Photo: Roush CleanTech

Hi Pro Inc. will incorporate five Class 6 medium-duty straight box Autogas delivery trucks to its fleet. The company has more than 40 years of service history with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) and currently includes service in the Denver area. The new vehicles are part of a $1 million research pilot project funded through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy.

The project, entitled “Delivering Clean Air in Denver: Propane Trucks and Infrastructure in Mail Delivery Application” will fund the purchase and deployment of the LPG-powered logistics trucks and related infrastructure. Denver Metro Clean Cities Coalition (DMCC), in partnership with DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, will track data and performance measurements of the new trucks. DMCC will also work with the Propane Education & Research Council to provide educational materials using the collected data.

“We are honoured to be selected for this important research project and to reduce emissions in our community,” said Joshua Stoneback, CEO at Hi Pro. “Through this project, we will create a playbook for fleets to also go green with Autogas. In fact, we would like to implement similar low-NOx emission fuel choices across the nation with the assistance of USPS and our partners in this Denver Metro project.”

“Our goal coming out of this project is to demonstrate real-world applications of Autogas as an alternative to diesel-fuelled trucks,” said Bonnie Trowbridge, executive director of the DMCC. “As a state that prioritises sustainability, we’re especially excited to conduct this research in Colorado. This is an opportunity to study the air quality benefits of the ultra-low NOx propane engines and show that Autogas is a viable clean energy source for fleets.”

The Ford trucks will feature an LPG system developed by Roush CleanTech. For the conversion, the company will employ ultra-low NOx engines, which in real-world testing reduced harmful emissions by 96% compared to diesel.

The vehicles and refuelling infrastructure will be delivered and installed later this year. AmeriGas will develop the LPG station to support the new fleet. For more information, please check this link.

28 April 2021