Limiting the use of resources

Limiting the use of resources

The greater partMost of the energy used today comes from non-renewable energy sources such as oil and natural gas, coal and uranium. The peak of the curve for new oil finds was reached as early as the 1960s, and from about 1980 production has been greater than the discovery of new fields. It is widely agreed that oil is a limited resource, but opinions vary as to how long the oil will last.
Energy efficiency is a watchword in all developmental work within at Volvo Trucks, which is why we have a number of tools and innovations to help conserve energy as well as resources. But However, development does not end there, we are also looking into fuels for the future, and an overhaul of all our plants is under way in order to make them CO2-neutral is underway.

Utilising trucks to the maximum
Here at Volvo Trucks we have developed an information system – Dynafleet – that gives transport companies full control over all the trucks in the fleet and makes it possible to improve the operation of existing transport capacity by up to ten per cent. Empty or half-empty runs are reduced, and fuel consumption and air pollution are cut. The European Modular System (EMS) is another way of utilising vehicles to the fullest. It enables trucks to be easily adapted to longer or shorter total lengths, meaning thatallowing two long vehicles can to replace three shorter ones vehicles, thereby and thus reducing fuel consumption by about 15 per cent.
The EMS system is already in use in Sweden and Finland, and in the Netherlands it has been tested with great results. It is also being discussed in a majority of EU countries.

The human factor
Another way to ensure efficiency is to look at the driver’s driving habits. When it comes to energy efficiency in a truck, fuel consumption and engine capacity are mainly the main parameters considered, but the most important factor affecting energy efficiency is the driver. Driving economically and responsibly means lower costs for fuel, service, repairs and insurance. Fuel consumption has decreased by about 30 per cent from 1980 and emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulates are down by around 80 per cent with today’´s diesel engines. 

Every little drop counts
The cost of fuel is steadily increasing steadily, which is why the term ‘fuel economy’ is spreading throughout the transport sector. However, there are now tools for monitoring fuel consumption such as FuelWatch, a fuel management approach that helps fleet managers, owners and operators get maximum fuel efficiency from every litre. FuelWwatch includes, among other features, tyre pressure monitoring and aerodynamic equipment for trucks, and an average of 5-10 per cent fuel can be saved, thereby reducing emissions and costs for transport companies.

Tomorrow’s world
There are many convincing reasons for looking into alternative fuels and drivelines, and a step in the right direction is our hybrid solution for heavy vehicles that combines the diesel engine with an electric motor. The benefits of a hybrid technology include a substantial reduction in fuel consumption, recoveryuperation of braking energy for storage and later use, no emissions and low noise level when in electric mode, and reduced wear on brakes.

There are substantial factors that make the changeover to renewable fuels more urgent than ever: the contribution to global warming through the use of fossil fuels; an increase in energy demand while oil resources are decreasing; and the increase in the price of oil. With this in mind, we at Volvo Trucks are exploring alternative fuels such as biodiesel, synthetic diesel, DME (Dimethyl ether), methanol/ethanol, biogas and hydrogen, because unlike fossil fuels, CO2-neutral fuels add no excess surplus carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

All of these renewable fuels have their advantages and disadvantages and, as a vehicle manufacturer, we encourage joint evaluation in choosing the fuel of the future. However, making CO2-neutral transports a reality will require an the active participation of politicians, government agencies and fuel producers. In the longer term, the feasibility of developing CO2-neutral transports will be significantly influenced greatly by ongoing efforts to improve energy efficiency, the introduction of hybrid technology on a wide scale and technological advances in fuel production.

Material matters
A vehicle’s environmental burden is heaviest during its time in service, but it also puts a strain on the environment in other ways. That is why we are interested in looking at a vehicle in its entirety, and especially the materials that are used to build it. Having environmental guidelines for product development is crucial for us at Volvo Trucks, because by featuring advice and instructions on how the environmental burden can be reduced, our engineers can see early on how alternative materials and processes might affect the environment during the whole entire life cycle.

Certified work
As a first step in our environmental work, all our factories and premises have been certified according to the international standard for environmental management systems, ISO14001. This way we ensure that the work being done at our factories is carried out in accordance to with the Volvo Group’s environmental standard. The demands for environmental care and certification that we impose on ourselves we likewise impose on our dealers and suppliers;, this way we all strive towards the same goal.

CO2-neutral production
In 2007, Volvo Trucks presented the world’s first carbon- neutral factory in Ghent, Belgium and our factories at Tuve and Umeå in Sweden are soon to follow suit. The goal for the plants is to gradually change switch to renewable energy, such as wind power and biofuel, as the sources used for electricity and heating. Our objective is to make all major factories CO2-neutral.

The whole package
As well saving resources such as oil, we have to look at what has to be done in our own operations. Solvents have to be taken care of and waste has to be handled in a proper suitable way. Our cab paint shop in Umeå is on the right track when it comes to handling solvents, and it haswith the lowest solvent emissions in the industry. Waste is dealt with in a controlled way at all our factories. Water supply is also something that needs great attention, and seeing as water is a scarcity in many parts of the world all Volvo’s majority-owned facilities have their own water treatment plants or are linked to external water treatment plants.

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