EPA Tests Patented Hydraulic Hybrid Yard Hostlers

ELIZABETH, New Jersey, September 7, 2007 (ENS) - Yard hostlers - heavy duty diesel machines used to move goods and products from ships to trucks - contribute to air pollution generated in ports throughout the world.

Now, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has patented technology to improve the fuel efficiency of yard hostlers by 50 to 60 percent, and reduce or eliminate emissions during idling. Thursday, EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson unveiled the hydraulic hybrid technology, which is currently being tested in several UPS vehicles

The hybrid vehicles feature a unique hydraulic hybrid power train that can generate, recover, store and reuse braking power with very little air pollution.

"EPA and our partners are working together to ensure that America's ports become harbors of clean air,” said Johnson. "Together, we are moving breakthroughs in hybrid technology from the labs to the docks - improving air quality while saving fuel."

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Commerce Director Richard Larrabee said, "We've made tremendous strides toward becoming an environmentally friendly port, but we need to do more if we are to continue to be recognized as a national leader in this area."

"The new program we are announcing today - coupled with existing programs to preserve environmentally sensitive land, build new rail facilities that will reduce our dependence on trucks, and retrofit ferries with cleaner-burning engines - will allow us to maintain a sustainable port well into the future," Larrabee said.

The hybrid vehicles will use a diesel-hydraulic system that will combine the cleanest available diesel engine technology with components that use hydraulic fluid compression to store energy.

The hostlers will feature hydraulic hybrid power trains, which are unique hydraulic hybrid propulsion systems that provide power to the drive axles.

Hydraulic tanks are used to store energy, rather than the less efficient batteries used in electric hybrid passenger vehicles.

As with other hybrid systems, energy saved when applying the brakes is reused to help accelerate the vehicle.

The UPS hydraulic hybrid truck shows potential savings of 1,000 gallons of fuel per year.

Johnson says this demonstration project will prove the effectiveness of hybrid hydraulic technologies on yard hostlers. The technology has the potential for widespread domestic and international adoption, he said, because the technology is easily installed and requires no major changes to a vehicle's operating system or fueling requirements.

The goal is to develop a hybrid drive system that will include a diesel engine that meets the 2007 and 2010 EPA on-road diesel standards.

An engine meeting the 2010 standard will also achieve 93 percent reductions in the emission of nitrogen oxides and 93 percent reductions in the emission of particulate matter compared to an ordinary diesel yard tractor.

The hydraulic hybrid technology is expected to further reduce emissions by eliminating emissions from the internal combustion engine during idling.

Key partners in the project include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, A.P.M. Terminals, Kalmar Industries, Parker Hannifin Corporation and the Port of Rotterdam, with which EPA will share project information.

To find out more, visit: http://epa.gov/otaq/presentations/diesel/hydraulic-hybrid-hostler.pdf

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