Blue Energy Motors opens India’s first LNG truck plant

Blue Energy Motors today inaugurated India’s first Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) fuelled green truck manufacturing plant at Chakan, Pune. The facility was inaugurated by Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways.

Blue Energy Motors, which aims to disrupt the trucking industry in India by manufacturing clean energy, near-zero emissions trucks, will roll out LNG-fueled, long-haul, heavy-duty trucks. The company has signed an agreement with FPT Industrial, the global powertrain brand of Iveco Group, Italy to introduce the first LNG trucks powered by FPT Industrial engines which are BS VI compliant. The market entry of the LNG-fueled trucks will start with introduction of 5528 4x2 tractor as the first model.

According to Blue Energy Motors, its “trucks have been designed and tested in accordance with demanding Indian transport industry’s duty cycles. Powered by FPT Industrial engines generating high torque, these trucks not only deliver best-in-class TCO, but also offer unmatched ride comfort and safety for the drivers for long hauls.”

The FPT Industrial engine is one of the most powerful natural gas engines and compatible with CNG, LNG and biomethane. It uses multipoint stoichiometric combustion to assure best-in-class fuel consumption and lower noise than diesel engines.

Nitin Gadkari said, “It's a pleasure and pride to launch the first LNG truck in the country. This is the fuel for the future. It is cost effective and a changemaker for the transport sector. It is a great alternative to petrol and diesel at a time when we import so much. With LNG, there will be savings and we will reduce our logistics cost by 16%, and further bring it down to 10%, which is our target. We are making LNG and CNG from biomass in Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana. Biofuel is the future and we have a huge potential for export. It's essential for the economy. The prospects for the industry are great and I am excited about the future, as we move towards reducing pollution.”

Anirudh Bhuwalka, CEO, Blue Energy Motors commented: “India’s first LNG truck manufacturing facility in Chakan, Pune, is our first step towards pioneering the green trucking revolution. We aim to decarbonise the environment by providing an immediate solution and breaking the barriers of economic returns”.

“We are pleased and proud that Blue Energy Motors has chosen us for this major evolution in Indian commercial transport,” said Sylvain Blaise, President of Iveco Group Powertrain Business Unit. “This agreement is of the utmost importance for FPT Industrial, now and in the future, as we want our leading technologies to play a key role to support the ecological transition of one of the world’s largest vehicle markets.”

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