VANCOUVER, (Feb. 10, 2005) — Cummins Westport announced its venture to commercialize an engine for medium-duty, refuse and urban transit truck markets in line with 2010 EPA rules in three years ahead of the deadline.

Cummins Westport — a joint venture between Cummins and Westport Innovations to design and manufacture alternative fuel engines — has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory to release such an engine in 2007.

The natural gas engine will comply with 2010 targets without the need for expensive aftertreatment systems, and the engine is also expected to have improved thermal efficiency and power density relative to current natural gas engines.

Cummins Westport and NREL are funding the project under a cost-sharing contractual agreement, with NREL contributing an initial $600,000 for the first year of work that will commence immediately.

The project builds on a previous Next Generation Natural Gas Vehicle (NGNGV) award that Cummins received to develop and demonstrate advanced natural gas engine technologies.

The EPA currently regulates four major pollutants for heavy-duty applications: oxides of nitrogen (NOx), one of the main precursors to ozone, particulate matter (PM), non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC) and carbon monoxide (CO).

In 2007, when new standards for NOx and PM are introduced, Cummins Westport’s advanced natural gas engine will meet the 2010 NOx standards (0.2 grams/brake-horsepower hour), which are 83 per cent lower than the 2007 phase, the company says.

As with Cummins Westport’s existing spark-ignited natural gas engines, PM emissions for the new engine will be at or below 2010 levels without a particulate trap. Greenhouse gas emissions are expected to be at least 17 per cent lower than the cleanest diesel engine available. Carbon monoxide and NMHC emissions are anticipated to be at or below the 2010 standard, according to the company.