未来几年，全球大型都市区域将对车辆动力系统的环保和可持续性提出更高要求，北美和欧洲市场预计也将大幅提升对 NOX 和 CO2 的排放限制。在此背景之下，公路和非公路设备对替代燃料动力系统解决方案的需求也将与日俱增。

长期以来，CNH Industrial (凯斯纽荷兰工业公司) 一直在探索替代燃料动力系统在更多场景中的应用，并可提供一系列基于多种不同替代燃料动力系统的商用车辆，包括天然气、甲烷、生物柴油及生物乙醇等。替代燃料动力系统解决方案的研发一直是 CNH工业公司研发战略的重要组成部分之一。另外，其动力系统业务部FPT Industrial (菲亚特动力科技公司) 则可以提供一系列种类丰富的天然气发动机产品，输出功率在 136 到 400 hp (101 到 298 kW) 之间，可用于支持包括轻型、中型和重型车辆的多种应用场景，是天然气发动机市场当之无愧的领跑者。此外，FPT 公司还在进行针对农机设备的天然气发动机研发，目前也已经进入测试后期。

FPT 公司品牌总裁、CNH 工业公司集团执行委员会成员 Annalisa Stupenengo 表示，“天然气是最环保的内燃发动机燃料，几乎可以杜绝潜在有害污染物的排放，从而优化当地空气质量，并通过大幅降低 CO2 排放，缓解全球变暖。天然气内燃机的噪声更低，可以优化车上人员的驾乘体验。此外，凭借公司的化学计量技术，我们天然气发动机产品的可靠性和燃料经济性都能得到保证，总拥有成本 (Total Cost of Ownership) 非常具有竞争力。”

随着各国政府开始愈发关注降低国内的碳足迹，天然气作为一种清洁燃烧技术，也受到了越来越多的关注。长期以来，交通运输领域一直是城市空气污染的主要来源，占欧洲温室气体排放的近四分之一，美国温室气体排放的四分之一以上。为了应对这些挑战，欧洲各国开始坚决向低排放（包括二氧化碳和污染物排放）交通运输方式转型，并进一步加强零排放区域的建设。

过去几年中，美国的天然气行业经历了前所未有的发展：与 2005 年水平相比，2013 年，美国的天然气产量增加了 33%。马塞勒斯 (Marcellus) 和尤蒂卡盆地 (Utica Basins) 天然气产量的快速增长对全美基础设施的建设发展尤为重要。这一趋势预计将一直持续到 2030 年。美国《能源政策法案(2005)》(Energy Policy Act of 2005 - EPAct) 下设的可再生能源燃料标准项目 (Renewable Fuel Standard Program- RFS) 旨在提高可再生能源燃料的产量，即在 2022 年前将传统生物燃料的产量提高 50 亿吨，先进生物燃料的产量提高 250亿吨。在一定程度上，美国天然气行业的发展也是PEAct法案推动的结果。

在这种情况下，交通运输领域，特别是城市地区，将需要大量投资，以实现向“零排放推进系统”的转型，而“NOX 排放几乎为零的”天然气发动机将作为一种“有效”替代能源系统，在任何不具备充电基础设施（原因可能为建设条件不成熟或成本过高）的地区发挥重要作用。在新标准之下，预计公开招标将主要面向具备大规模生产低排放设备条件的制造商进行。

自 1997 年以来，FPT 公司一直在进行“替代燃料推进系统”的研发。Stupenengo 解释说，“我们的 F1、NEF 和 Cursor 替代燃料发动机已经做好了上市准备，可以支持压缩天然气 (CNG)、液化天然气 (LNG) 或可再生能源（生物甲烷）等多种燃料。这些发动机可适用于商用车辆、客车及其他多种公路车辆。另外，为了满足非公路设备对天然气推进系统的需求，目前，我们还在研发多款适用于非公路设备的天然气发动机原型（比如 NEF 6 NG）。”

