Volvo Trucks
Volvo’s answer to the upcoming EPA-mandated engine requirements was announced at the Mid-America Trucking Show as V-Pulse technology.

V-Pulse, developed by Volvo and Cummins to, for Volvo’s new compliant VED12, exhaust gas recirculation engine, does not require a variable geometry turbocharger to achieve the EGR necessary to reduce combustion emission and particulate matter to required levels, the company says. That means the engine harnesses naturally occurring engine pressure as a means to reintroduce up to 30% of the combustion by-product back into the intake chamber. The company also says that V-Pulse requires only minimal changes in maintenance procedures and no new technical education.

Volvo is confident its new engine meets all the maintenance and durability demands that have many fleets concerned these days. Volvo says that trucks involved in recent field tests logging 100,000 miles have been returned to the Volvo technical Center to be disassembled and inspected further for additional testing. Volvo anticipated the VED 12 V-Pulse engines will have logged over 3,000,000 miles by the October 1 deadline.

Volvo marketing manager James Fancher said he believes the new engine will deliver the same durability as current engines, but when asked how it will fair in fuel economy, Fancher admitted that it’s inevitable the engine, as well as all the other EGR engines from other OEs, will suffer in that department.

At the same conference Cummins announced it expects its ISX EGR engine to be the first EPA-certified engine. In a letter to Cummins, the EPA said “Cummins’ ISX engine meets all applicable standards and requirements. We expect we will conclude final evaluation … and a certification could be issued to Cummins no later than March 29.”