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Emissions & Technology NewsVolvo Launches Upgrade Of Hybrid Truck Volvo Trucks announced it is launching an upgrade of its hybrid refuse truck. After a year and a half of initial field testing, an upgraded truck is now being released with new components and software. The new refuse truck will be tested by Veolia Environmental Services in central London. The new truck is an upgraded version of the trucks field-tested in Stockholm and Göteborg, Sweden, over the past 18 months. A parallel hybrid, the vehicle has two separate drivelines that can be used either separately or together. The benefit of this is that each driveline can be used where it is most fuel-efficient: the electric motor at low speeds and the diesel engine at high speeds, Volvo said. The new refuse truck has electric power steering, completely new control systems and refined battery management strategies intended to optimize the battery performance. Loading and refuse compaction are completely electrically powered by means of a plug-in compactor that is charged via the main electricity grid. The battery is also new, with improved reliability and a longer lifespan, Volvo said. According to Volvo, a small-scale series production of the hybrids will start in 2012 at the earliest, which is somewhat later than the original plan. The delay is related to the global financial crisis that has affected both Volvo's product development and customers' investment capacity. The initial results from all Volvo hybrid test vehicles show that the prediction of up to 30% less fuel and carbon dioxide emissions has been validated. Renova, a waste and recycling company in Göteborg, is among the customers that have been testing Volvo's hybrid refuse truck since spring 2008, and it reports an even greater reduction, the company said. The refuse truck now being delivered to Veolia is not the first Volvo hybrid in London. Six Volvo hybrid buses have been operating on the streets of London since summer 2009. |
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