目前，FPT 公司的天然气发动机产品已经过专门优化和校准，可以实现与柴油机相仿的性能，并同时将燃料消耗降低 10 %，CO2排放水平也更低。

Stupenengo表示，“此外，目前我们还正在与 CNH 工业公司的另一家子公司纽荷兰农机设备 (New Holland Agriculture)，合作开发一款采用替代燃料拖拉机。这款拖拉机的原型为纽荷兰畅销全球的 T6 甲烷动力拖拉机。总的来说，替代能源拖拉机可以为全球减排创造新的机会，并协助各地农民实现燃料自给自足。”

与同级别的柴油拖拉机相比，第二代 T6 甲烷拖拉机不但可以降低燃料成本，而且减排水平高达 80%。另外，这款拖拉机还可以通过采用生物甲烷燃料，进一步降低CO2排放。

作为未来最为重要的可持续替代燃料之一，生物甲烷的生产非常容易，生产原料非常易得，包括农业废料、肥料、植物或食物残渣等。这种替代燃料动力系统非常适用于农机设备等一系列应用，目前也已经应用至一些公路车辆。

2016 年，FPT推出了 Cursor 9 CNG 天然气发动机，这也是目前市面上最强劲的 9-L 天然气发动机产品。这款发动机在 2000 转时的功率输出为 400 hp；1200 转时的最高扭矩输出高达 1700 N·m，而且排放水平完全满足欧六法规要求。依维柯 (Iveco) 集团曾在欧洲市场推出了首款适用于长途运输任务的 Stralis NP 天然气卡车。这款Stralis NP卡车即采用了 FPT 公司的 Cursor 9 天然气发动机，并配备了双液化天然气储罐，续航里程可达 1500 公里 (930 英里)。

未来，天然气燃料动力系统可能会面临哪些挑战？Stupenengo 简要表示，“我们希望可以在非公路设备市场中，为替代燃料动力系统找到更多的应用机会，但由于压缩天然气和液化石油气燃料的能量密度相对较低，我们可能不得不面临自动化水平受限的挑战。而在欧洲绝大部分地区和美国地区，有关生物气燃料的法规及相应基础设施均不成熟。此外，尽管我们认为天然气发动机在全球新兴市场中的潜力非常巨大，但我们的天然气产品还尚未打入这些新兴市场。未来，凭借我们在天然气发动机领域的领先优势以及 CNH 工业公司其他姐妹公司提供的强力支持，FPT将坚持继续进行替代燃料发动机研发和产品继续优化。”

本文内容基于对 FPT 品牌总裁、CNH 集团执行委员会成员 Annalisa Stupenengo 的采访，属于《卡车与非公路工程》“高管视角（Executive Viewpoints）”年度系列报道的一部分。

The demand for greater environmental sustainability in urban areas coupled with the upcoming reforms that are expected to drastically reduce limits on NOx and CO2 in North America and within the European Union signal a growing requirement for alternative power solutions in both on-road transport and further afield in the off-road machinery segments in the years to come.

Alternative fuels are a key part of CNH Industrial’s product development strategy as the company continues to research their uses as well as provide an existing range of market-ready commercial vehicles powered by natural gas, biomethane, biodiesel and bioethanol. Its powertrain business, FPT Industrial, is a market leader in natural gas engines, offering the broadest engine range with solutions from 136 to 400 hp (101 to 298 kW) for light, medium, and heavy vehicles. The brand is also in the advanced stages of trialing natural gas engines for agricultural equipment.

“Natural gas is the most eco-friendly fuel for internal combustion engines. It improves local air quality by nearly eliminating potentially harmful pollutants and mitigates global warming by significantly reducing CO2 emissions. It also lowers engine noise. Furthermore, natural gas offers a competitive Total Cost of Ownership thanks to the well-tested reliability and fuel economy of our stoichiometric technology,” said Annalisa Stupenengo, Brand President of FPT Industrial and a member of CNH Industrial’s Group Executive Council.

