Volvo Trucks Southern Africa has brought two liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks to South Africa to test their performance under local conditions.

The trucks have specifically been developed for heavy regional and long-haul operations.

“Many of our customers already work hard to reduce their environmental footprint, and we, therefore, see clear potential for LNG as a vital part of [this effort],” says Volvo Group Southern Africa VP Marcus Hörberg.

“Our vision is that trucks from Volvo will eventually have zero emissions, although the way of achieving that is not by one single solution, but rather through several solutions in parallel.

Natural gas has promising potential as a substitute for diesel in trucks, with a good supply globally and increasing availability locally,” notes Hörberg.

Through fuel-efficient drivelines and chassis configurations, Volvo Trucks’ LNG range enables significant fuel and carbon dioxide savings, he adds.

“The new gas-powered Volvo FH LNG drives and performs just like the Volvo FH you know,” explains Volvo Trucks Southern Africa product manager Eric Parry.

“The powertrain is based on our renowned diesel engine technology. By using LNG rather than compressed natural gas, it is possible to carry larger quantities of fuel and, thus, ensure the necessary operating range for long-haul assignments.”

When cooled down, the gas liquefies and reduces in volume, which means increased capacity to carry more fuel.

Since LNG is often cheaper than diesel, employing LNG trucks also leads to a reduction in fuel costs.

In addition, while natural gas is a fossil fuel, it can produce 20% lower carbon dioxide emissions than diesel.

Volvo’s new gas-powered trucks can achieve the same fuel efficiency as diesel-powered equivalents and can operate at the same speed, notes Parry. Operators can also expect the same service intervals, reliability and performance as when employing a Volvo truck with a diesel engine.

With a 205 kg LNG tank, European operators are seeing a range of up to 1 000 km, depending on the terrain and payload, says Parry.

LNG is also no longer a foreign concept in South Africa.

Some recent developments have seen the establishment of limited infrastructure in South Africa, specifically on the N3 highway between Durban and Johannesburg.

Filling a truck with LNG involves a different procedure to diesel, as well as some safety precautions, owing to the low temperatures of the liquid fuel, but it’s neither complicated nor time consuming, compared with filling with diesel at a commercial filling station, says Parry.

As LNG coverage expands, the viability of running vehicles on this efficient fuel alternative is set to increase.

However, states Parry, “although LNG certainly does hold potential, we should also note that diesel power trucks will be with us for the foreseeable future”.