Volvo first out with new diesel engine for biogas

Eight Volvo trucks running on methane and diesel are currently undergoing tests around the country.
"We expect the results to be good and hope to be able start selling methane-diesel trucks this year," says Pilskog.
He refuses to speculate on how big the market will be in two years time, but according to the Swedish Gas Association, there will be sufficient biogas available in ten years time to run up to 20,000 trucks. To give an idea of scale, Sweden currently has around 80,000 trucks.
"We will have dramatically increased the number of trucks running on biogas within two years, as the distribution network expands. The future looks promising!" states Pilskog.
About 20 years ago, Volvo Trucks produced refuse collection trucks run on biogas in which the engine had been converted from spark plug ignition to run on gas. "But the product was discontinued because it was not a sustainable solution," explains Pilskog.

Many advantages
The new technology presented exclusively by Volvo Trucks is based on a converted diesel engine and was first seen two years ago as one of seven alternatives Volvo was looking at. The methane-diesel engine is the alternative selected as the most promising and uses a technology based on using diesel to ignite a gas mixture under compression. The harder the engine has to work, the higher the proportion of biogas in the fuel. When idling and at low revs, the proportion of gas is less. On average, the methane-diesel engine is expected to use up to 70-80% gas and the rest diesel.
 
Many advantages
"A methane-diesel engine is 30-40% more energy-efficient than current biogas engines ignited by spark plugs and are much more powerful," comments Pilskog.
He also believes that access to natural gas will be an advantage, as it will be needed during the transition phase before biogas is used exclusively.
"We welcome the rapid expansion of biogas to enable it to replace natural gas in time - that's our goal," says Pilskog.
The methane-diesel trucks currently being tested have a range of about 400 km, which means they are best suited to city and regional traffic.

 
New project means a leap into the future
The first methane-diesel trucks will be tested in a project called 'Klimatsmart Citydistribution' (smart climate city distribution), due to start up in Gothenburg in the spring. Around 30 trucks with the alternative fuel will be operating in the city centre, and subsidies are being offered to the first operators willing to invest in them. The project is a joint venture between carriers DHL, DSV, GLC, Postens Logistik and Schenker, fuel vendors FordonsGas and Preem, Business Region Göteborg, Vägverket, GMV/Chalmers and Volvo Trucks. One of the aims of the project is cut carbon dioxide emissions by half from the trucks currently running in Gothenburg's inner city environment zone taking part in the project. Another aim is reduce the amount of goods vehicles in the zone.
"This is an important project and I believe it will change the entire truck industry. It's a major step forward none of us could have achieved alone," concludes Pilskog.

 
Methane-diesel trucks in figures

• Range: approx: 400 km
• An approx. 70/30% ratio of gas and diesel will be used in the engines
• The new engines meet current exhaust requirements
• Engine efficiency is 30-40% better compared to gas engines with spark plugignition

Lennart Pilskog, Public affairs director Volvo Trucks