Japan's DME Vehicle Promotion Committee wins DME Clean Fuel Achievement Award

WWW.BLUEFUELENERGY.COM: During a special ceremony held during the 6th Asian DME Conference in Seoul, South Korea in September, 2009, Japan's DME Vehicle Promotion Committee (DMEVPC) was awarded the annual DME Clean Fuel Achievement Award.

Known as "The DME Award" and presented by the International DME Association, this award "recognizes companies, organizations, and individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to the development and commercialization of dimethyl ether as a clean fuel source.

The award was presented by IDA Executive Director, Christopher Kidder and was accepted on behalf of the DME Vehicle Promotion Committee by DMEVPC Chair Yasuhiko Mikita and Secretary-General Ryoji Wakasa. As stated on their website, the 2009-2010 objectives for the DMEVPC are:

• To comply with a new subsidy plan by Japan's MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) and put forward a 2009 proposal for new project allowing DME trucks to operate commercially.
• Demonstration of DME Trucks in a commercial transport operation covering the full production chain for DME fuel, including manufacturing, distribution, and relevant infrastructure for DME vehicles in Japan's Niigata region.
• To support newly built DME (4 tons) trucks built by Isuzu for commercial use in 2009 and to introduce DME trucks to the transportation industry and general users.
• To continue commerical operations using existing DME trucks (like those manufactured by Nissan Diesel) after MLITT’s subsidies ceased in Dec. 2008.
• To support technical improvement of DME filling speed/measurement and development of low-priced sealing materials suitable for DME piping/storage tanks.
• The advancement of deregulation reform on DME infrastructure in line with that of LPG.

Last year's winner of the DME Clean Fuel Achievement Awardwas China's ENN Group .