Clean Air Power Ltd. and Ricardo PLC are initiating a production development program for a new diesel-natural gas engine platform based on initial work that the companies recently wrapped up with a global truck OEM.
The engine uses Clean Air Power's proprietary MicroPilot technology, whereby a small quantity of diesel fuel is used to ignite a mixture of natural gas and air.
‘Our client is a progressive global truck manufacturer with a bold ambition for the future application of compression-ignited natural gas engines,’ says John Pettitt, CEO of Clean Air Power. ‘Its commitment to move ahead with this next phase demonstrates the quality of our technology and the value that our relationship with Ricardo can bring to OEM partners.’
The first phase of the program will begin this month. If that is successful, the second phase of the program will involve bringing a MicroPilot diesel-natural gas engine to market, with production starting in 2017.Â
