Volvo Trucks North America is taking a step towards sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation with the launch of trucks that run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). The company expects to purchase over 1 million gallons of HVO from its supplier, which emits lower levels of harmful compounds into the environment compared to petroleum-based diesel.
According to the US Department of Energy, HVO is a renewable diesel that offers multiple opportunities for decarbonizing transportation. Volvo President Peter Voorhoeve stated on April 24 that the availability of internal combustion engines using renewable diesel, combined with electric trucks currently on the market and future hydrogen fuel cell trucks, provides a range of solutions for reducing carbon emissions in transportation.
The Dublin plant, which employs 3,600 workers and produces all Volvo trucks for North America, is in the final stages of building a $400 million factory to manufacture truck cabs. These cabins will be used in a revised version of the long-haul VNL truck and are expected to be released later this year. The use of HVO in its trucks and development of new generation truck cabs represent significant steps in promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation solutions within the industry.