Recently, Hexagon Agility, a provider of clean energy commercial vehicle solutions, announced that it will supply a fuel system to a large American consumer goods manufacturer for its newly ordered 60 natural gas heavy trucks. These trucks will be equipped with Cummins X15N natural gas engines.
The signing of this order was based on the successful verification of the previous six-month pilot project. The manufacturer tested a batch of natural gas trucks equipped with Cummins X15N engines and achieved good economic and environmental benefits. The data showed that after using renewable natural gas, each gallon (approximately equal to 2.3 cubic meters of natural gas) could save the equivalent of $1.50 in diesel costs, and the greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by more than 90% compared to traditional diesel vehicles.
Ian MacDonald, the director of the Hexagon Agility fuel system department, stated that this order is not only a positive sign but also will drive more enterprises to deploy X15N natural gas-powered trucks. He pointed out: "The advantages of natural gas trucks in terms of performance, reliability and economy have been verified in the distribution sector. Now, they also have great potential in the long-distance heavy transportation field."
The Cummins X15N engine can deliver a maximum power of 500 horsepower (approximately 370 kilowatts) and a maximum torque of 1850 pound-feet (approximately 2500 Newton-meters). It is regarded as an important alternative energy power source to meet the operational needs of heavy-duty fleets. Combined with the advanced gas system of Hexagon Agility, the range of these natural gas trucks has now exceeded 1100 miles (approximately 1800 kilometers), which is sufficient to replace the previous remote transportation tasks that could only be accomplished by relying on diesel vehicles.
Hexagon also pointed out that the launch of the Cummins X15N has significantly expanded the application scope of natural gas in the North American heavy truck market. Previously, the potential market for natural gas-powered heavy trucks was approximately 100,000 units per year. With the maturity of the X15N, this market size is expected to increase by another 200,000 units, covering most of the North American heavy truck market with annual sales of approximately 300,000 units, including compressed natural gas (CNG) and renewable natural gas (RNG) technologies.
Currently, there are over 1,600 public-private partnership CNG/RNG refueling stations along the major highway transportation corridors in the United States, providing a complete infrastructure guarantee for the promotion of natural gas heavy trucks.
