HE System Technologies seeks to improve on compressed natural gas systems

Businesses across the globe incur significant vehicle fuel costs, especially if transportation is core to their operations. For package delivery and other logistics companies, natural gas is emerging as a way to save transportation costs.

HE System Technologies is an emerging company that is entering the market to help such businesses more efficiently fuel vehicles powered by natural gas.

HE stands for “high efficiency,” which CEO Jim McSweeney describes as a driving force behind the company.

“In 2011, we saw an opportunity in natural gas compressors used to fuel vehicles powered by natural gas. Natural gas is proven as a cleaner and much less expensive fuel. We found the industry didn’t have a reliable natural gas fueling compressor so we developed one,” McSweeney said.

McSweeney and Chief Technology Officer Mike Nickipuck were semi-finalists in the 2014 Governor’s Business Plan Contest. The company’s latest product is its 10-piston radial compressed natural gas filling system. McSweeney has 25 years of sales and marketing experience, and Nickipuck is an inventor with 25 years’ experience with manufacturing and product development.

After years of working with different types of compressors, McSweeney and Nickipuck saw that natural gas compressors were being used to fuel vehicles that run on compressed national gas.

“We learned that natural gas is becoming more and more popular as a fuel, especially for work vehicles that are too heavy for electric power and burn a lot of fuel,” McSweeney said.

In order to further understand natural gas compressors, they decided to buy some natural gas compressors and test the market. They discovered that natural gas compressors, designed to fuel smaller fleets, suffered from numerous flaws that could make them undependable and short-lived.

“We decided to make our own natural gas compressor,” McSweeney said. “Our system was designed from the ground up to be safe, reliable gas pump for contractors, delivery drivers, taxis, city vehicles and anyone who wants to take advantage of clean, cheap natural gas.”

That led to the invention of the 10-piston radial compressed natural gas filling system.

This compressed natural gas system can fill vehicles or storage tanks at a rate up to 10 gallons per hour. The developers believe it solves problems that are seen with other natural gas fueling systems. The HE filling system deals more effectively with “incompressibles,” such as water and butane, which can destroy other compressors.

In addition, the CNG system eliminates leaks and overheating while requiring low maintenance.

“We are more reliable and durable than existing systems. Other systems are modified air compressors, which leads to breakdown, short life and dangerous conditions. We will speed the adoption of natural gas as a fuel with our cost-effective fueling solution,” McSweeney said.

Why use natural gas versus traditional gasoline for your vehicle?

Natural gas can be less than a third of the cost of gasoline, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent. By using natural gas, companies who use the CNG filling system can save thousands of dollars every month by fueling with natural gas.

“Our technology provides a dependable, cost effective fueling solution for all customers,” McSweeney said.

The company is based in Willowbrook, Ill., but may expand in Wisconsin. It is seeking about $2 million in investment for the CNG system production.

— By David Bartscher, for WisBusiness.com . Bartscher was a student in the UW-Madison Department of Life Sciences Communication.