No. H037/04 For release May 20, 2004 OTTAWA - Fourteen new projects under Transport Canada's Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program were announced today by Transport Minister Tony Valeri. "These projects demonstrate the transportation industry's leadership in reducing emissions and promoting sustainable transportation," said Mr. Valeri. "The innovative tools, technologies and best practices they generate will not only decrease greenhouse gas emissions but will also increase the efficiency of freight transportation." The organizations selected to demonstrate their projects under the third round of funding are Big Freight Systems Inc., Canadian Waste Services Inc., Enbridge Gas Distribution, the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada, Groupe Énerstat inc., and Innovation Maritime. Fourth round project organizations are Air Transat A.T. Inc., Canadian National Railway Company, J.D. Smith and Sons Limited, New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited, RailPower Technologies Corporation, RST Industries and Seaspan International Ltd. The Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program, announced in November 2001, will allocate approximately $4.5 million over five years for projects designed to reduce the growth of greenhouse gas emissions in the freight transportation sector. This program is one of five transportation initiatives under the Government of Canada Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change. The program supports the demonstration and evaluation of innovative tools, technologies and best practices that have the potential to reduce the growth of greenhouse gas emissions from the freight transportation sector in Canada. The Government of Canada will contribute up to 50 per cent of eligible project expenses, to a maximum of $250,000, with applicants and their partners contributing the remainder. "Transportation is a key component of the Government of Canada's strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said the Honourable Jim Karygiannis, P.C., M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport. "By encouraging environmentally sustainable freight transportation choices we will help decrease greenhouse gas emissions in Canada while improving air quality - and our quality of life." This announcement brings the total funding allocated under the Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program to approximately $2.4 million for 20 projects. Funding for this program was provided for in the federal economic statement of October 2000 and is therefore built into the existing financial framework. More information on the Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program is available at www.tc.gc.ca/FSDP. More information on Action Plan 2000 is available at www.tc.gc.ca/programs/Environment/actionplan2000/menu.htm. Backgrounders with information on projects and the program are attached. -30- Contact: Christina Van Loon Office of the Minister, Ottawa (613) 991-0700 Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at apps.tc.gc.ca/listserv/ and keep up-to-date on the latest from Transport Canada. This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons with visual disabilities. BACKGROUNDER PROJECTS FUNDED UNDER THE THIRD AND FOURTH ROUNDS OF THE FREIGHT SUSTAINABILITY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM The following six projects have been selected for the third round of funding under the Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program: Big Freight Systems Inc. ($100,000) Project location: Manitoba This project will demonstrate several measures to reduce fuel consumption in the company's operations. The first is a driver education program to train staff on fuel-efficient driving and company operations. The second component will use computer software to better manage truck refuelling and routing to improve fuel efficiency. The third component is the development and use of new software to minimize fuel consumed while trucks idle. Data from the truck's on-board computers will assist in the monitoring of the results. Canadian Waste Services Inc. ($150,000) Project location: Across Canada This project will demonstrate ways to increase company productivity and operational efficiency in urban waste removal. Company teams will travel to eight market areas across Canada to analyze driving practices, truck idling habits and operational efficiency. Global positioning system technology will be used in combination with custom software to "geocode" customer locations (i.e., group neighbourhoods or localities geographically), thereby reducing the number of truck trips required to service a particular area. Enbridge Gas Distribution ($150,000) Project location: Southern Ontario between Toronto and Windsor This project will demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of operating heavy-duty trucks moving freight between cities (excluding pickup and delivery service) using liquefied natural gas as the primary fuel. The use of liquefied natural gas is expected to result in reductions in nitrogen oxides by 40 per cent, particulate matter by 60 per cent and greenhouse gas emissions by 13 per cent. The two-year demonstration project calls for 10 new trucks running between Toronto and Windsor to be equipped with Westport-Cycle natural gas engine technology. It also calls for the construction of liquefied natural gas stations in the Toronto area and in London, Ontario, to support the demonstration. Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada ($116,250) Project location: Quebec and Ontario This project will evaluate tire pressure control equipment on three fleets of forest trucks in Quebec and Ontario during forest harvesting operations throughout one transport season. Several trucks will be equipped with systems that will deliver continuous optimization of tire pressure (adjustable from inside the cab). Several other trucks will be equipped with systems that automatically maintain tire pressure at a defined level. The carriers will be able to evaluate the tire pressure systems in real time, while the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada will measure the overall fuel and tire savings against a control group of trucks from the same fleet. The demonstration results will be communicated to transport professionals through publication of the project results and workshops. Groupe Énerstat inc. ($94,700) Project location: Across Canada This project will demonstrate the NovaCab smart climate control system for heating/air conditioning/ventilation. This system is designed for long-haul trucks equipped with sleeper cabs. The technology, developed by Groupe Énerstat inc., is expected to significantly reduce the need to idle truck engines during driver rest periods. By using an innovative approach to thermal storage and a heat pump, the system will meet the heating and air-conditioning needs of long-haul trucks for up to 10 consecutive hours without requiring significant external power. Innovation Maritime ($100,000) Project location: St. Lawrence Seaway This demonstration will reduce the fuel consumption of commercial vessels operating between Les Escoumins, Quebec and Trois-Rivières, Quebec