LPG fuel systems company wins $3.54m grant

Melbourne LPG fuel systems specialist Alternative Fuel Innovations (AFI) has received a $3.54 million federal government grant to develop an LPG liquid injection system it says will close the performance gap between LPG and petrol.

LPG systems have long been available and have achieved virtual ubiquity for their potential to dramatically cut fuel costs -- the gas is available at most metropolitan service stations and normally costs less than half the price of petrol per litre.

There are some downsides to it, however. LPG's lower volumetric energy density means a chunk of the savings is consumed in higher fuel consumption. This is exacerbated in most LPG-equipped vehicles because they're dual-fuel rather than dedicated, meaning that the ECU is optimised for petrol rather than gas, which also takes its toll on performance.

Liquid injection has attracted considerable interest for its potential to overcome performance problems without compromising the fuel cost savings.

AFI claims its Liquajet system will bring LPG power performance up to that of petrol, while continuing to deliver the savings and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 'a minimum 10 per cent'.

The company has won the support of the Green Car Innovation Fund -- which may not be very much support at all -- overseen by Senator Kim Carr's (pictured) Department of Innovation, Industry Science & Research.

Liquid injection LPG systems are already available on the Australian market. The technology is seen as a quantum leap by the auto industry for the boost in efficiency it delivers over existing vapour injection systems. Rather than letting the LPG escape into gas in the injector, it works by keeping it in pressurised liquid form all the way from the tank through the injector and into the intake manifold. As it enters the manifold it expands about 270 times into gaseous form, condensing the air with which it mixes and helping cool the surrounding mechanicals for better operating efficiency, improving power output and fuel efficiency.

LPG burns cleaner than petrol, emitting 10 to 15 per cent less greenhouse gases and around 80 per cent less particulate matter and other toxins.

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