Volvo to Test Biomass Fuel in Europe Next Year for Powering Heavy Trucks

TransportTopicsOnline.com
Updated: 9/28/2009 12:00:00 PM
This story appears in the Sept. 28 print edition of Transport Topics.

Volvo Trucks will begin field tests in Europe next year of heavy trucks powered by bioDME, a biomass fuel the company said has long-term potential to replace 50% of diesel now used in European trucking.

Volvo’s Sept. 18 announcement said the tests, which will use a 13-liter engine, are a joint effort that includes the European Union and transport companies that want to gauge the potential of DME — di-methyl ether — to power vehicles.

Volvo said bioDME as a fuel could reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 95% for a combination of high energy efficiency and reduced emissions. Black liquor, a by-product of the pulp and paper industry, is the material that is used to create bioDME.

Read the full story