Linde Canada will import five Volvo FH cabover trucks powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), and supply the related fueling infrastructure, in an exclusive one-time pilot project with the OEM.

The trucks will be on Canadian roads later this year.

“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,” Paul Kudla, Volvo Trucks North America’s managing director for Canada, said in a press release.

“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.” 

Volvo began producing LNG-powered trucks for European markets in 2018, following an initial product launch in 2017.

The cabover design supports gross combination weights up to 132,277 lb., features up to 500 hp and Westport’s high-pressure direct gas-injection system, and offers a range of up to 1,000 km. Trucks used in the Canadian pilot project will offer 460 hp.

Volvo says the LNG-powered trucks also offer driveability, performance and torque associated with diesel engines, but generate drastically lower carbon dioxide emissions.

The promise of LNG

It’s not the first time big-bore LNG power has been on Canadian roads.

Westport began offering its own 15-liter high-pressure direct injection (HPDI) engine in 2006, but ceased production of that five years later. Interest in natural gas has waned in the Canadian market since then, without the big-bore power needed for heavier weights, but Cummins recently announced plans for a new 15-liter natural gas engine to fill the gap.

Volvo Group, meanwhile, has signed onto a joint venture with Westport to help globalize and commercialize Westport’s HPDI fuel system for longhaul and off-road trucking applications. Westport says that system can replace diesel with zero-carbon fuels like biogas or hydrogen.

The technology falls short of completely eliminating tailpipe emissions because a small amount of diesel is still injected into the cylinder just ahead of the natural gas, to initiate ignition.

Smaller carbon footprint

“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, Linde Canada’s director – energy services.

“We believe LNG technology is one way we will achieve our goals for our transportation fleet.”  

LNG offers a greater energy density than compressed natural gas and delivers a similar range to diesel while reducing tank-to-wheel CO₂ emissions by 20% compared to diesel, Volvo says.

“Volvo’s LNG fueling approach has been widely adopted in Europe and LNG is widely used in the global market as a whole so we have full confidence in the success of this pilot project,” Westport CEO David Johnson said.

Volvo has more than 6,000 LNG trucks in service globally, in markets including 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.