Ultimate CNG’s FuelMule™ “Flawless” in Initial Testing

Ultimate CNG’s FuelMule™ “Flawless” in Initial Testing

7 September 2012 (CHARLOTTE, NC) — An innovative, mobile fueling station developed by Ultimate CNG, LLC (UCNG) to fuel equipment powered by clean natural gas came through its initial testing stages with flying colors, meeting challenges that ranged from hurricane Isaac to Secret Service security measures.

CNG Shuttle makes its way through the
convention area during the Democratic Convention
n Charlotte, NC earlier this week.

The FuelMule™, a prototype machine that takes natural gas refueling directly to the customer, performed flawlessly refueling a dozen shuttle buses transporting delegates at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL and again this week at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

“I just could not be more pleased with how the FuelMule™ has performed in its initial operations, both this week and in Tampa,” said UCNG’s Brian Fimian, Chief Operating Officer. “We learned some things and there are areas we want to tweak, but the unit did everything we asked it to do without any problem.”

In fact, as Tampa and the Florida Gulf Coast braced for Hurricane Isaac, the FuelMule™ was on standby to go beyond expected duty at the behest of emergency management agencies. “As requested, we were ready, willing and able to refuel equipment with compressed natural gas (CNG)  in the event of power outages that would disable the area’s conventional fill stations,” said Dennis Pick, Chief Executive Officer of UCNG. “The FuelMule™ has no need for commercial electrical power since it is powered entirely by its own natural gas engine..”

Following the GOP wrap-up in Tampa, the FuelMule™ and the CNG powered shuttles made the trip to North Carolina and set up for the Democratic event. The industry buzz surrounding the FuelMule™ and its proprietary technology had preceded the UCNG entourage.

Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition, a part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Clean Cities initiative, spread word to companies and agencies in the Charlotte region that the mobile fueling station was available for their representatives to see in operation. Centralina Coordinators Jason Wager and Emily Parker escorted officials from Frito-Lay, the City of Charlotte, Freightliner, Duke Energy, PSNC Energy and others to the Charlotte convention refueling site.

“We are kind of testing the waters with CNG and have purchased 10 new Class 8 trucks that run day routes from our production facility here in Charlotte,” said Frito-Lay Traffic Manager Scott Becker. “The company has a fleet of more than 1,500 Class 8 trucks, and a tremendously larger fleet of smaller vehicles, route trucks and such, that could ultimately look at CNG.” He said there is interest in looking at ways to save time and money refueling those vehicles or a larger contingent.

FuelMule™ delivery “in tank” can save $1 or more per gallon equivalent compared to diesel, depending on the cost of diesel. Re-fueling is done on-site by Ultimate CNG specialists, saving the customer cost for drivers’ time and travel to refuel, Ultimate’s COO Fimian said. The FuelMule™ has a compressor that delivers 8 GGE (gas gallon equivalents) per minute of CNG at 3,600 psi (pounds per square inch), and stores up to 700 GGE – capable of fueling 30 to 50 medium/heavy-duty vehicles, two at a time, he said.

A gas transfer module purchased by UCNG effectively adds another 1,000 GGE of CNG fuel storage capacity for the FuelMule™. Natural gas is American produced and significantly less costly than diesel, and the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) projects that by 2035 natural gas will cost 50% less than primarily imported diesel.

Added CEO Pick: “The FuelMule™ can directly service entire fleets easily, on site and on large scale, with savings and convenience. CNG is cleaner than diesel, quieter than diesel, and cheaper than diesel with reduced emissions of greenhouse gases and tailpipe particulate.”

“The obvious economics of diesel and gasoline prices, and the fraction it costs for a GGE of natural gas, make the change for fleets from diesel to natural gas not only viable, but hugely profitable. The FuelMule™ is a market driven innovation that gives vehicle fleets CNG fueling capability at their home base or elsewhere, without the need to build a fueling station,” Pick said. “It is giving more fleets access to cheaper, cleaner natural gas.”

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For more information, contact: Carla R. York (423) 802-6190 or Carla@InnovationDrive.net 

For more information about Ultimate CNG and the FuelMule™, please visit www.UltimateCNG.com. 

