A California-based company that makes heavy-duty diesel engines run more efficiently in the on- and off-road market has become an affiliate of the Purdue Research Park of Northwest Indiana.
California Clean Air Technologies LLC, headquartered in Menifee, Calif., became an affiliate to facilitate greater research partnering opportunities with Purdue and to expand further in the Midwest.
"We founded California Clean Air Technologies at a time we believed a perfect storm had occurred: there were record-high fuel prices in California and tighter emissions regulations," CEO Michael Avery said. "The state of California requires in-use legacy diesel engines be retired, repowered or retrofitted, starting in 2007 and progressing through 2020, so we decided to develop systems that are designed to work on the majority of the legacy fleet."
The company manufactures and markets its Propane Diesel Dual-Fuel Retrofit System. The system received an Alternative Fuel Certification by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Nov. 3 for propane-diesel dual-fuel operation on in-use diesel engines. It marks the first and only CARB certification for a propane-diesel dual-fuel system.
Avery said the technology's certification applies to a wide variety of 2011 and older Tier I, II and III off-road compression-ignition engines.
"Our retrofit system is designed to significantly reduce the operational cost of a heavy-duty diesel engine by substituting approximately 50 percent propane for diesel fuel or biodiesel with no loss of engine power or torque," he said. "Based upon the current spot-market price differential between diesel and propane fuels, our retrofit system installations will pay for themselves from fuel-cost savings within an average of 18 months of commissioning."
Avery said the system originally was developed for small diesel pickup trucks.
"It has been adapted to work on the vast majority of legacy diesel engines such as the Caterpillar 3406/C15 and Cummins QSM11," he said. "Currently our primary focus is off-road end users including the oil and gas exploration industry, which has expressed great interest in the system, giving rise to several installations on this type of equipment."
California Clean Air Technologies was founded in 2006 by Avery and Leslie Catsman-Avery, vice president of human resources. Company officials also include George Malouf, Ph.D., vice president; Sean Avery, assistant to the CEO ; Roger Toale, alternative fuels manager; Bruce Burlew, heavy equipment manager; and Lauren Avery-Mead, marketing and brand manager.
Michael Avery explained why he and his colleagues became affiliates of the Purdue Research Park of Northwest Indiana.
"We became affiliates of the Purdue Research Park for its immense networking opportunities and the common goal of advancing technology by making research and discoveries more accessible to industry," he said. "We look forward to developing future relationships, especially with Purdue University's College of Engineering and their technology partners."