Revolutionary fuel system shortlisted for award

A PATENTED dual fuel injection system for diesel Heavy Goods Vehicles is set to put a Midlands transport technology firm in the running for a regional innovation prize.

The Hardstaff Group’s Oil-Ignition-Gas-Injection (OIGI®) system, developed in collaboration with Loughborough University, has been shortlisted in the Innovation for Sustainability category at the 2010 Lord Stafford Awards.

The fuel system has the ability to cut engine CO2 emissions by up to 20%.

The Nottingham company worked extensively with a team at Loughborough to make sure the system was efficient.

The link with Hardstaff has benefited the university, helping it build a reputation for excellence in dual fuel research that has led to it being commissioned by the Technology Strategy Board to work on a two-litre engine design.  

Hardstaff managing director Trevor Fletcher said: “The short-listing represents an acknowledgement of the time and money invested over a number of years and provides a boost to the whole company and staff, who have gone beyond normal duty to maintain the development for nearly five years.

“We have proved that the 20% reduction in emissions is possible by running the system on our own fleet of vehicles over the last seven years and through continued collaboration with the university it has been developed to the point where it can be retro-fitted to existing vehicles made by other manufacturers.  This has increased the potential market for OIGI® massively.”

This widened field of application has led to the company being appointed as a specialist dealer by Mercedes-Benz, which is supplying new vehicles to be converted to the system, has designated the company a specialist dealer and many leading fleet operators are also adapting their vehicles to OIGI®.

The technology has also been distributed as far afield as South America, giving the company genuine hopes of a worldwide impact.

Hardstaff is now looking at developing the technology for use in road cars.

Established in 1861, the Hardstaff Group has an annual turnover of £20m and provides solutions across a broad spectrum of applications in the industrial transport field.  

Awards patron Lord Stafford said the development of the system illustrated how collaborative projects between universities and businesses could reap dividends for all involved.

The East Midlands winners of the awards, which cover ‘Innovation Achieved’, ‘Innovation in Development’ and ‘Innovation for Sustainability’, will be announced at a ceremony in Leicester on September 9.