It costs a $100,000+ yearly to get a new auto and truck energy technology approved by the EPA

Greetings,

I am Woody Wood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. My partners and I are developing a hydrogen generator that is affordable and can improve gas mileage and reduce pollution in trucks and cars. My problem is that as I work on trying to get approval to get this device approved to be used on vehicles the EPA and California Air Regulatory Bureau have placed costly barriers to not only our technology but others including Natural Gas conversion system.  These barriers might be good for safety or to confirm that the pollution given off is not increased but -------

the costs to run a device through the test lab is $100,000 to $200,000 per year per engine per vehicle type! (SEE EMAIL BELOW FROM TEST LAB) This is why there are a very limited number of natural gas conversions being installed as they are also limited to those cars and engines they are testing on an annual basis.   If the government wanted to help us reduce emissions and fuel costs then why not invest in a test lab that we could use without these burdensome costs? New and small businesses cannot afford this and are eliminated from the market place. The big auto makers today cannot afford this.

We cannot convert our existing cars and trucks to new technology if the government is the barrier to the transition. I can be reached at tildonwood@yahoo.com if you would like links to your web sites and other information.  The California contact has thus far not  or refused to even provide me a test lab where I can get pricing on the test. It is like the departments are making it harder than necessary to file valid application by putting unknown variable in the way of getting your application in.

This should not be so hard. thank you and see what you can do. I am free for a phone call. at any time. Below is the body of the message from a test lab on testing costs and procedures. They were very helpful.  the name of the sender has been removed to keep me out of trouble.

Dear Mr. Wood,

Thank you for your interest in controlling mobile source pollution.  The ETV   APCT Center is described in general terms at http://www.epa.gov/etv/center-apc.html.  Relevant program documentation, including current testing protocols and plans, can be found on the ETV website at http://www.epa.gov/etv/vt-apc.html. 

Our testing laboratory, SwRI, does have some test engines on site, but they may not have the engine you require for testing.  If the laboratory does not have the engine needed for your verification test, you would be required to procure your own engine and ship it to the laboratory for testing.  Regarding costs, the costs of verification are dependant upon the technology under test and the complexity of the testing.  Mobile source verification tests are typically in the range of $100,000 to $200,000, depending on the test requirements.  Costs are determined during test plan preparation, as described in the attached document.  The ETV verification process does require input from potential vendors of technology both in terms of time and financial commitments. The program is described more fully in the attached document titled 'Participation in the Environmental Technology Verification Program.'  This document summarizes the ETV process in response to vendor requests such as yours.

If after reviewing the necessary procedures for verification you wish to initiate a verification of your technology, please contact me. I will be happy to assist you with the procedures.

Again, thank you for your interest in controlling mobile source air pollution, and let me know if you have questions that are not answered by the attached letter.

Kind Regards,

XXXXXXX