program goal of a commercially available, near-zero emissions forklift truck fuelled by propane.
Tecogen also plans to partner with OEMs for CARB certification and to reach out to CARB for end-user incentives. The company will also develop retrofit kits for a range of engine sizes.
"LPG-powered forklifts are the mainstay of warehousing and manufacturing due to the flexibility, cost-effectiveness and power density of LPG," notes Benjamin Locke, Tecogen's CEO. "Integrating the Tecogen Ultera emissions system to allow near-zero emissions designation, either via retrofit or new production, will allow continued use of LPG forklifts while alleviating concerns over air quality."
The World LPG Forum is the premier annual global event for the LPG industry organised by the WLPGA.