UPS to use biomethane for Memphis and Jackson alternative fuel fleet

UPS will supply its fleet in Memphis, Tenn., and Jackson, Miss., with an estimated 15 million diesel gallon gas equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG)—biomethane—as part of a multi-year agreement with Memphis Light, Gas and Water and Atmos Energy Marketing, LLC.

Atmos will secure landfill gas and provide it to MLGW for conversion to LNG, which will be delivered to the UPS facility by tractor-trailer. The deal is part of an initiative announced earlier this year by UPS to significantly expand its use of renewable natural gas in UPS’s alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet. The company has a goal of driving one billion miles with its alternative fuels fleet—known as the Rolling Laboratory—by the end of 2017.

UPS operates one of the most diversified fleets in private industry today, and renewable natural gas is a critical part of our strategy to expand our fuel sources and minimize the environmental impact associated with growing customer demand. We are using methane that otherwise would be released into the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas emission and converting it to power our trucks while helping to promote the use of this renewable fuel in transportation.

—Mark Wallace, UPS senior vice president global engineering and sustainability

The RNG will fuel more than 140 heavy duty trucks in Memphis and Jackson, part of UPS’s natural gas fleet, which includes more than 3,800 medium and heavy duty vehicles worldwide. RNG can be derived from many abundant and renewable sources, including decomposing organic waste in landfills, wastewater treatment and agriculture. It is then distributed through the natural gas pipeline system, making it available for use as liquefied natural gas (LNG) or compressed natural gas (CNG).

In addition to natural gas, UPS also uses many other alternative fuels in the UPS fleet, including propane, ethanol, renewable diesel, and electricity. In 2014, 5.4% of total gas and diesel purchased was displaced by using these alternative fuels.

UPS operates one of the largest private alternative fuel and advanced technology fleets in the US. Its fleet includes more than 6,340 all-electric, hybrid electric, hydraulic hybrid, CNG, LNG, propane and light-weight fuel-saving composite body vehicles.

UPS was one of the initial 13 leading companies to take the Obama Administration’s American Business Act on Climate Pledge, committing to reduce greenhouse gas emission intensity 20% by 2020.

Ryder to fuel natural gas fleets in California with 100% biomethane from Clean Energy Fuels

Ryder System, Inc. and Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced an agreement for Ryder to switch the fuel at their stations in Orange and Fontana, CA, to Clean Energy’s Redeem renewable natural gas (RNG)—i.e., biomethane. The fuel at the two stations will be available in both compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to individual and public fleet vehicles.

Clean Energy’s renewable natural gas vehicle fuel is derived from biogenic methane or biogas—methane that is naturally generated by the decomposition of organic waste. The methane gas is then processed, purified and sent into the interstate natural gas pipeline and made available exclusively to Clean Energy customers.

Clean Energy Fuels has filed nine separate application packages overs the past few years with the California Air Resources Board (ARB) for pathways under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program.

According to the packages, the carbon intensity (CI) of the various types of biomethane fuel (CNG, L-CNG and LNG) ranges from a low of 13.29 gCO₂e/MJ for a landfill gas to CNG pathway to 45.95 gCO₂e/MJ for a L-CNG pathway. CI values vary depending upon the location and energy sources used for processing.

ARB’s base CI for North American natural gas delivered via pipeline (and compressed in California) is 68.00 gCO₂e/MJ. The 2014 baseline CIs for gasoline and diesel are 96.48 and 95.58 gCO₂e/MJ, respectively.

By making the switch to Redeem, Ryder is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 6,300 metric tons per year using current fuel volumes. This would be the equivalent of removing approximately 1,319 passenger cars from the road annually.

As part of the fuel agreement, Clean Energy also will be providing fuel station maintenance services at Ryder’s natural gas fueling stations in Fontana and Orange, CA. Ryder has a history of innovation and customer service and is the first and only truck leasing and logistics company to have on-site CNG and LNG fuels available to the public. Ryder selected Clean Energy for its experience maintaining its own network of public access stations as well the “behind the fence” fueling operations at more than 34 customer stations.

