On April 24, Volvo President Peter Voorhoeve announced that the company’s Dublin facility is now shipping hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) in their freight trucks. The plant-based fuel is stored in 20 to 25 gallons in the tanks of these trucks. Volvo anticipates purchasing over 1 million gallons of HVO from its supplier, which is a renewable diesel that emits lower levels of harmful compounds into the environment when burned compared to petroleum-based diesel.
The availability of internal combustion engines that use renewable diesel, combined with electric trucks and future hydrogen fuel cell trucks, offers multiple avenues for “decarbonizing transportation,” according to Voorhoeve. The Dublin facility, which employs 3,600 workers responsible for building all Volvo trucks for North America, is currently constructing a $400 million factory for producing truck cabs. These cabs will be used in a revised version of the VNL long-haul truck and are expected to be released later this year.
In summary, Volvo Trucks North America’s efforts to utilize HVO in their freight trucks and develop a new generation of truck cabs represent significant steps in promoting sustainable and eco-friendly transportation solutions within the industry.
