Prins presented an interesting system. The Iveco Stralis displayed outside the hall had been equipped with the Dieselblend 2.0 that operated on natural gas stored in liquid state in a cryogenic tank. As stated by the manufacturer’s spokesperson, savings with CNG/LNG are as high as 40%, and 20% when using LPG.
A gas system for diesel engines was also presented by LPGTECH. It was installed in a MAN TGA, whereas AC presented their STAG Diesel system in a Toyota Hilux.
App Studio’s system for diesel engines will be available later this year. Final tests are being carried out and the company is preparing to start production.
Pioneers of the Polish market of gas systems – Elpigaz – also presented their new system. This time it’s a sequential system – DEGAmix SEQ2M that doses gas into the intake manifold, separately for each cylinder.
Landi Renzo Poland also contemplates introducing their own diesel-gas system – the Lovato Dual Fast – that was presented during the event installed in Fiat Ducatos.
Stefanelli presented a gas system for diesel engines – the SIS Diesel – both at their stand (installed in a Renault Megane) and in front of the hall (in a Ford Transit).
LPG, CNG and LNG tanks
One of the biggest surprises was the return of Irene to the LPG tanks market. The company manufactures tanks according to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ requirements. These requirements are vastly different from the European ones. Meeting those requirements is necessary to be able to start selling tanks on the American market. The first tanks manufactured by Irene have already been shipped there.
STAKO – part of Worthington Industries – also prepares to expand to the US market. GasShow’s organizers praised the company’s toroidal tanks that had met ASME’s requirements. This range of tanks got the company an INPRO 2014 award. Among new products by STAKO, special attention should be paid to packages of composite tanks for trucks, as well as tanks for Volvo trucks powered by dimethyl ether (DME).
GZWM presented a range of cylindrical tanks with a valve plate adapted to take in vapour state LPG. These are often used in caravans and campers.
Let's keep a closer eye on Elpigaz’s Ultra Hit tank. According to the manufacturer, it’s the lightest toroidal LPG tank in the world. The tank – with its capacity of 39 liters – weighs only 15 kilograms.
It’s also worth mentioning Turkish suppliers of tanks, such as Atiker, DMS Dormaksan, Saka, Tugra Makina and Evas.
As for the CNG sector, apart from STAKO, GasShow 2014 also saw new products by Hexagon and Xperion. The latter received INPRO 2014 award for its 4th generation composite tanks (with an inner liner made of plastic). X-STORE tanks use liner from high density polyethylene (HPDE) with layers of carbon fiber and fiberglass on it. These tanks weigh 0,35 kg for each liter of geometric capacity.
Chart presented their range of products from the field of cryogenic tanks used in vehicles, though they were not the only ones, as Turkish Karbonsan offered tanks for industrial purposes.
It’s possible that Worthington will enter the LNG tanks market in the future as they bought out Turkish company Aritas that manufactures big cryogenic tanks.
Filters
A new idea for a filter was presented by Alex. The 360° model filters gas fuel by spinning the gas stream. This way oil fractions and water are separated (whirled out) and accumulate in the sump, and the filter insert makes sure fuel is thoroughly purified. This filter got the INPRO 2014 award.
ZWM Czaja presented a new filter insert for gaseous fuel filtration. This double-layer insert consists of an outer polyester layer soaked in a special kind of resin, and an internal paper insert. The polyester film does not allow water and oil fractions to make it through. The film holds back 99% of particles as small as 1 μm in size and is used in a plastic vapour state filter with a replaceable insert.
Valve savers
As every year, the valve saver sector was also strongly represented, which confirms that drivers are more willing to use additional protection for their valves and valve seats.
A new product from this sector was shown by the German company ERC, which developed a special formula of a fluid applied to combustion chambers in engines with direct fuel injection. It was noted that in this kind of engines, valves and valve seats react differently than in the case when fuel is injected into the intake manifold. The difference between gas and petrol is not that important here because petrol that is injected straight into combustion chambers does not “wash over” valves and does not create a protective layer of additives that it contains. This innovative approach was praised by the INPRO committee, and ERC received an award for it.