by harnessing the power of favourable tidal currents. Innovation Maritime has developed software to facilitate the use of tidal currents to reduce fuel consumption. This project will determine the fuel savings of vessels utilizing the software to determine the effectiveness of the technology in reducing fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. The following eight projects have been selected for the fourth round of funding under the Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program: Air Transat A.T. Inc. ($200,000) Project location: Mirabel, Quebec The objective of this project is the reduction of fuel consumption, fuel costs, greenhouse gas emissions and noise for the entire aircraft fleet. The overall target is to reduce the annual fuel consumption by three to eight per cent. The project consists of implementing fuel-saving measures in several areas, including flight procedures, aircraft operating weight and payload data, load-planning (weight and balance), minimum-fuel-track planning and cost-indexing. Canadian National Railway Company ($250,000) Project location: Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec This project is intended to demonstrate and measure the effect of using distributed power on freight locomotive fuel consumption. Six units will be equipped with Locotrol Distributed Power systems to run on CN's Lac-Saint-Jean subdivision. The system enables locomotives to be distributed along the length of the train, as opposed to several locomotives being physically connected at the front of the train. This is expected to help reduce greenhouse gases by providing better control of the train, more efficient use of available power, and reduced handling of railcars. Canadian National Railway Company ($198,213) Project location: In and around Edmonton, Alberta This project will demonstrate and compare three different locomotive anti-idling technologies. CN intends to equip two locomotives with ECOTRANS systems (one of which will be equipped with an optional compressor), another two locomotives with the HotStart-SmartStart Diesel Unit and another two locomotives with the HotStart-SmartStart Electric Unit. The performance of the different technologies will be individually evaluated and compared for greenhouse gas emissions impact and operational effectiveness. J.D. Smith and Sons Limited ($65,828) Project location: In and around the Greater Toronto Area This project will use new technologies to monitor driver skills taught in a driver education program in real time and encourage more efficient driving habits. The software used by the company has the ability to create alerts to indicate poor driver performance. When an alert is triggered, the information is relayed promptly to dispatch. Alerts are used to create a daily driver performance report. The company can work with drivers to correct their skills and provide additional training where necessary. Fuel consumption will be monitored to determine the greenhouse gas emissions impact of the approach. New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited ($60,000) Project location: Between Saint John, New Brunswick and Farnham, Quebec In cooperation with Sunbury Transport Limited, New Brunswick Southern Railway Company Limited intends to create an express intermodal train service using truck trailers on modified rail flatcars, between Saint John, New Brunswick and Farnham, Quebec. This will provide a more efficient option for moving freight. The greenhouse gas emissions impact of the switch from road to rail and the operational feasibility of the project will be monitored. RailPower Technologies Corporation ($250,000) Project location: Across Canada This project will demonstrate a fleet of 2,000 horsepower and 1,000 horsepower hybrid switching locomotives, called Green Goat and Green Kid respectively. RailPower's technology consists of a small efficient diesel engine that stores the power it generates in a large bank of batteries for later use. This replaces a large idling diesel engine in a typical switcher. The technology is expected to result in significant reductions in greenhouse gas and other emissions. Funding will enable demonstrations at different sites across Canada. RST Industries, a division of Midland Transport ($34,917) Project location: Across New Brunswick This project will demonstrate new single-tire technology, replacing the dual tires that are currently used on the company's tank trailers. Two tanker trailers will be outfitted with the new tires and driven on the same routes providing the same service as they currently provide. Data will be collected and analyzed to identify the impact of the tires on fuel consumption. The new tires are expected to enable heavier payload while reducing fuel consumption, thus improving fuel consumption per tonne/kilometre. Seaspan International Ltd. ($120,000) Project location: Vancouver, British Columbia This project will involve using the Stellar Marine's Electronic Speed Pilot computer system to optimize the consumption of fuel of several of the company's tugboats and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The system enables the ship's master to optimize the application of propulsion power to reduce fuel use. Funding is being awarded to equip four vessels with the Stellar Marine equipment and monitor the fuel consumption of the vessels. May 2004 BACKGROUNDER FREIGHT SUSTAINABILITY DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM The Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program, led by Transport Canada, supports the demonstration and evaluation of innovative tools, technologies and best practices that have the potential to reduce the growth of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada's freight transportation sector. The program, which was announced in November 2001, allocates approximately $4.5 million between 2001 and 2006 for projects that meet its eligibility criteria. Projects are eligible for a maximum contribution of $250,000 over two years. Government of Canada contributions will cover up to 50 per cent of eligible project expenses, with applicants and their partners contributing the remainder. An expert advisory committee, including representatives of federal departments, academic institutions and not-for-profit organizations, makes recommendations on project funding. Transport Canada, in agreement with Natural Resources Canada, makes the final selection of projects that will receive funding. Applications are accepted twice a year - in the spring and the fall. For specific dates, please see the Applicant's Guide on the Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program Web site listed below. The next deadline for applications is October 1, 2004. Participants in the Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program are required to monitor greenhouse gas emissions impacts and report findings from their projects to the program secretariat at Transport Canada. The department will make information on successful technologies and best practices available at conferences and other venues, and on the program's website. For further information on the Freight Sustainability Demonstration Program, visit www.tc.gc.ca/FSDP. May 2004
