News & updates

The energy authorities in Sweden have now granted AB Volvo SEK 62 M in support for technical development of the third-generation DME engine for heavy vehicles during the period 2006-2010. The project will deliver automotive technology for a major field test with DME-powered trucks planned for the years 2009 and 2010. AB Volvo is also investing a large amount in the project.

Volvo Logistics has received an award for "Best Intermodal Practices" from the Brussels-based European Intermodal Association.

Volvo Trucks has more eco-certified company cars than any other company in Sweden. No less than 12 percent of Volvo Trucks company cars are in fact eco-friendly models.

AB Volvo has decided to make Volvo Trucks’ plant in Tuve the world’s first CO2-free automotive plant. As a result of investments in wind power and biofuel, the plant’s electricity and heat will come from sources that do not emit any carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The Volvo Group’s truck plant in New River Valley, Virginia, in the US, has been awarded a local environmental prize for the intensive efforts made at the plant to reduce emissions.

Volvo Trucks is today launching a new generation of trucks, the Volvo FH and Volvo FM. They are powered by an entirely new 13-litre engine and an improved 9-litre engine that meet forthcoming European exhaust emissions requirements with SCR catalytic technology.

ECAPS, founded by Volvo Aero and the Swedish Space Corporation, has been awarded a contract by the Swedish National Space Board, SNSB, to start to develop an environmentally benign Reaction Control System for a Swedish satellite, aimed at demonstration of new technology.

If trucks were equipped with a power unit driven by fuel cells, the carbon dioxide emissions from a single truck could be reduced by an estimated 20 to 30 tons per year. As a result, trucks would not have to run at idle to have an electrical supply when they are parked. In an effort to solve this problem, Volvo is now starting a joint-venture company for the development of power units based on fuel cell technology. The power unit features a newly patented technology and is so compact that they can be installed in standard trucks.

AB Volvo has decided to invest SEK 650 M in a new paintshop at its cab plant in Umeå, in northern Sweden. The new paintshop will be the cleanest topcoat paintshop in the world. The investment is being made possible by a regional investment grant of SEK 45 M from the Swedish National Board for Industrial and Technical Development and an environmental grant of SEK 85 M from the EU.