One day after The Wall Street Journal reported on how Lowe's, Procter & Gamble, and UPS are converting their trucking fleets from diesel fuel to natural gas, natural gas engine technology company Westport Innovations (WPRT 3.79%) confirmed a sizable sale of liquid natural gas fuel tanks to one of its customers.
The contract announced this morning for the sale of 900 iCE PACK LNG Tank Systems to Sugar Land, Texas-based Universal LNG Solutions will be fulfilled over the course of the next two years. As Westport Vice President for Business Development Steve Anderson explained in a statement: "This investment by ULNG confirms the industry's interest in the Westport iCE PACK and the demand for cold liquefied natural gas (LNG)."
Universal LNG CEO Jeffrey Liu echoed the sentiment, noting that "iCE PACK gives ULNG the ability to offer our customers a package solution with dedicated infrastructure, LNG fuel and vehicle LNG fuel systems," and will help that company's customers to achieve "faster fueling, longer range, and increased hold times."
Westport's iCE PACK is an onboard LNG tank system customized for use with spark-ignited engines. Westport says it expects to begin delivery of the tanks to Universal LNG sometime in this current fourth quarter of 2013. Citing "competitive reasons," Westport declined to provide information on the tanks' cost or the total value of its contract with Universal LNG.
