In Europe, Volvo Group has produced seven demonstration trucks, equivalent to U.S. Class 8 heavy-duty trucks, each of which runs on a different renewable fuel.
The seven fuels are biodiesel, biogas, a biodiesel/biogas mix, dimethyl ether, ethanol/methanol, synthetic diesel and a biogas/hydrogen-gas mix. Because all these fuels are made from renewable raw materials, unlike fossil fuels, their combustion adds no net carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, Volvo says.
“Volvo is part of the climate problem, but today we have shown that carbon dioxide-free transports are a possibility and that we, as a vehicle manufacturer, both can and will be part for the solution to the climate issue,” says Leif Johansson, chief executive officer of the Volvo Group.
First exhibited Wednesday, Aug. 29, in Stockholm, the Volvo FM trucks are equipped with modified 9-liter Volvo diesel engines.
“The diesel engine is an extremely efficient energy converter that is perfectly suited to many different renewable fuels, liquid or gaseous,” says Jan-Eric Sundgren, Volvo Group senior vice president for public and environmental affairs.
Here’s more information on the seven fuels used in the demonstration trucks:
Although heavy-duty trucks clearly can run on any of these alternative fuels, the supply of these fuels is significantly limited, with no large-scale production or distribution networks in place, Volvo noted.
