LOS ANGELES, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- A two-day Green Tech Connect Forum was held from Monday to Tuesday in Pasadena, California to help drive green innovation and commercialization in the United States.

    It is the first time the South Coast Air Quality Management District has ever hosted such a forum to help establish a partnership between green tech developers and investors.

    "We hope through the forum developers and investors will work together to speed up the development of zero emission transportation and other equipment," Sam Atwood, media office manager from the district, told Xinhua.

    He said in the Los Angeles area, about 60 percent of transit buses have used natural gas as fuel, and the next step is to have heavy duty trucks fueled by natural gas.

    According to the California Natural Gas Vehicle Partnership, transit fleets across the state, from Sacramento Regional Transit to San Diego Metropolitan Transit System to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority have embraced Compressed Natural Gas as a cost-effective way to reduce their emissions and carbon footprint.

    With 2,200 buses, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has the largest fleet of natural-gas buses in the United States. The fleet has saved millions of dollars in annual fuel costs and replaced over 250 million gallons of diesel.

    Atwood said the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the busiest ports in the United States, but many trucks used to transport ocean shipping cargoes still use diesel, which causes severe air pollution.

    He said the next goal is to change all those trucks to the two ports to natural gas engines to cut emission.

    Outside of the Pasadena Convention Center, where the forum was held, parked two hybrid buses to let forum participants experience the zero emission technology.

    Emission Solutions Inc., a Texas-based manufacturer of natural gas engines for trucks and buses, set up a booth at the conference to announce that the company has received its 2010 Certificate of Conformance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the clean-burning natural gas engines are now available for new medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses, dump trucks, refuse trucks and as an easily-installed replacement engine for school buses, dump trucks and refuse trucks.

    The newly certified engines provide comparable horsepower, torque and fuel economy to the original diesel-powered vehicles, while reducing nitrogen oxides by up to 95 percent, particulate matter by up to 90 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25 percent.

    The T3 Motion, Inc. demonstrated its CT series of micro car at the conference. Those cars have been targeted at local police stations for law enforcement purposes, mainly for parking enforcement.

    The CT series micro car has only two seats. It is equipped with maintenance free AC motor, automatic parking brake, regenerative braking system with zero gas emission since it is an all-electric vehicle.

    Jeff Simpson, Marketing Manager of T3 Motion Inc., said the CT series micro car is mainly for parking enforcement since it will park frequently and does not require high speed and long driving distance.

    Now the Los Angeles Police Department and other local police departments have used electric cars for parking enforcement and other purposes.

    Simpson also showed a three-wheeled micro car designed for police patrolling in the shopping mall, airport and railway stations. The three-wheeled micro car is more reliable.

    According to the California Natural Gas Vehicle Partnership, there are over 130,000 natural gas vehicles in the United States and approximately 4.3 million worldwide.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board and local air districts have funded programs to allow school bus fleets to purchase hundreds of natural gas school buses.

    The California Energy Commission found that natural gas trucks could replace 36 percent of the current port trucking fleet by 2050.

    William Burke, South Coast Air Quality Management District Board Chairman, said the forum will fulfill its vision to provide a networking opportunity between new technology developers and potential funding sources.

    These innovators and forward-thinking investors can expedite the introduction and commercialization of new, low-emission technologies that will keep the region, state and nation on the path toward clean air, while also transforming the regional economy for a greener future, he added.

    Over 60 companies were featured during the 11 technical sessions that have been presented on new and emerging technologies.