Westport WiNG Power system is a bi-fuel CNG system currently offered on Ford’s F-450 and F-550 trucks. The acquisition of Prins could bring a propane bi-fuel system soon.Westport Innovations Inc. will add announced a strengthening of its technology portfolio with its acquisition of Prins Autogassystemen and the company’s liquefied petroleum gas fuel system with direct injection.
Based in the Netherlands, Prins develops LPG (or propane), compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel systems for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty applications. Westport said it will bring the company in under its applied technologies unit.
The biggest thing Prins’ will bring in the acquisition is what Westport called a “strong” direct injection technology for both LPG and CNG. Westport also noted Prins’ “well-developed dual-fuel system—an add-on system for diesel engines with over 100 calibrations for LPG, CNG, and LNG to optimize the diesel replacement rate.” Prins also brings a fuel control software developed in-house.
Westport noted in its announcement that the company sees a significant market opportunity with LPG as the fuel has a high energy content, is widely available in many countries and has a broad application of uses. The company noted a forecast from Navigant Research that expects the number of light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles converted to run on LPG to grow from 1 million in 2012 to 1.4 million in new sales and conversions by 2020.
“Prins’ globally respected product line, their strong track record in continuous innovation and new product introductions combined with its Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) relationships complement our products and OEM coverage to provide us with a great position as the go-to partner for alternative fuels solutions,” Mehran Rahbar, Westport executive vice president of on-road systems and applied technologies, said in a prepared statement.
The two companies have a standing relationship as Prins is a supplier of Westport’s Volvo Car business. Prins also has systems available for the top six European OEM truck brands and global OEMs such as Hyundai and Kia.
