Westport shows high‑pressure CNG fuel system at ACT Expo

Westport drove this high-pressure CNG equipped Volvo VNL from Vancouver to Las Vegas for its debut at ACT Expo. (Photo: Chad Elmore)

Westport Fuel Systems Inc., a supplier of alternative fuel systems for the transportation industry, selected ACT Expo 2026 for the first North American demonstration of its compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel storage system combined with the on-engine HPDI fuel system.

The systems are installed on a new Volvo VNL 300 truck with 500 hp. and 1,850 lb-ft of torque, and with fuel efficiency on CNG closely comparable to the VNL running on diesel fuel. The company drove the truck from its headquarters in Vancouver, B.C., Canada to the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The company said it is a critical step toward commercializing HPDI technology with CNG for the North American heavy‑duty market, where CNG is preferred and demand for practical, cost-effective, lower‑emission diesel alternatives continues to grow.

“Showcasing our next‑generation high‑pressure CNG system at ACT Expo marks a defining milestone for the future of clean transportation,” said Westport CEO Dan Sceli. “By combining advanced high‑pressure storage with Cespira’s proven HPDI fuel systems, we’re demonstrating that fleets can achieve diesel performance and efficiency using widely available natural gas. This is more than a product introduction — it’s a meaningful step toward delivering real emissions reductions with compelling operating economics for the North American market.”

Westport said its high‑pressure (~700 bar) CNG platform is engineered for diesel combustion engines that require in‑cylinder, high‑pressure gaseous fuel injection, including engines equipped with the HPDI fuel system developed by Cespira, Westport’s joint venture with Volvo Group.

While HPDI is commercially available in more than 30 countries, reportedly powering over 10,000 trucks worldwide using liquefied natural gas (LNG), North America’s preference for CNG has limited adoption in this market. Westport’s new fuel storage system removes that barrier.

Building a pathway for hydrogen

Wesport said the HPDI fuel system can be applied and certified to run on a variety of different fuels with minimal hardware changes, including natural gas, hydrogen or a blend of both fuels. OEMs can integrate NG HPDI in the near term and subsequently leverage their existing HPDI engineering and manufacturing investments to extend the technology to other fuels as needed.

Unlike fuel cells, an engine equipped with the HPDI fuel system does not require hydrogen to be pure. This means hydrogen for HPDI-equipped engines does not need a dedicated, super-clean distribution system and can avoid the high cost of liquefying hydrogen and transporting it in cryogenic trailers. Westport believes that the fuel adaptability of the HPDI on-engine fuel system will provide a more practical path for the use of hydrogen in heavy-duty transportation.

Westport’s proprietary CNG solution leverages high-pressure storage technology originally developed for hydrogen to deliver the performance that HPDI fuel systems provide without the need for an onboard compressor.

Innovations include:

• A fully integrated architecture including Cespira’s HPDI fuel injectors and fuel system components, control software and Westport’s high‑pressure CNG smart tank system that maximize usable fuel mass to extend driving range.
• A compression‑ignition approach that, other than the HPDI injectors and fuel system, requires no engine, transmission or cooling system modifications and no changes to maintenance schedules.
• No spark plugs.
• Components designed to handle CNG and natural gas-hydrogen blends.
• Precision control strategies for mixed‑fuel applications.

With HPDI, Westport said fleets can achieve efficiency comparable to the latest generation of diesel trucks while running on CNG or renewable natural gas (RNG). The technology, once commercialized, is expected to empower operators to invest in natural gas HPDI trucks today, positioning their fleets for industry leadership in sustainable, low-and zero-carbon transportation-including a smooth transition to hydrogen as future solutions evolve.