Enerpulse Helps Power Noble Automotive Group's CNG Vehicles

April 3, 2012 - PRLog -- North Myrtle Beach, S.C. – Enerpulse, Inc. and Noble Automotive Group, Inc. dba (Vision Motor Company) today announced the incorporation of Enerpulse's Precision Combustion Ignition (PCI) technology into Noble’s SEERngv commuter car. Enerpulse's patented ultra high-power Pulse Plug will replace conventional spark plugs on all future vehicles assembled by Noble.

Noble, through their Vision Motor Company (VMC) will soon offer 100 percent CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) fueled vehicles as well as dual fuel gasoline/CNG vehicles. These vehicles will be distributed through existing new car dealers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The CNG fueled vehicle will deliver 45 mpg in normal use.

Enerpulse, Inc. has developed and commercialized the first real breakthrough in automotive spark plug technology in over 120 years.  Its Pulse Plug integrates a capacitor and energy efficient circuit increasing conventional ignition system energy transfer efficiency from less than one percent to over 50 percent. This significant increase couples more ignition energy to the fuel charge which improves combustion stability, reducing fuel consumption and total emissions by as much as 10 percent.

According to the International Association for Natural Gas, at the end of 2010 there were 18,202 CNG refueling stations in the U.S. for the 12.7 million vehicles that use natural gas. Bob Smith, chairman of Noble Automotive Group says the business model for VMC is to work directly with local natural gas suppliers to expand refueling stations. "Our commercial efforts are focused on fleets that have a sufficient inventory of vehicles to allow natural gas companies to economically install refueling facilities at fleet headquarters," explained Smith.

Having a refueling facility at the fleet location enhances the economic benefit to the fleet owner, because CNG delivers a 50 percent cost savings on a BTU to BTU basis. Smith said the Enerpulse Pulse Plug was selected by Noble after testing showed a 7.7 percent improvement in mpg and a 67.5 percent decrease in non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC). "Combustion stability at idle and cold start were also improved," explained Smith. "VMC is very excited to offer this value-added technology to our customers."

Lou Camilli, president and CTO of Enerpulse, Inc. states that the Vision SEEngv vehicle is a logical application of the Enerpulse PCI technology. "Testing at an internationally recognized laboratory demonstrated an ability to ignite very lean mixtures, said Camilli. "This capability lends itself to improved cold start especially with alternative fuels. High-power discharge has also shown to ionize a large area in and around the spark gap which enables shorter burn times and improved combustion efficiency. The results with the Vision SEEngv are representative of PCI operational benefits.”  

For more information, phone (888) 800-6700 or visit http://www.enerpulse.com.

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Founded in 2004, the company develops environmentally friendly ignition products through the application of pulse power technology.