Vancouver’s Westport Innovations has entered into an agreement with General Motors to advance natural gas engine technology.

“This technology offers the promises of a cleaner, lower cost fuel and reduced carbon footprint, while advancing the use of domestic energy,” said Ian Scott, President of Westport’s Light-Duty Division. “Westport’s recent announcement regarding the planned acquisition of Emer S.p.A., of Italy, is an integral part of our strategy to provide partners, such as GM, with the most advanced integrated solutions.”

Westport, a global leader in alternative fuel, low-emissions technologies that allow engines to operate on clean-burning fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), hydrogen, and biofuels such as landfill gas, also announced plans to open a Technical Center in Michigan. Westport currently has 15 people working in Farmington Hills, Mich., and plans to add more people and invest in facilities as demand grows for natural gas-powered, alternative-fuel vehicles. To support OEM programs such as that with GM, Westport also plans to add research and development facilities.

“Natural gas is 97% North American sourced and much less expensive than gasoline or diesel,” according to John Lapetz, Westport’s Light-Duty Division Managing Director, North American Vehicle Programs. “It also produces about 15 - 20% less CO2 than those fuels.

“Hybridization, lower-displacement with turbo charging, direct injection and other fuel-saving technologies now being applied to gasoline and diesel engines, can also be applied to natural gas fueled engines for even greater improvements in efficiency and fuel cost savings,” he concluded.