A diesel engine on a construction site is being replaced with a gas engine that nearly eliminates nitrogen oxide emissions. This matters because construction sites rely heavily on diesel-powered Non Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM)—generators, excavators, compressors—that pump out NOx and particulates, worsening urban air quality. Diesel has been hard to displace due to cheap fuel and easy refuelling. The CAGE project tackles both: it adapts a Euro 6 automotive engine platform with OakTec’s gas combustion and control innovations, then pairs it with a ‘Mother and Daughter’ bulk-tank refuelling system from Calor that delivers bioLPG at a wholesale cost currently lower than red diesel. If successful, the engine could cut CO₂ emissions by up to 80% when using bioLPG, while virtually eliminating NOx. Kings College London will model the impact on real-world NRMM fleets, using an existing emissions inventory to guide technology design. The demonstration includes a bioLPG generator powering welfare cabins on construction sites, showing the system works in the field—including inside London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone. The result would be a cost-competitive, low-emission gas engine that construction firms can actually adopt.
View original technical description
The CAGE project (Clean Air Gas Engine) brings together the gas engine development expertise of project lead OakTec with leading industrial partners Autocraft Drivetrain Solutions supported by a global vehicle OEM. With further support from Calor/SHV Energy, who will provide innovative bioLPG fuelling solutions, industrial engine supplier EP Barrus, and Kings College London (KCL) to assess and monitor air quality benefits, the project builds on five years dedicated research into efficient, low emission industrial gas engines by OakTec. The project applies Oaktec's IP in low emission gas engine combustion and control to the state of the art automotive engine platform, and optimises its performance to suit a range of industrial applications used in the construction industry. The CAGE product will be integrated into Non Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM) typically powered by red diesel engines on construction and demolition sites. Its benefits will be demonstrated in these working environments with a focus on use in dedicated low emission areas such as London's Ultra Low Emission Zone. The demonstration will include a bioLPG generator manufactured by UK OEM Sutton Power Engineering, to provide energy for construction site welfare cabins. The inherent low emission benefits of gas fuels are well documented with natural advantages in output of NOx, and harmful particulates when compared with diesel engines. Diesel engines however have perceived advantages in ease of refuelling with low cost fuel, and fuel efficiency when compared to other engine types, making them very attractive to the construction sector. The CAGE project fully addresses these issues to offer a cost competitive, ultra low emission gas engine product with easy refuelling and competitive fuel costs. Fuel efficiency and emissions are addressed by harnessing the many inherent benefits and technologies in the Euro 6 certified engine that give it class leading automotive performance, and introduces the OakTec innovations in industrial gas engine fuelling, operational control and combustion, including strategies that all but eliminate NOx emissions. Parallel activity by the innovation group at Calor UK will develop and supply on-site fuelling solutions exactly tailored for ease of use by the customer, based on a 'Mother and Daughter' system whereby a bulk tank is delivered to the site with systems to enable safe refuelling to smaller, machine-specific storage tanks. This benefits the customer by enabling purchase at a wholesale LPG cost that is currently lower than red diesel. By adopting Calor's new bioLPG product CO2 emissions can be further reduced by up to 80%. EP Barrus, Europe’s leading supplier of industrial engines, are supporting OakTec in taking their new gas engine products to market, and in the CAGE project will work with selected OEM's to support the integration of the new gas engine into their machines. KCL will assess the emission reduction potential of the CAGE product on NRMM fleet emissions using a range of scenarios based on technology penetration into different engine sizes and machinery types. This will be based on a unique emissions inventory already developed on NRMM fleet location, activity and measured real world emission factors and offers the opportunity to optimise technology design from a clean air perspective.
Plain English summaries and category classifications on this site are generated by AI and may not perfectly reflect the original research.
Is something wrong? Let us know