Release Date: August 9, 2004

Heavy Equipment APU to Boost Fuel Efficiency, Slash Idling

New thermal regenerative system eliminates need for radiator fans

Munising, MI – New power designer PNGinc has announced its first-of-a-kind heat recovery APU design is now ready for product development partners. The low-cost APU (auxiliary power unit) is part of the company’s Future Truck development program which aims to save commercial truckers 33-55 percent in fuel costs.

The Phoenix APU solution recovers energy that is lost in diesel engine waste heat and transforms it into usable electrical horsepower while the truck is in operation. The unit can also take a big bite out of the 830 million gallons of diesel fuel that truck engines consume each year as they idle.

Long-haul commercial truckers spend up to 40 percent of their time idling their large diesel engines. This practice supplies cab heating for the driver and electrical power for sleeper cab accessories – air conditioners, microwave ovens, televisions and engine block heaters.

The downside to idling is an extra $2 billion per year in fuel costs for the commercial trucking industry.

Idling also creates noise and emissions problems which aggravate air quality officials and citizens living near loading bays & truck stops. New hours of service rules require truckers to spend more time logged off, which means they will spend more time in their sleepers with engines idling. Looking ahead at a costly health care crisis arising from diesel-related illnesses, eighteen U.S. states plus the District of Columbia have adopted anti-idling regulations.

Solutions vary from carrying extra blankets for cold nights to expensive APU's used in place of the main engine. Diesel-powered APU’s can save 8 to 8.5 percent in overall fuel costs when used during a truck’s idle periods. But emissions are still a problem, and current offerings are too costly ($7,000 per unit) and too heavy at 700 pounds to find widespread market acceptance. The other contenders, experimental fuel-cell APU’s, are priced completely out of the ballpark.

The Phoenix APU can operate on either diesel fuel or zero-cost waste oil to provide needed heat & power. With PNGinc’s proprietary UCB (ultra-clean burner) technology, burning waste oil is two orders of magnitude cleaner than running the main engine! – It can also positively impact the bottom line of heavy equipment operators.

As diesel fuel prices climb toward the $2 per gallon mark, vehicle assemblers are beginning to field test fuel-saving technologies. The Phoenix APU design, with a suggested retail price of around $4,000 installed, can roll out on 2007 models – with a payback time of less than ten months, when operating on zero-cost waste oil.

The company is ready for investment partners to take this design to a product level. Contact Pam Rieli at ventures@phoenixnavigation.com if you are interested in pursuing this venture opportunity.

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