CNG’s Market Barriers Weakened by FuelMule™ Deployment

CNG’s Market Barriers Weakened by FuelMule™ Deployment

27 August 2012 (TAMPA, FL) — When Ultimate CNG Chief Operating Officer Brian Fimian drove his one-of-a-kind mule 1,372 miles from Monroe, WI, to Tampa, FL,  without refueling, he raised quite a few eyebrows.

He had fed his mule a belly full of clean natural gas before the trip, and didn’t stop once to replenish the fuel stores on his way to the site of this week’s GOP National Convention. Once here, COO Fimian met up with Ultimate CNG CEO Dennis Pick, and they prepared to show this special mule — the FuelMule™ — to the world.

Ultimate CNG was incorporated in March 2011 with the key purpose of creating the FuelMule™ to revolutionize CNG fueling and make the cleaner, “greener” fuel the preferred alternative to diesel for transportation fleets across America. The market driven innovation gives fleets CNG fueling capability at their home base, or elsewhere, without the need to build a fueling station, Ultimate’s CEO Pick said.

The FuelMule™ is a mobile fast-fill CNG fueling station equipped with a reciprocating gas compressor capable of dispensing 8 diesel gallon equivalents’ (DGE) per minute at a pressure of 3,600 pounds per square inch (psi). The FuelMule’s™ payload area is fitted with light-weight, carbon composite tanks providing on-board storage capacity of 700 DGE. It can fuel 35 to 50 medium to heavy-duty vehicles, and separate electronic metering allows filling two vehicles simultaneously.

“This is fast-fill CNG coming to your door to service your entire fleet quickly and easily, with the ultimate savings of time and money,” Pick said. “FuelMule™ is the innovative answer to providing large scale, convenient and economical transportation, powered with clean, American sourced natural gas.”

Up to now, Pick said, “CNG transportation has been intractably stuck in the ‘Chicken or Egg’ conundrum. There have been too few CNG fleet vehicles to justify the high investment in building many CNG fueling stations, and there are too few stations to allow widespread growth and adoption of CNG in various fleets.”

When Pick and business partner Fimian studied the market for CNG transport, the problem became  obvious to them. “Quite simply, no matter where you build a permanent CNG station, it’s in the wrong place for 90 percent of the potential vehicles,” Fimian said. “Fleets economically cannot, and therefore will not, drive more than a few miles out of their way to get their fuel.”

“With diesel, most fleets want the cost-saving, hassle-free benefits of on-site fueling. They want the same thing when using CNG, but the capital investment of new fueling infrastructure can be a deal breaker,” Fimian said. “A truly mobile CNG fueling capability puts the deal back on the table.”

So they incorporated Ultimate CNG, took the one-of-a-kind concept to ANGI Energy Systems of Wisconsin, and with engineering support from the Gas Technology Institute in Chicago, developed the FuelMule™.

Fimian took possession of the vehicle in Monroe, WI earlier this month and promptly drove to Tampa to prepare for the FuelMule’s™ coming out party on one of the world’s biggest stages — the 2012 Republican Party National Convention.

“We drove 1,372 miles from Monroe to Tampa and did not have to stop once for fuel,” Fimian said. “The FuelMule™ fueled itself, and it operated beautifully the entire way.”

The FuelMule™ quickly began kicking up a storm of attention in Tampa. During the convention the unit will refuel a dozen “GOP EZ Shuttles” used to ferry convention goers to hotels, attractions and the convention site. America’s Natural Gas Alliance and a local gas utility are working with Ultimate CNG to provide the shuttle service, said Regina Hopper, ANGA's president and CEO. Similar arrangements have been made for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, NC next month, she said.

The cleaner-than-diesel, quieter-than-diesel, cheaper-than diesel, CNG powered shuttle service, with convenient FuelMule™ refueling, is an eye-opener for delegates, media and others.

"Our message in Tampa and beyond is that this is an extraordinary opportunity for our nation, and it's time to get on board with this American fuel choice," Hopper said. "Companies and local leaders across the country are embracing natural gas."

Ultimate CEO Pick said the FuelMule™ is the refueling innovation key to large scale, convenient and economical transportation powered with cleaner, greener CNG. “The FuelMule™ was born to solve this problem. It allows almost any transport fleet to take advantage of and benefit from the significantly lower price of this dependable, domestic fuel,” he said.

