Media Release - Onboard Dynamics and Deschutes County Partner for Natural Gas Refueling Technology

Deschutes County takes delivery of first self-refueling Compressed Natural Gas powered vehicle and will host an open house to allow the public to learn about the vehicle and the technology.

Onboard Dynamics, Inc. (ObDI) and Deschutes County have entered into a partnership in which ObDI has installed an innovative natural gas refueling system in a new Ford F-250 fleet vehicle for the Deschutes County Road Department. The system installed by ObDI will enable the new Ford F-250 pickup truck to run on and refuel with natural gas, without the use of an external CNG (compressed natural gas) station.  This pilot project is part of ObDI’s efforts to bring natural gas refueling solutions to market, while providing capability to analyze “on-the-road” performance of the technology.

Deschutes County Commissioners Alan Unger, Tammy Baney, and Anthony DeBone, along with Director of Public Works Chris Doty are enthusiastic supporters of ObDI’s partnership with the County. “Deschutes County is pleased to pilot Onboard Dynamics’ technology in our Road Department fleet. ObDI’s system will enable the newest Deschutes County truck to refuel with clean, domestic natural gas,” stated Commissioner DeBone.

Deschutes County takes delivery of the CNG-enabled Ford F-250 truck on Thursday, September 3rd, 2015. The truck will be the first self-refueling, compressed natural gas powered vehicle for the Deschutes County fleet.

The Deschutes County Road Department will host an Open House event on Thursday, September 3rd from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM to allow the public to learn about the vehicle and the technology employed in this pilot project.  The Road Department is located at 61150 SE 27th Street (immediately south of the Humane Society).

About Natural Gas as a Transportation Fuel
Natural gas is a cleaner burning, domestically produced, less expensive alternative to gasoline and diesel. Using natural gas as a transportation fuel reduces greenhouse gas (GGH) emissions by 20 to 25% (compared to gasoline). The United States has a 100+ year supply of natural gas, and nearly all the natural gas used in the US is produced in North America.  Deschutes County currently pays $2.28 per gallon for gasoline and only $1.03 per gallon equivalent for natural gas.

About Onboard Dynamics, Inc.
Onboard Dynamics, Inc. is developing a line of products that exploit the economics of volume-produced automotive engines to dramatically lower the cost of compressing natural gas for use in vehicles. ObDI’s patent-pending technology can be integrated into the engine of the motor-vehicle itself or can be packaged into a low cost, self-powered, mobile natural gas compressor system. By allowing vehicle owners to refuel conveniently and economically from existing low pressure natural gas supply lines, this technology lowers the principal barrier to more widespread use of natural gas-powered vehicles, thereby also reducing national carbon emissions.

Onboard Dynamics was founded in 2013 to further develop and commercialize technology conceived by Chris Hagen, assistant professor at Oregon State University – Cascades, and licensed from Oregon State University (OSU). The company has received financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), ONAMI (Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute), Oregon BEST, and OSU, as well as strategic partners and private investors. The company’s first commercial products will be available in mid-2016. www.onboarddynamics.com

​CONTACT:
Onboard Dynamics: Andie Long, 503-702-8578, andie@thistlestrategies.com
Deschutes County: Chris Doty, 541-322-7105, chris.doty@deschutes.org