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By Tom Berg

Think “alternative fuel” and what comes to mind – natural gas, or maybe propane? Volvo Trucks North America believes it has one better: dimethyl ether, or DME, which it thinks is the real fuel of the future. Volvo, with the help of a small chemical company, financial investors and officials in the state of California, intends to get it to market as a motor fuel by 2015.

Tags: California, Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, DME, Safeway, Volvo, Natural Gas

By Truckinginfo Staff

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has directed city departments to build on earlier "green fleet" efforts to cut the city's annual use of petroleum-based fuels by 1 million gallons by 2020, using electric and alternative fueled vehicles, biodiesel and more efficient use of vehicles.

Tags: CNG, Government Fleets, Natural Gas, Washington, Seattle, Alternative Fuels & Hybrids

By Chris Brown, Business Fleet Executive Editor

From a frozen pizza company to neighborhood ice cream delivery, from a dry cleaner to a real estate business, these small fleets have been running natural gas-powered vehicles for years

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, LNG, CNG, Natural Gas

By Kate Harlow, Associate Editor

The old saying goes, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Life, or in this case, a landfill, gave DeKalb County, Ga., methane gas - so the Sanitation Department decided to make vehicle fuel. In 2009, DeKalb County, located just east of Atlanta, was experiencing the same economic frustrations and high fuel prices as the rest of the country

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, CNG, Government Fleets

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

If you're wondering about whether parts and service for natural gas engines will be in your future, it might be useful to take a look at what engine and truck makers will be offering

Tags: Issues, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, Aftermarket

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

The engine products of the joint venture between Cummins Inc. and Westport Innovations now dominate the existing, albeit small, market for natural gas trucks, but more are on the way from other sources, indicated manufacturer representatives during the American Trucking Associations' recent Natural Gas Summit

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Shippers, CNG, LNG

General Electric and Peake Fuel Solutions, an affiliate of Chesapeake Energy, recently launched the CNG In A Box system, which allows for easier adoption of compressed natural gas refueling options by large- and small-scale retailers and fleets

Tags: CNG, Natural Gas

Westport Innovations Inc. announced that it will expand its product offerings with the introduction of natural gas powered versions of the Ford F-450 and F-550 Super Duty trucks in mid-2013

Tags: CNG, Westport, Ford, Natural Gas

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor

There are only about 167,000 natural gas-fueled vehicles in the United States, according the head of a group that promotes natural gas as a vehicle fuel, but its abundance and cheap price is spurring so much interest that an almost overflow crowd turned up at the American Trucking Associations Natural Gas Summit, which began yesterday in Alexandria, Va

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, ATA, Alternative Fuels

Ryder System Inc. has achieved a significant milestone with its fleet of 250 natural gas vehicles by surpassing 6 million miles

Tags: Going Green, Ryder, Natural Gas

Announcements about new natural gas engines, bi-fuel engines and aftermarket conversion systems are coming faster and faster

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG, Cummins

One of the key roadblocks to wider adoption of natural gas fuel by the trucking industry has been a lack of fueling infrastructure. In the past, natural gas was mostly an option only for companies that could return to a central fueling station each night.

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, CNG, LNG, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels

A growing number of fleets are testing or making large-scale deployments of natural gas powered vehicles. Here's a sampling, including a slide show of some of these fleets and others

Tags: Going Green, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

The environmental and image benefits of being "green" and reducing dependence on foreign oil are among the reasons fleets are looking at natural gas fuel for trucks, but even the most diehard "green" fleet is still looking for a return on its investment

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

A new report from Pike Research forecasts steady growth in the market for natural gas trucks and buses. Annual worldwide sales of these vehicles will more than double over the next seven years, the firm says, growing from less than 70,000 in 2012 to more than 180,000 in 2019

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, LNG, CNG

By Tom Berg, Senior Editor and Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

Interest in natural gas as a fuel for commercial trucks has been rising, thanks to the low cost of the fuel, and the desire of fleets to be "green" and reduce dependence on foreign oil

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

More than half of large carriers say they are considering buying natural gas fueled trucks, but there are hurdles, according to a new study from Transport Capital Partners and ACT Research

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, LNG, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG

By Deborah Lockridge, Editor in Chief

In 2011, the use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel rose 7.1% year over year and 38% from 2006, federal data show. It more than doubled during the past decade, to 38.85 million cubic feet in 2011

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

By Jim Park, Equipment Editor

Interest is high in natural gas as a heavy-duty truck fuel. With a dollar per diesel-equivalent gallon differential, why wouldn't it be? Natural gas is likely to remain less expensive than diesel for the foreseeable future, and domestic supplies of the stuff are plentiful. Is natural gas a savior-in-waiting for beleaguered diesel buyers? Maybe, but here are six questions you need to ask before taking the plunge

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

By Kate Harlow

In the August issue of HDT, we kicked off a series on "Natural Gas: What Fleets Need to Know." In addition to the features in the magazine, on this page we offer additional online articles and resources

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, Natural Gas, Alternative Fuels, CNG, LNG

By Rolf Lockwood, Editor at Large

Once you start, the questions don't stop. Every answer begets another query. Sooner or later even some of the experts will pause, scratch their heads, and might even say something like, "Beats me.

Tags: Alternative Fuels & Hybrids, DME, CNG, Natural Gas, Algae, Biodiesel, Fuel Cell