Westport Announces Consortium Agreement with EMD to Join SDTC Program and Develop Natural Gas Fuel System for Rail Locomotives
VANCOUVER, Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – Westport Innovations Inc.
(TSX:WPT/NASDAQ:WPRT), the global leader in natural gas engines, today
announced that it has entered into an agreement with Electro-Motive
Diesel (EMD), an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of
diesel-electric locomotives, to integrate Westport’s high pressure
direct injection (HPDI) technology and natural gas fuel system
technologies into an EMD locomotive provided by Canadian National
Railways (CN). The consortium is expecting to demonstrate the natural
gas locomotive as part of the previously announced Sustainable
Development Technology Canada (SDTC) project with CN and Gaz Metro.
As per the consortium agreement, Westport will provide its core
technologies for the engine and fuel system, and intellectual property.
EMD will contribute its expertise to integrate the natural-gas engine,
related components and controls to create a working locomotive
platform. EMD is one of the world’s largest builders of diesel-electric
locomotives for all commercial railroad applications including
intercity passenger, commuter, freight, switching, industrial and
mining.
“EMD brings a great deal of experience and engineering know-how in
locomotive applications,” said Paul Blomerus, Senior Director, High
Horsepower of Westport Innovations. “Westport’s HPDI technology is
ideally suited to high-horsepower applications such as locomotives as
it retains the diesel engine’s favourable operating characteristics of
high torque and power, transient response and efficiency, while
reducing carbon emissions. We are looking forward to a successful
demonstration program with our partners that will potentially transform
the rail industry.”
According to the United Nations Statistics Division, railroads around
the world burn 9 billion gallons of diesel fuel annually, largely in
the transportation of freight. The development of natural gas fuelled
locomotives will dramatically reduce the cost of transporting the
world’s primary resources and manufactured goods because of the low
cost of LNG compared with diesel fuel. Furthermore, the use of natural
gas reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 27%.
In February, Westport secured a funding commitment of C$2.3 million to
develop Westport HPDI technology for high-horsepower applications from
SDTC, a not-for-profit corporation created by the Government of Canada
to help commercialize emerging clean technologies. Westport is
proposing to significantly improve the cost structure for operators of
high-horsepower equipment while achieving compliance with increasingly
stringent emission regulations and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions by up to 27%. The collaboration of Westport, EMD, Canadian
National Railway (CN), and Gaz Metro bring together the key elements
required to achieve this goal, through developing, testing, and
demonstrating a natural gas locomotive in service.
About Westport Innovations Inc.
Westport Innovations Inc. is a global leader in alternative fuel,
low-emissions technologies that allow engines to operate on
clean-burning fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied
natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) fuels such
as landfill gas. Our unique technologies reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx),
particulate matter (PM), and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The
Company focuses on three distinct categories or target markets -
light-, medium-, and heavy-duty – through Westport business units or
joint ventures. Westport LD is focused on light-duty automotive
systems, components and engines, including 2.4L engines for industrial
applications such as forklifts and oilfield service. Cummins Westport
(CWI), a joint venture with Cummins, sells the world’s broadest range
of low-emissions alternative fuel engines for commercial urban fleets
such as buses, refuse trucks and vocational vehicles. Westport Heavy
Duty (Westport HD) is engaged in the engineering, design and marketing
of natural gas-enabling technology for the heavy-duty diesel engine and
truck market. Westport High Horsepower is engaged in the engineering,
design and marketing of natural gas-enabling technology for High
Horsepower applications such as locomotive and mining. To learn more
about our business, visit our website or subscribe to our RSS feed at
www.westport.com, or follow us on Twitter @WestportWPRT.
Note: This document contains forward-looking statements, including
statements regarding the demand for our products, the future success of
our business and technology strategies, intentions of partners and
potential customers, the performance and competitiveness of our
products and expansion of product coverage, future market
opportunities, future costs of transportation of resources and terms of
future agreements. These statements are neither promises nor
guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and
are based on assumptions that may cause our actual results, levels of
activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from
any future results, levels of activities, performance or achievements
expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements. These
risks and assumptions include risks and assumptions related to our
operating results, industry and products, the general economy, the
acceptance of natural gas locomotives, the relaxation or waiver of fuel
emission standards, the development of competing technologies and the
cost of diesel fuel versus LNG as well as other risk factors and
assumptions that may affect our actual results, performance or
achievements or financial position discussed in our most recent Annual
Information Form and other filings with securities regulators. Readers
should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements,
which speak only as of the date they were made. We disclaim any
obligation to publicly update or revise such statements to reflect any
change in our expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on
which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the
likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements except as required by National Instrument
51-102.
SOURCE Westport Innovations Inc.