Ryder is a leader in natural gas vehicle solutions for the commercial transportation industry, with more than 40 million miles of experience, 18 strategic natural gas vehicle maintenance markets, and more than 4,000 natural gas vehicle trained personnel. Ryder has been the pioneer in transitioning their fleets to cleaner fuels and today operates both CNG and LNG vehicles supported by 34 Clean Energy locations.

Redeem biomethane vehicle fuel is procured from more than 15 biomethane production facilities, including two owned and operated by Clean Energy. Clean Energy is on track to deliver 40 million gallons of Redeem in 2015.

Could Europe Be Free From Fossil Fuels By 2050?

Fuel and vehicle propulsion strategy. (Source: ERTRAC) Click to enlarge.

Alternative fuels have the potential gradually to replace fossil energy sources and make transport sustainable by 2050, according to a report presented to the European Commission last week by the stakeholder expert group on future transport fuels. The EU will need an oil-free and largely CO₂-free energy supply for transport by 2050 due to the need to reduce its impact on the environment and concerns about the security of energy supply.

Expected demand from all transport modes could be met through a combination of electricity (batteries or hydrogen/fuel cells) and biofuels as main options, synthetic fuels (increasingly from renewable resources) as a bridging option, methane (natural gas and biomethane) as complementary fuel, and LPG as supplement, the report finds.

The Commission is currently revising existing policies and the report will feed into the initiative on clean transport systems, to be launched later this year. The initiative intends to develop a consistent long-term strategy for fully meeting the energy demands of the transport sector from alternative and sustainable sources by 2050.

If we are to achieve a truly sustainable transport, then we will have to consider alternative fuels. For this we need to take into account the needs of all transport modes.

—Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport

Different modes of transport require different options of alternative fuels, the panel said. Fuels with higher energy density are more suited to longer-distance operations, such as road freight transport, maritime transport, and aviation. Compatibility of new fuels with current technologies and infrastructure, or the need for disruptive system changes should be taken into account as important factors, determining in particular the economics of the different options.

According to the report, alternative fuels are the ultimate solution to decarbonize transport, by gradually substituting fossil energy sources. Technical and economic viability, efficient use of primary energy sources and market acceptance, however, will be decisive for a competitive acquisition of market share by the different fuels and vehicle technologies.

There is no single candidate for fuel substitution, the report said. Fuel demand and greenhouse gas challenges will most likely require the use of a mix of fuels which can be produced from a large variety of primary energy sources. There is broad agreement that all sustainable fuels will be needed to fully meet the expected demand.

Strategy 2050. Looking ahead to 2050, the expert group said that a long-term view and a stable policy environment are required to provide “clear, consistent and unwavering” signals to industry and investors.

A long-term trajectory should therefore be defined for Europe within a predictable regulatory framework. Within this trajectory, managing the transition from a predominantly fossil fuel to a predominantly alternative fuel transport system will be an ongoing challenge.

Policy and regulation should be technology neutral, founded on a scientific assessment of the well-to-wheels CO₂ emissions, energy efficiency, and cost associated with competing technology pathways. The incentives for alternative fuels should be based on their CO₂ footprint and their general sustainability. This should include recognition of all alternative fuel pathways and all CO₂ abatement measures available, including application of carbon capture and storage (CCS).

Separate regulations on the energy system and on the transport system ensure more efficient implementation and leave flexibility for adopting the most cost-effective solutions. However, these regulations need to be developed in parallel to ensure that they are complementary and that they provide consistent message to industry.

—Future Transport Fuels

The first element of a long-term fuel strategy should be ongoing efforts to increase the energy efficiency of all transport operations as well as vehicles, through implementation of such options as downsizing, direct injection, charging and engine displacement reduction and the utilization of new efficient combustion systems. This stretches the availability of fossil resources, the group noted, and facilitates full substitution of oil by CO₂–free energy sources in the long term. The main guidelines for this strategy are:

• Energy efficiency policies in the end-use transport sectors allow energy savings and reduction of CO2 emissions. They will not provide for oil substitution, as required in the longer term. But energy savings through efficiency policies are an important prerequisite for replacing oil-based fuels, meeting increasing demand with limited supply from alternative energy sources.

• Future transport technologies and measures designed to promote them need to deliver both on efficiency and on replacing oil-based energy with renewable energy.

• Allocation of fuels to the different sectors of transport might better be achieved through market competition than through regulatory measures. Some sectors could also afford higher fuel prices, supporting early market development of initially more expensive alternative fuels.

