The objective of the NGV UPTIME project was to bridge this information gap and complete a comprehensive data-analysis study that documents vehicle maintenance costs, technology solutions, and best practices for reducing maintenance and other related ongoing costs for medium- and heavy-duty NGVs used in freight and goods movement. This project evaluated these vehicles alongside comparable diesel models, including emissions after-treatment systems, and NGV maintenance costs on both a system-wide and component level to help improve total cost-of-ownership calculations, specifically for medium- and heavy-duty freight and goods movement applications.

This study of real-world maintenance costs of NGVs was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and led by Clean Fuels Ohio. Energetics Incorporated served as the data analysis lead, while the National Renewable Energy Laboratory provided the project with vehicle and maintenance data analysis and alternative fuel expertise.

Natural gas engines offer a significant opportunity to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by the heavy-duty freight and goods movement industry. This space is dominated by large diesel engines that produce large amounts of GHGs and require complicated exhaust treatment systems to meet modern emissions standards. Switching from diesel to natural gas (NG) engines can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 27%.