Volvo Trucks North America is working with industrial gas and engineering company Linde Canada in an exclusive, one-time pilot, importing five Volvo FH LNG (liquid natural gas) trucks to Canada, VTNA announced in a press release.
Linde Canada aims to capture the performance, emission reductions, and other benefits of LNG-powered tractors in its long-haul operations. Part of the planned evaluation at Linde Canada will include analysis of fuel economy and how routing can be optimized.
The five Volvo FH models fueled by LNG will be on the road in Canada later this year. Linde Canada is building its own LNG supply and infrastructure to integrate the Volvo FH trucks into its fleet.
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“By embracing innovative technologies, Volvo Trucks continues to lead the shift in reducing CO2 emissions and bolstering environmental benefits through sustainable fuel options, including battery-electric, and fuel cell hydrogen,” said Paul Kudla, managing director for Canada at VTNA. “Volvo's LNG fueling approach—widely adopted in Europe—has proven its effectiveness in reducing CO2 emissions, offering fleets both a sustainable and efficient solution. We are excited to enable Linde Canada to move forward with this one-time pilot project utilizing their extensive experience with LNG vehicles and existing fueling infrastructure.”
The Volvo FH natural gas-powered trucks are designed for long haul transport with up to 130,000 lb. of gross combination weight and up to 500 hp with up to 620 mi. Range. Volvo Trucks first launched the LNG product offering in 2017 with serial production beginning in 2018 for the European markets.
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“Linde is committed to investing in our planet and is moving towards a lower carbon footprint with significant reductions by 2030 and net-zero by 2050,” said Laura Lunt, director of energy services at Linde Canada. “Linde is working with Volvo Trucks and importing FH 460 hp Class 8 tractors to operate alongside our existing Volvo Trucks diesel Class 8 tractors on a Canadian trial. We believe LNG technology is one way we will achieve our goals for our transportation fleet.”
Since the launch in 2017, more than 6,000 Volvo LNG trucks have been sold globally in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Poland, France, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Finland, Denmark, Lithuania, Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Slovakia, Estonia, Austria, and Bulgaria.
