An easy and quick installation is made possible by integrated gasoline systems at Hexagon Agility FleetCare in Salisbury, North Carolina. With the recent development of a fuel system assembly factory and the installation of a new FleetCare facility earlier this year, Hexagon Agility is expanding its capabilities in North Carolina and getting ready for what company executives believe will be the eventual rise of renewable natural gas in the trucking sector.
According to Hexagon Composites' subsidiary Hexagon Agility, their solutions prevented the emission of more than 1.35 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents into the environment in the first half of 2023. Although the parent company's history dates back to the 1960s, it was initially listed on the Norwegian stock exchange in 2000. Hans Peter Havdal, the chief operating officer of Hexagon Composites and CEO of Hexagon Agility, claims that it is now the largest manufacturer of composite fuel cylinders in the world. The company's overarching goal, according to him, is to facilitate the switch to more environmentally friendly storage and transportation options.
Apart from producing cylinders for hydrogen and natural gas, the firm also oversees the delivery of fuels with reduced emissions. Hexagon fields 1,800 modules worldwide, which are essentially trailers with many big cylinders that function as a "mobile pipeline" for gasoline delivery. For days or even weeks, the trailer may be left where it will function as a fuelling station.
Hexagon Composites is headquartered in Europe, although the majority of its operations, 53 percent, are in North America. The firm has facilities in Salisbury, North Carolina; Ontario, California; Westminster, Maryland; Lincoln, Nebraska; Kelowna, Canada; and Fontana, California.
Fuel's energy density decreases as it becomes cleaner. Diesel has a high energy density since it is a highly energetic material. Contrarily, natural gas fuels with lower energy densities, such as CNG or RNG, require more fuel to be placed into the tanks.
"Compared to methane, diesel has a substantially greater energy density per cubic meter. And when we go from methane to hydrogen, it gets even more electric and decreases even more," notes Eric Bippus, executive vice president of Hexagon Agility's sales and system development. Thus, it's crucial to pack as much clean fuel as possible in a given quantity of space. The use of renewable natural gas is, therefore, rapidly expanding at the moment.
Havdal highlights the lightweight nature of the company's cylinders as a major benefit. Inside, they feature a polymer lining that is coated with resin and carbon fiber. Compared to if they were constructed of steel, they are much lighter. He says, "So, we can carry more gas on board and increase the vehicle's range with the light cylinder."
Hexagon Agility manufactures fuel systems and tanks that can power vehicles without significantly increasing weight and reducing cargo space. This allows the company to create solutions for fuels, including hydrogen, RNG, and CNG.
With 70,000 cars already on the road, Hexagon Agility serves the following three segments:
According to Bippus, Hexagon Agility leads the heavy-duty truck industry in North America with around 80% dominance in each of those three categories. According to him, just around 2% of the 330,000 new heavy-duty vehicles that are put into service in North America each year are powered by compressed natural gas. However, he anticipates that number to start rising when Cummins introduces the X15N, a 15-liter natural gas engine.
"We predict a 2% increase to 5%, 10%, and 15%. Right now, we're in a great situation. We have 10 sites globally and employ 900 people," continues Bippus.
Hexagon Agility has a fuel system assembly site nearby in Salisbury, and it's currently growing. Although it does not produce cylinders, the plant assembles fuel systems and produces several essential parts in-house.
Don Ruddy, vice president of operations at the Salisbury production plant, says, "We take raw flat sheet metal, extruded metal, and we'll cut it, size it, bend it, break it, shape it, curve, and we'll make covers, all of that in our fabric." "After painting it, we may apply a dry coat. We thus have some adaptability there. This facility handles the processing and painting of all those goods. After that, we fabricate every tube. Certain parts, such as gauges and regulators, are not produced by the plant.
"We combine all those parts and put them together to create a system that is completely enclosed. It has undergone pressure testing and is prepared for either our on-site installation or delivery to an OEM for their installation," he says.
The cylinders are now made in Lincoln, Nebraska. However, the Salisbury plant will begin producing its own in over a year, starting with a 27-inch by 81-inch cylinder used in the bigger fuel systems. The first cylinder will be produced in January 2025, and the 113,000-square-foot building expansion housing the cylinder manufacturing will be finished in January 2024.
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