Natural gas vehicle proponents were elated when US President Barack Obama announced formation of a National Clean Fuels Partnership Apr. 1 in Landover, Md. The president may have spoken more about hybrids and electric vehicles, but NGVs still made it into his remarks.âIf weâre serious about making the transition from gas-guzzlers to hybrids, then weâve got to show automakers and truck manufacturers that thereâs a real market,â he said. âThey're not going to build them if they don't think anybodyâs going to buy them. We need to show them that if they manufacture fuel-efficient cars and trucks, people will buy them. We need to put our money where our mouth is.âUPS, FedEx, AT&T, Verizon, PepsiCo, and other large businesses already have developed large fleets that run on fuels besides diesel and gasoline, Obama noted. âThatâs why weâre launching a National Clean Fleets Partnership,â he said. âIf youâre a business that needs to transport goods, then Iâm challenging you to replace your old fleet with a clean energy fleet thatâs not only good for your bottom line, but good for our economy, good for our country, and good for our planet. And if you accept this challenge and you join our Clean Fleets Partnership, weâre going to make a number of tools available â from technical assistance to cutting-edge research and development â that will help you make the transition to a clean energy fleet.âObama said that he has heard repeatedly from owners of vehicles which run on petroleum alternatives that refueling infrastructure is critical. âWe donât have the distribution platforms right now. Thatâs something weâve really got to work on,â he observed.Oil and gas industry groups applauded the presidentâs remarks. âWe welcome the presidentâs focus on natural gas as an option for transportation fuels and hope to see administration policies and programs that will encourage, rather than discourage, the production and distribution of this important domestic resource,â said Bob Greco, the American Petroleum Instituteâs downstream operations director. âWe also need sensible policies that preserve a robust U.S. refining industry to supply fuels for the existing vehicle fleet for years to come. We hope that the president is signaling a true shift for clear, effective policies that make use of our domestic resources while preserving this important industry.ââIn making his announcement at a UPS facility today, the president selected a company that has a fleet of more than 1,100 natural gas delivery trucks,â said Tom Amontee, executive vice president at Americaâs Natural Gas Alliance. â[NGVs] outperform conventional fuels with a significantly higher octane rating, better fuel efficiency and lower operating costs - all while offering dramatic reductions in emissions. With the price of natural gas nearing half that of traditional gasoline, greater use of [NGVs] is a smart business decision as well.âWhen Christopher A. Smith, who heads the US Department of Energyâs Fossil Energy Office, addressed an American Gas Association Natural Gas Roundtable luncheon on Feb. 22, he noted that Colombia, where he spent three years, has 300,000 NGVs on the road. âThe technology is there,â he said, adding that itâs also much more advanced than the technology for electric vehicles.