Chicago-based Trillium CNG said Wednesday it plans to build 101 compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations spread over 30 states, specializing in fast-fill technology for heavy-duty fleets.

A unit of Integrys Transportation Fuels LLC, part of the Integrys Energy Group, Trillium is following a strategy of securing a fuel purchase agreement with an anchor customer for each of its new station locations, company officials said at the Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Washington, DC (see Daily GPI, June 27).

Trillium offers both public-access and private fueling facilities, including “ultra-fast” CNG fueling aimed at the heavy-duty truck segment. “Traditional service stations and convenience stores view CNG as a welcome addition to their portfolio of fuels,” Trillium said.

Separately in advance of the ACT Expo, Ryder Systems Inc. expanded its commitment to lease more natural gas-powered trucks (see Daily GPI, July 13, 2012) to include light- and medium-duty CNG vehicles in California with 20 Greenkraft cab-over vehicles and 19 Navistar International TranStar trucks. They will be maintained at Ryder’s four California-based CNG-compliant maintenance facilities.

Meanwhile, Landi Renzo USA is offering dual fuel engine conversions on 12.7-liter Detroit Diesel S60 truck engines in Freightliner trucks as part of a new program to “take advantage of the growing CNG fueling network in the United States.” Landi and Baker Equipment are partnering to convert the “outside useful life” large truck market.

“Not only does this expand our current clean fuel product offering, but it also further promotes the increased use of natural gas as a [transportation] fuel,” said Andrea Landi, president of Landi Renzo USA.

Landi also emphasized that while the dual-fuel CNG system for trucks is new in the U.S. market, the technology has been deployed globally in applications involving various Fiat, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Ford, Hyundai and Renault diesel vehicles.

For its California operations, Ryder will be adding the 39 light- and medium-duty vehicles to its natural gas vehicle (NGV) fleet, which now numbers more than 300 heavy-duty NGVs. Ryder officials said that unlike heavy-duty vehicles that require large fueling stations, the lighter vehicles are able to use much of the existing retail CNG fueling infrastructure in the state.

Trillium said at least three of its new CNG fueling stations are slated for California. Twenty-eight of the stations are slated for three states with robust shale gas development: Ohio (8), Pennsylvania (6) and Texas (14).

The 26 other states will be: Alabama (2), Arizona (2), Arkansas (2), Colorado (1), Florida (7), Georgia (4), Illinois (6), Indiana (5), Iowa (2), Minnesota (5), Mississippi (1), Missouri (2), Nebraska (1), Nevada (1), New York (4), North Carolina (2), North Dakota (1), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (4), and Wisconsin (5).

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