Your behavior appears to be a little unusual. Please verify that you are not a bot.


Alliance AutoGas secures propane refueling patent

October 15, 2021 By    

Alliance AutoGas received its second patent for its refueling innovation involving propane in a vehicle tank.

Jessie Johnson, left, and David Kennedy invented the refueling technology. Photo courtesy of Alliance AutoGas

Jessie Johnson of Blossman Gas, left, and David Kennedy of Alliance AutoGas invented the refueling technology. Photo courtesy of Alliance AutoGas

As commercial fleets across the U.S., including school districts, turn to propane autogas, Alliance AutoGas saw the need for increased efficiency and safety while servicing these vehicles.

The innovation will allow autogas vehicles to refuel themselves without autogas specialized infrastructure. Using a vehicle’s in-tank fuel pump, control valves pull fuel from the remote fuel valve rather than inside the tank. The pump then pushes fuel outside the tank, toward the engine, where it is diverted and redirected back in the storage tank through an overfill protection device (OPD) valve. This allows the in-tank fuel pump to move liquid propane from an external tank to itself instead of requiring an external dispensing pump.

The innovation will allow autogas refueling with a residential tank at a residence with just a hose connection.

According to Alliance AutoGas, fleets are choosing autogas over traditional gasoline and diesel due to cost efficiency, environmental benefits and the desire to use a domestic fuel. Propane autogas engines reduce engine CO2 and NOx emissions, particulate matter and black carbon, which dramatically improves air quality in local communities.

While propane autogas is a clean-burning fuel, normally requiring less engine maintenance than its gasoline and diesel counterparts, autogas vehicles still require occasional fuel system repair, says Alliance AutoGas, prompting the company to find a better way to service these vehicles.

Jessie Johnson, formerly vice president of sales and marketing at Blossman Gas, and David Kennedy, director of autogas design at Alliance AutoGas, are the inventors of the patent.

“Throughout my time at Blossman Gas and Alliance AutoGas, I always enjoyed being a part of the groundbreaking innovation that we worked towards,” says Johnson. “David Kennedy and I, along with everyone else involved with the company, are pursuing technology that will enable the growth of the autogas industry and bring it closer to residential opportunity.”

Alliance AutoGas is an alternative fuel company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 2010 by Blossman Gas, which is composed of more than 70 locations and two headquarters, one in Swannanoa, North Carolina, and the other in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

This article is tagged with , , and posted in News

Comments are currently closed.