World premiere: Volvo Trucks’ new gas trucks cut CO2 emissions by 20 to 100%

Volvo is now launching trucks that can cut CO2 emissions by 20 to 100 per cent. With a firm focus on new, energy-efficient technology for gas-powered vehicles, Volvo Trucks makes it possible to significantly reduce the climate impact of heavy regional and long-haul transport operations.

Volvo Trucks is now introducing Euro 6-compliant gas-powered trucks that offer fuel efficiency and performance on a par with that of diesel-driven trucks, but with far lower climate impact. The new trucks, the Volvo FH LNG and Volvo FM LNG, can run on either biogas, which cuts CO2 by up to 100 per cent, or natural gas which reduces CO2 emissions by 20 per cent compared with diesel. This relates to emissions from the vehicle during usage, known as tank-to-wheel.

Compared with current gas-powered trucks available on the market, Volvo Trucks’ new vehicles use 15 to 25 per cent less fuel. In order to give the trucks the greatest possible operating range, they run on liquefied natural gas (LNG).

“Our new trucks running on liquefied natural gas or biogas produce a far smaller climate footprint than diesel trucks do. In addition, they are much more fuel-efficient than the gas-powered trucks available on the market today. This makes gas more viable as a replacement for diesel even for heavy long-haul operations,” says Mats Franzén, Product Manager Engines at Volvo Trucks.

An operator covering 120,000 km per year in heavy transport who chooses natural gas instead of diesel can cut CO2 emissions by 18 to 20 tonnes a year. Bearing in mind that last year alone more than 264,000 heavy trucks were registered in the EU, there is immense potential for significantly reducing emissions globally from heavy commercial traffic. There is excellent availability of natural gas, it is competitively priced in many countries, and LNG infrastructure is currently being expanded throughout Europe in accordance with the European Commission and member states' action package for securing Europe's long-term energy supply.

“As a result we regard LNG as a long-term first choice alternative to diesel, both for regional and long-haul truck operations where fuel efficiency, payload and productivity are crucial. With a higher proportion of biogas, climate impact can be reduced far more. For transport operations in urban environments, where range is not as critical, electrified vehicles will play a greater role in the future. Our vision is that trucks from Volvo will eventually have zero emissions, although the way of achieving that is not by one single solution but through several solutions in parallel. LNG is one of them,” says Lars Mårtensson, Director Environment and Innovation at Volvo Trucks.

Link to high resolution images
Link to LNG film on Youtube
Link to animation of technical solution behind the new LNG driveline  

3.rd October 2017