Natural gas is getting more attention as governments look to reduce their nation’s environmental footprint. Transport is the main cause of air pollution in cities representing almost a quarter of Europe's greenhouse gas emissions and over a quarter in the United States. Europe's answer to these challenges is an irreversible shift to low-emission mobility in terms of carbon and air pollutants—and further on, the enforcement of zero emission zones.

The U.S. natural gas industry has undergone a change of unprecedented magnitude and pace, with production increasing by 33% between 2005 and 2013. The rapid growth of production in the Marcellus and Utica Basins has been most important for infrastructure, a trend that is expected to continue to 2030. This has been stimulated in part by the Renewable Fuel Standard Program (RFS) created under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct). It aims to achieve higher volumes in renewable fuel categories such as Conventional Biofuel by 5 billion tons and Advanced Biofuel by up to 25 billion tons by 2022.

As a result, transportation, especially urban, could require significant investment in order to evolve towards zero-emission propulsion systems, while a “near 0 NOx” natural gas engine could represent a valid alternative in all the areas where electric infrastructure is not available or too costly. With new standards, public tenders are foreseen to be most accessible to manufacturers that are equipped to produce low-emission machines on a large scale.

FPT Industrial has been developing alternative propulsion systems since 1997. “Our market-ready F1, NEF and Cursor engines can be powered by natural gas in its compressed (CNG), liquefied (LNG) or renewable form (biomethane). These engines can be fitted into commercial vehicles, buses and other on-road applications. We are developing prototype engines (such as the NEF 6 NG engine) to satisfy the future demand for natural gas propulsion in the off-road sectors,” Stupenengo explained.

In terms of key projects, the brand is working on natural gas engines that deliver diesel-equivalent performance, while reducing fuel consumption by 10%, optimizing engine and calibration to reduce CO2 emissions.

“The development of a tractor that runs on alternative fuels together with New Holland Agriculture, also part of CNH Industrial’s brand portfolio, is an on-going project that we are proud to be pioneering with prototypes of the New Holland T6 Methane Power tractor working at farms in various international locations. This opens up great opportunities for achieving overall greenhouse gas reduction targets, and will enable farmers to become fuel self-sufficient,” said Stupenengo.

The second-generation T6 Methane Power tractor can bring down fuel costs, has 80% lower polluting emissions than a standard diesel tractor, and can further reduce CO2 emissions by using biomethane.

Increasingly seen as one of the most important and sustainable alternative fuels for the future, biomethane can be produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, plant material or food waste. It is ideal for applications such as agriculture and can already be used to power on-road vehicles.

Regarding recent important milestones, 2016 saw the launch of the Cursor 9 CNG, the most powerful 9-L CNG engine on the market. It offers up to 400 hp at 2000 rpm, and torque up to 1700 N·m (1254 lb·ft) at 1200 rpm. At the same time, its emissions are lower than that of a Euro VI. Off the back of this, we saw the European introduction of the Iveco Stralis NP (Natural Power): the first natural gas truck suitable for long-distance missions. The truck is fitted with a Cursor 9 engine, with a dual LNG tank, guaranteeing a fuel range of up to 1500 km (930 mi).

So what are the future challenges that face this powertrain business? Stupenengo sums it up succinctly: “As we explore opportunities for alternative solutions in the off-highway market, we are faced with different hurdles such as how to combat the limitations of autonomy due to the low energy density of CNG and LPG. Legislation for biogas is premature across many parts of continental Europe and the U.S. together with the plans for their supporting infrastructure. It also has yet to be introduced in emerging markets where we see great potential for natural gas engines. That said, we are optimistic that our leadership in natural gas engines and the synergies offered by our sister brands in the CNH Industrial portfolio will provide us with the authority and solutions that we need to further develop and evolve our products.”

FPT Industrial submitted this interview with Annalisa Stupenengo, Brand President of FPT Industrial and a member of CNH Industrial’s Group Executive Council, for Truck & Off-Highway Engineering’s annual Executive Viewpoints series.

Author: Annalisa Stupenengo
Source: SAE Truck & Off-highway Engineering Magazine