Volvo Group has announced that all Volvo and Mack trucks built in Australia at its Wacol plant in Brisbane, from this month onwards, will now be filled with Hydro Treated Vegetable Oil (HVO) instead of diesel fuel when they leave the factory, as part of the company’s endeavours to meet it’s 2030 emissions reductions targets.
HVO diesel is not actually a zero emission fuel, but Volvo contends that it presents a lower carbon footprint with no sulphur emissions and so presents an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional fuels..
Volvo Group Australia’s president and CEO, Martin Merrick said that the recent recognition of HVO100 as a fuel on the Australian market has allowed the company to speed up its adoption of the renewable fuel as a part of its manufacturing process.
“While HVO is not strictly a zero emissions fuel, it is a fossil free alternative that reduces well to wheel emissions by up to 90 per cent, which makes a significant step forward in reducing our environmental impact,” said Merrick.
“We will continue to take steps to cut our emissions and meet our decarbonisation targets by thinking globally whilst acting locally,” he said.
Volvo Trucks said that it first adopted the HVO first fill program at it’s Tuve plant in Sweden factory in 2022, but said that this Australian announcement represents the first time a multi-branded Volvo Group manufacturing facility has implemented the approach with fossil free fuels.
Volvo says that HVO100 is a renewable and sustainable synthetic fuel made from vetted waste vegetable oils and animal fats. The company claims It has a low carbon footprint, zero sulphur, and can be used in Volvo Group engines without any modification. It also said that it can be used as a standalone fuel or blended with diesel without impacting service intervals or engine components. HVO100 is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional fuels.
Volvo Group says that it has adopted ‘science-based emissions targets’, and that as a result the group is targeting net zero value chain emissions by 2040 to allow it to meet net-zero targets by 2050.
Volvo Group said that it had recently signed a 12-month agreement with Australian fuel and energy company Ampol to supply HVO100 to its fleet of trucks built at its Wacol plant.
“Incorporating HVO100 into our manufacturing process is just one part of our multi-pronged approach to decarbonisation,” said Merrick,
“We’ve been very clear that the future of fossil free transport here in Australia will still utilise the internal combustion engine, however the fuel that the engine consumes will no doubt continue to evolve as we move to a fossil free future,” he added.