• Electric drive technology has the greatest potential for sustainable short to medium distance road transport over the long term, although it is not yet decided, according to the report, whether the electricity used will be stored in a battery or generated in a fuel cell using hydrogen.

• Liquid and gaseous biofuels are other priority candidates for oil substitution in the long term strategy, within the time horizon of 2050. They are primarily needed in those sectors where no alternatives exist, such as aviation, parts of maritime transport, and long-distance freight transport. Fungibility of biofuels would be of advantage for their long-term market expansion.

  The option of alternative biofuels blending standards should be compared with fungible biofuels, both for liquid and gaseous pathways, with fully flexible blending ratios between fossil and biomass based products in order to allow a smooth transition in the fuel mix and to keep and valorize the achievements of internal combustion engine technology.

• Any decision to expand the use of biofuels should take into account the impact on life-cycle GHG emissions and biodiversity. The sustainability safeguards for biofuels should be reviewed to prevent i.a. unwanted effects on indirect land use change.

• Bioethanol expansion would need additional standards for higher blending ratios, going from E5 to E10 in 2011 and then possibly to E20. Before introducing higher blends into the market, their compatibility with vehicle and infrastructure technologies needs to be ensured. The 2020 RED target could be supported by a wider deployment of flex-fuel vehicles using E85 blends. Blending potential and associated costs should be analysed.

• Expansion of diesel alternatives can be supported by blending paraffinic fuels (HVO, GTL, BTL) that are fully fungible with existing vehicle technology and distribution infrastructures in any blending ratios.

• The technical and economic complications of several different biofuel blending standards for fuel supply infrastructure and vehicle technology need to be assessed against the option of fully fungible (synthetic) biofuels complying with one single standard.

• There should be clear and stable guidelines on the injection of bio-methane into the grid, including possible favorable tax treatment supporting market build-up. This can balance regional differences in biogas production and natural gas consumption by vehicles, and avoid double investment into a parallel bio-methane distribution network.

• The approach with tailored fuels versus a multi-segment approach should be analysed in depth. R&D activities and a possible pilot project could be proposed for adequate testing of these technologies.

All these principal alternative fuel candidates can be produced from low-carbon technologies. Substitution of oil in transport by them leads inherently to a decarbonization of transport if the energy system is decarbonized. Life-cycle aspects have to be included in this assessment.

Decarbonisation of transport and decarbonization of the energy system can therefore be considered as two complementary strategic lines. They are closely related, but can be decoupled and require different technical approaches. Decarbonisation of the energy carriers used in transport should progress at least with the rate of their introduction into the transport fuel mix. However, the decarbonization of the two systems needs to be undertaken in a complementary manner in order to ensure that approaches are consistent.

—Future Transport Fuels

Specific to on-road transport, the expert group said that he following issues should be considered:

• Urban transport can be powered by several alternative fuel options, namely electricity (battery electric small vehicles or electric trolleys) and hydrogen; also by biofuel blends, neat synthetic fuels or paraffinic, methane or LPG. Possible risks of market fragmentation and resulting limitations in economies of scale in case of competition between the two fuels need to be clarified.

• Medium-distance transport could be covered by synthetic or paraffinic fuels, hydrogen, biofuel blends and methane. For methane, a gas grid already exists. Possible competition also needs to be clarified, as hydrogen and methane require the build-up of new dedicated infrastructure. Methane gas vehicles are mature technology where as hydrogen driven engines have to be further developed.

• Long distance transport can be supplied by biofuels or synthetic or paraffinic fuels, for freight possibly also by liquefied methane gas (LNG, LBG or LPG).

• In all cases (urban, medium and long-distance), there will continue to be a significant role to play for the internal combustion engine and advancements in ICE technology can be expected and certainly not disregarded in future scenarios.

• Railways and urban rail systems can further contribute to decarbonizing transport, since power generation is on a path of decarbonization through the EU ETS and renewable energy targets. Additional electrification should be undertaken. For those few lines where electrification is not feasible or economically viable, engine technology from heavy duty road vehicles could be adapted for rail. Possible standards for diesel engines and potential use of biofuels, and possibly LNG should be explored.

Source: Green Car Congress