New LNG-powered Volvo FM hits the road

Volvo Trucks has introduced the first of its new gas-powered truck to the UK.

Running on liquefied natural gas (LNG), the low emission vehicle made its first fill-up at Calor’s Donington Park Services facility.

Located off the M1 motorway at Junction 23a, the publicly-accessible LNG refuelling station is one of seven available from Calor in the UK.

The new Volvo FM LNG is a gas-powered truck with a powertrain based on Volvo’s diesel engine technology. Its 460hp engine is capable of delivering 20% less CO2 than a regular Volvo FM truck.

A fuel choice steadily growing in demand for companies operating long-haul heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), LNG offers significantly less CO2 emissions than conventional fuels such as diesel, while dramatically reducing particulates like NOx and SOx.

LNG is created by cooling natural gas to a temperature of around -162°C. When cooled to this temperature, the gas liquefies and reduces in volume too. This quality ensures LNG is easy to store, and makes it ideally suited to fuel regional and long-haul HGVs.

A truck running on LNG is far quieter than one that burns diesel in the combustion engine, so LNG-fuelled trucks can operate for longer in areas where noise restrictions might apply.

Martin Tomlinson, head of product demonstration – UK & Ireland at Volvo Group Trucks, said: “LNG is the fuel that is best positioned to quickly become a competitive and globally available alternative to diesel. The development of our new FM LNG truck is the result of our commitment to transportation that is sustainable in the long term, through energy-efficient, competitive and future-proof solutions with a low climate and environmental impact.

“Ensuring that the necessary infrastructure is in place to support the uptake of LNG is absolutely critical, which is why Calor’s investment in its LNG refuelling network across the UK is so important. Moving to LNG will help cut the long-haul transport industry’s dependence on diesel, lower CO2 emissions and help haulage companies meet their customers’ increasingly tougher environmental demands.”

Mark Gilks, transport specialist at Calor, added: “For long-haul HGVs, LNG is a low carbon, competitively-priced fuel solution with good availability. Our publicly accessible LNG refuelling network is the largest in the UK. As well as Donington, we operate stations in Lockerbie, Castleford in West Yorkshire, Lymm in Warrington, Grantham, Wolverhampton and Bristol. With plans to expand this network further already underway, we are committed to helping the industry towards a more sustainable future.”