Another award in the same category was given to another big fish in the valve saver sector – Flashlube from Australia. Dutch JLM and German V-Lube were also present at the GasShow, but we’re also glad that new products were presented by Polish manufacturers. LPGTECH developed its own solution with sequential injection system for each cylinder separately (TECH-SVL), and AC presented their own valve saver released through their brand TytanGas Protect. It looks like this type of gas fuel additives was successfully adopted by the market, and demand for it among drivers increases.
LPG stations
Many companies showed their propositions for LPG stations. Orlen Gaz promoted its QGAZ program that – apart from delivering fuel – ensures adequate design and station labeling (station roof, price pylon, flag pole, tank and distributor marking, as well as working clothes with the QGAZ logo).
In addition, the fair was a perfect opportunity to see the offer of companies that supply equipment for LPG stations. Among these were: Chemet – tanks manufacturer and supplier of complete autogas stations; Aurex and Europump Poland – both supplying complex equipment to LPG stations; Emgaz – manufacturer of LPG distributors; and Fagumit – a company that supplies LPG hoses for distributors, used also in gas systems in cars.
World potentates at GasShow 2014
The GasShow gradually becomes an important event for the industry and it attracts world’s major suppliers of systems that use this type of fuel.
Certainly Polish STAKO is one of them. It’s world’s biggest supplier of LPG tanks for cars, now part of an American corporation – Worthington Industries.
Canadian company Westport was also present at the event. Westport has a wide range of solutions for gas engines, including their flagship HPDI system for diesel engines.
Rail had their own stand – it’s a manufacturer of injectors used in gas systems, and filter systems.
Among other companies present at this year’s GasShow were: OMB Saleri (valve supplier for automotive LPG and CNG gas systems), AEB (manufacturer of electronic equipment for gas systems), Faro (manufacturer of flexible pipes for LPG), as well as BRC along with Zavoli, Cubo Gas and GFI (all are MTM brands and part of the American Fuel System Solutions group).
Vehicle manufacturers
Vehicle manufacturers were also present at the GasShow. Visitors were shown LPG-powered cars by Hyundai and Peugeot (gas systems for both brands are supplied by Czakram – BRC’s Polish concessionaire).
CNG-powered cars were presented by: Fiat Professional, Iveco Poland, Mercedes Benz Poland, as well as by dealers of Fiat, Opel and Mercedes. CNG cars were shown outside the Expo XXI hall.
The Methane Zone...
… was in fact a huge stand presenting different solutions related to natural gas used in cars. Among presented products were compressors for CNG refueling supplied by ASF and KompresoryCNG.
The Biomaster project was also presented. Its aim is to popularize biomethane and its use in transport. Xperion – a manufacturer of composite CNG cylinders mentioned earlier – also had its stand at the Methane Zone.
gazeo.pl at GasShow 2014
Our portal was intensively involved in this year’s GasShow. Our work began last year when we were regularly posting the event’s announcements. The event itself was, of course, the culmination. As usual, gazeo.pl’s stand became a meeting place and a spot for business talks for visitors and exhibitors. Excellent coffee served from early morning helped a lot in establishing new contacts. This year’s highlight at our stand was the competition for subscribers of gazeo’s newsletter. Samsung tablet (the main prize) went to our reader from Podlaskie Voivodeship. But our work was most important for us and its effects are already on the Internet – daily reports and photo reports, video interviews and reports on news from the autogas industry. In other words – we covered everything that happened and was worth mentioning during this year’s GasShow.
Summary
Polish LPG industry has developed only on the basis of free market and only thanks to action taken by people involved in this industry, without any grants and funding from outside. That’s why we’re even happier that Poland is now one of the leaders in Europe and in the whole world. The 2014 GasShow confirmed this, and the presence of major companies emphasizes how important this event organized by the Polish LPG sector is.
GasShow 2014 was yet another successful edition of the international trade fair for LPG/CNG/LNG industry, connected with Autoservice Expo. Those two days spent in Warsaw were a busy time for exhibitors and visitors, and it’s how it should be. This creates new business opportunities for not so distant future. We’re already thinking about the next edition and about changes we’re planning to introduce. First details will be announced at the turn of March and April.
Robert Łapiński, head of the project
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