As Jan Schouten, Manager Product at Volvo Trucks Netherlands, explains, “In the Netherlands we are finding that many haulage companies are interested in the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) option. In the past the necessity for environmental-friendly transportation was mostly pushed by larger fleets, but now, due to the fact that everything is in place – from infrastructure to trucks and tank facilities – we are noticing a higher demand from smaller operators.”
In addition to long-term LNG customers like Peter Appel and St van den Brink there is now an ever-increasing group of customers eager to buy their first LNG trucks.
Same performance as diesel
The Volvo FH LNG has the same high performance and low fuel consumption as a diesel-powered Volvo truck, but far lower CO2 emissions. If natural gas is used as a fuel, emissions are cut by 20 per cent, but by running on renewable biogas combined with HVO, emissions may drop by up to 100 per cent.
One of the first haulage companies to receive their first 4×2 LNG trucks was Transport van Overveld, based near Breda. Gert van Overveld explains, “We all have to do our best to lower the impact of transportation on the environment, so we decided relatively quickly to buy two of the new Volvo FH LNG trucks.”
He adds, “Our trucks go to Spain, which made it difficult to find an alternative fuel to fit into our schedule. Driving fully electric is not an option yet, but as our route includes several LNG filling stations, so we decided to go for it. And the big bonus we are noticing is that the new trucks have the same performance and driveability as Volvo’s current diesel-powered models.”
Promising results
John van Os, fleet manager at Kivits Drunen, is also enthusiastic about his new LNG trucks. “We now have two new Volvo FH LNG 4×2 trucks and the early results are promising. It seems that the average LNG consumption stays well above the equivalent of 16mpg, which is well above normal for our haulage sector.”
Volvo Trucks Netherlands expects to deliver more than 50 LNG trucks this year and, says Jan Schouten, “We are very proud of our contribution to make it possible for heavy truck operators to considerably reduce their climate impact of their fleet.”
Volvo Trucks’ new range has already received a boost in Italy with the new Volvo FH LNG winning the ‘Sustainable Truck of the Year 2018′ award.
Darren Newman, Key Account Manager LNG/CNG at Volvo Trucks UK & Ireland, says, “We are confident that as the price of diesel continues to rise, operators will see the benefits to both the environment and their bottom line !”
