Caterpillar Inc. has been awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Air Excellence Award on Jan. 22 in the category of Clean Air Technology for the Cat 3512E Tier 4 DGB engine. This is the 17th year that the EPA has recognized individuals and organizations for their innovative efforts with clean air projects.

In selecting recipients for the award, the EPA considers criteria such as the technology’s ability to encourage a reduction in emissions, the innovative and unique quality of the technology, and positive efforts that promote continuous and sustainable outcomes.

“Our winners’ inspirational dedication to environmental protection is a model for all of us, and we look forward to many more years of clean air innovation and collaboration,” Anne Austin, principal deputy assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, said.

The 3512E Tier 4 DGB well service engine enables operations to reduce diesel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while maintaining power, performance, and reliability. With this innovative dual-fuel technology, the engine automatically maximizes the amount of natural gas used to displace diesel and offers the industry's best diesel displacement rate of up to 85%.

“It is a great honor to be recognized by the EPA for our Cat 3512E Dynamic Gas Blending engine—the first and only DGB engine on the market certified to meet the U.S. EPA Tier 4 Final emission standards,” Tana Utley, Caterpillar vice president, said. “Many Caterpillar engineers, myself included, have built a career around the journey to reduce diesel emissions from heavy equipment to near-zero levels. Dynamic gas blending is another game-changing step on our journey to help customers meet their total cost of ownership and greenhouse gas reduction goals and build a better world.”

Named “Engine of the Year” in 2019 by Diesel Progress, the 3512E DGB engine has more than 300,000 operating hours in the field. To meet the needs of the customer, Caterpillar offers both new factory sales of the 3512E DGB as well as retrofit kits to enable the use of DGB technology on existing 3512E diesel engines.