Fortunately for me, I live in Alberta - the jurisdiction that won the geological lottery in Canada and lucky enough to have all those oil and gas revenues tumbling in to provincial coffers.
Better yet, the good times look to continue with $75 per barrel of oil forecast by many for 2010. Heck, even President Bush admits the US energy addiction and even when this is all gone, we've still got the Heritage Fund.
Great, huh?
Maybe.
In case you hadn't noticed, a pair of economic realities called "Supply" and "Demand" will be hitting Albertans hard over the next few years. In other words, forces from Kyoto to the battered North American auto industry can and will change this economic prosperity.
Which explains why the recent announcement by Mississauga, Ontario-based Hy-Drive Technologies Ltd. (TSX-V: HGS) caught my eye. Hy-Drive recently announced the commercial availability of its G2 hydrogen generating system (HGS).
Hy-Drive is an energy technology firm that has developed this proprietary, patented hydrogen generating system. The Hy-Drive HGS generates and injects hydrogen gas into a regular internal combustion engine, enhancing the combustion process by allowing fuel to burn more efficiently and completely. According to the press release, this creates an enriched air mixture and a more complete and faster burn which results in reduced emissions, improved fuel efficiency and more engine torque.
"Eventually, there is no more black smoke coming from the exhausts of the trucks," says Tom Brown, President and CEO of Hy-Drive.
These benefits, specifically fuel economy and reduced emissions provide customers with greater productivity overall, as their engines operate more efficiently, with improved cycle times and less carbon build-up.
"Long haul truckers are seeing between eight and 35% fuel savings," says Brown. Naturally, this depends on the speed, weight hauled and terrain the vehicle travels.
The installation of the device - check out the hy-drive website for a picture - takes about an hour to install on the side of a standard diesel engine style, "18-wheeler" truck. It gets its electrical power from the trucks battery.
It costs $12,000 per unit from the Hy-Drive dealer networks and the only requirement after the installation is that two litres of distilled water need to be added for every 80 hours of operation.
"Now that we have completed our intensive testing protocols in the field, in the lab and in an SAE certified lab we are extremely pleased to announce the launch of our commercial product," said Brown.
With 11 million trucks running on North American highways, things could be looking up for Hy-Drive. They are also focused on the auto industry and recently announced a deal with Martinrea International Inc. (TSX: MRE), which will see the companies jointly develop an automotive Hydrogen Generating System for automobiles and light trucks. Martinrea is a producer of auto parts, assemblies and modules and fluid management systems focused primarily on the automotive sector.
Hy-Drive, which has its' roots in the Alberta cities of Edmonton, Medicine Hat and Calgary own 33 worldwide patents. The company seems well placed with this fuel saving technology and is looking at a market in dire need of relief. Furthermore, with technical advances like GPS tracking methods and satellite radio, the trucking industry itself has changed significantly in the past few years and is now more receptive to advances such as HGS