A U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report this year stated natural gas costs some 35% less than diesel per diesel gallon equivalent. EIA projected for the next 20 years natural gas will become even less expensive compared to diesel, which comes mainly from imported petroleum crude. Natural gas is nontoxic, won’t contaminate ground or water in the event of accidental release, and has low carbon content, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) and other emissions compared to diesel.

“With FuelMule™ CNG fueling services, no longer must fleets choose between the convenience of diesel and clean natural gas. They can have access to CNG with no capital investment required, no personnel time needed to fuel vehicles, no fueling infrastructure maintenance,” Pick said.

“Making the switch early to cost-efficient clean natural gas will give businesses a jump start on saving the environment and saving money,” he said.

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For more information about Ultimate CNG and the FuelMule™, please visit www.UltimateCNG.com. 

By all accounts the 2012 Greater Washington Region Clean Cities inaugural Expo held at Washington Gas on May 22, 2012 was a great success. Please take a moment to give us some feed back on the event to assist our team in planning for 2013.

Click here to take our event survey.

Thank you
The GWRCCC Expo Planning Team

AFV Expo Filling Up Fast for May 22nd Event

On Tuesday, May 22nd, the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities will host the first ever Alternative Fuels & Advanced Technology Vehicles Expo at the new operations campus of Washington Gas, located at 6801 Industrial Rd Springfield, VA  22151. The day will be packed with opportunities to learn about and see first hand many of the Alternative options in transportation - available now - available here! Registration is open at www.CleanCitiesEventsDC.com/expo and attendance is FREE. Lunch is available for a fee. Make your plans today to attend this don't miss event!

Biodiesel Conference Success

Representatives from the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities, the Smithsonian Institution, and the United Soybean Board were on hand April 11, 2012 for attendees to learn about the benefits companies  could realize by incorporating Biodiesel into their existing fleet.

For more photos please click here!
or e-mail ExecutiveDirector@GWRCCC.org

GWRCCC Celebrates Earth Day with the City of Alexandria

From 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, April 21 the City of Alexandria will host its Earth Day Event with the GWRCCC providing sponsorship support and presenting information on Electric Vehicle and other alternative fuels deployment in the region. The planned Consumer's Guide to Purchasing Green Vehicles will provide residents with information on the economic and environmental benefits of purchasing electric, plug-in hybrids, and other low emission vehicles. GWRCCC’s stakeholder Criswell Chevrolet will also present information to consumers on the use and operation of the Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle.

The theme for the 2012 celebration is Eco-City Alexandria, which will allow for a wide variety of activities and educational exhibits related to the ten sustainability principles outlined in Alexandria’s groundbreaking Eco-City Charter and Environmental Action Plan 2030. These documents are available at http://alexandriava.gov/Eco-Cityand should be used to help guide the plans for organizations wishing to exhibit and/or co-sponsor. Join us for a day of fun and education at the Ben Brenman Park and contact Alexandria Earth Day website for more information or Claude Willis at 202-671-1579 or claude.willis2@dc.gov.

GWRCCC Presents FREE Biodiesel Workshop

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Join representatives from the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities, the Smithsonian Institution, and the United Soybean Board to learn about the benefits you could realize by incorporating Biodiesel into your existing fleet.
•Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition — Ron Flowers, Executive Director
•Smithsonian Institution — Bill Griffiths, Fleet Manager / Transportation Branch Chief
•Members of the Maintenance Staff of the Smithsonian Institution — stationed with equipment displays

Wednesday, April 11, 2012
8:00 am - 2:00 pm

Presented by:
Maintenance Facility
Smithsonian Institution
3904 Old Silver Hill Road
Bldg 35
Transportation MRC # 530
Suitland, Maryland 20746

www.GWRCCC.org
RSVP by Friday, April 6th to: ExecutiveDirector@GWRCCC.org

This FREE workshop includes continental breakfast, lunch, up-to-date information about soy biodiesel, and an opportunity to hear from a fleet using B20 in a wide variety of existing assets. There will be nine different vehicles/assets of the Smithsonian on display which use B20. Each will be accompanied by the employees responsible for maintenance and operations.

Make your plans to join us for this exciting,hands on opportunity to learn about the benefits of Biodiesel use in your fleet!

Parking will available in a nearby lot with shuttle service available. Once RSVP is received, directions to the parking lot and an e-parking pass will be emailed to you. We look forward to seeing you in Suitland, Maryland on April 11th for this exciting event!