Under a SuperTruck contract established with the U.S. Department of Energy, Volvo Technology of America is scheduled to receive $19 million in federal funding to be used by the Volvo Group’s North American truck-related operations including Mack Trucks to improve the freight-moving efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and reduce greenhouse gases.
The company says researchers and engineers in Greensboro, N.C., and Hagerstown, Md., will spend the next five years developing high-efficiency heavy-duty truck technologies aimed at using less fuel, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Improved truck aerodynamics and energy conversion efficiency – maximizing the output potential of the energy source – are two areas that hold great promise for Class 8 efficiency gains.
Volvo’s North American truck and powertrain operations have been participating in other DOE- funded heavy vehicle fuel efficiency efforts as well. Being an integrated manufacturer also improves the efficacy of product development and allows Volvo to optimize solutions across product platforms.
“Integrated proprietary components provide superior performance because they’re specifically designed to work together,” said Kevin Flaherty, Mack senior vice president, U.S. and Canada. “Our EPA 2010 solution is a good example. The intelligent integration of the Mack MP series engines and Mack ClearTech SCR system delivers maximum fuel efficiency and near-zero regulated emissions. We look forward to bringing this kind of expertise to the SuperTruck table.”
